32d Infantry Division

Genuine WWII border green shoulder insignia of the 32nd Infantry Division.

The 32nd Infantry Division is an American division made up of Army National Guard units from Wisconsin and Michigan, which fought in World War I and World War II. It has its roots in the Iron Brigade of the Civil War, which explains the division's nickname (Iron Jaw Division). During the hard fighting in France during the First World War, it quickly acquired the nickname Les Terribles (in French), which refers to their tenacity and their ability to advance on terrain where other units could not. not. Thus, it was the first Allied division to pierce the Hindenburg Line and it adopted its shoulder insignia, a line pierced by a red arrow, symbolizing its ability to pierce the opposing lines. Subsequently, it was known as the Red Arrow Division. During World War II, the division achieved several unprecedented achievements. It was the first American division to deploy entirely outside the United States and participated in the Pacific War, and it was one of the first seven units of the US Army and US Marine Corps to fight in the year 1942. In addition, it continued to fight islands of resistance after the Japanese capitulation. In total, the division logged 654 days of combat in World War II, more than any other division in the US Army. It was deactivated in 1946, after participating in the occupation of Japan.