The division landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day + 1 (June 7, 1944) in Normandy, France.
The 2ID was part of General Omar Bradley's First Army. Our brave men fought their way
across Europe
and were in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, when the war against Germany was over with on on
May 8, 1945.
WORLD WAR II (1941 – 1945) Battle Legacy:
THE EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS:
As part of the build up for operation Overload, the Normandy invasion, the 2d Infantry Division was transferred from fort Sam Houston to Ireland in October, 1943. There it spent ten months undergoing extensive training. On 7 June, 1944, D-Day + 1, the division stormed ashore at bloody Omaha Beach. While other units were stalled by the determined German resistance to the west, the Indianheads blasted through the hedgerows of Normandy. After fierce, 39-day battle, the 2d Division, fighting in the streets and alleyways, finally took their objective as the vital port city of Brest, which was liberated on 18 September, 1944. Once mop up operations were complete in the Normandy region, the division turned west and plunged headlong across France. From positions around St. Vith, Belgium, the Second was ordered, on 11 December, 1944, to attack and seize the Roer River dams. Having pierced the dreaded Siegfried Line, the division was advancing when Nazi Field Marshal Gerd Von Rundstedt unleashed a powerful
German offensive in the Ardennes. Throughout this Battle of the Bulge the 2d Infantry Division held fast, preventing the enemy from seizing key roads leading to the cities of Liege and Antwerp.
Resuming the offensive on 6 February, 1945, the division joined the race to annihilate the fleeing Wehrmacht. Transferred from the First Army to Patton’s Third Army, the Indianheads spent their last days of the European War in a dash across Czechoslovakia, finally halting in the town of Pilsen. This city became a meeting point between invading armies from east and from west. It was in Pilsen that the soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Division first met their Soviet allies who represented the forces of communism that they would face so often in the future, no longer as allies.
Division Order of Battle in WW II:
The division participated in the Normandy, Northern France, the Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace,
and the Central Europe Campaigns of World War Two. The Division suffered 3,031 killed
in action and 12,785 wounded in action during the war.
The Second Infantry Division arrived back home at Ft. Swift, Texas on July 22, 1945.
9th Infantry Regiment 23rd Infantry Regiment
38th Infantry Regiment
Headquarters and Headquarters Battery,
2nd Infantry Division Artillery
12th Field Artillery Battalion (155 Mm) 15th Field Artillery Battalion (105 Mm)
37th Field Artillery Battalion (105 Mm) 38th Field Artillery Battalion (105 Mm)
2nd Engineer Combat Battalion 2nd Medical Battalion
Headquarters Special Troops, Headquarters Company,
2nd Infantry Division 2nd Infantry Division
702nd Ordnance Company 2nd Quartermaster Company
2nd Reconnaissance Troop 2nd Signal Company
2nd Military Police Platoon 2nd Infantry Division Band
Headquarters 2nd Infantry Division
Units Attached Throughout Combat:
612th Tank Destroyer Battalion 741st Tank Battalion
462nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion 2nd Counterintelligence Corps Detachment
Photo Interpretation Team No. 6 Order Of Battle Team No. 8
Military Intelligence Interpreter Team
No. 415
Interrogation Prisoner of War Team No. 25
Interrogation Prisoner of War Team No. 27 Interrogation Prisoner of War Team No. 28
Detachment "I", 165th Signal Photo Company Air Support Party, IX Tactical Air Command
The U.S. 2nd Division had 2 booklets printed during World War 2
D+1 to D+105
D+106 to VE Day
A special "thank you" to Dan Huseman for scanning these booklets.
There were 3 infantry regiments assigned to the 2ID during World War 2:
Each of these regiments has a combat history of that time period.
Do you want a free copy of each of these histories to download?
If yes, then click on this link to go to my web page where they are waiting for you:-)
War Stories Here of our 2ID Combat Vets in Action
The Combat History of the Second Infantry Division In World War II
Keep Up the Fire- The Ninth Infantry Regiment in WWII
War by Floyd Kornegay
My Generation by Fred Howland
How A Ninety-Day Wonder Survived the War by Charlie Curly
741st Tank Battalion by Al Heintzleman
Battleground by John Toland (printed in 1959)
Company Commander by Charles B. MacDonald
The Battle of the Bulge: The Losheim Gap Doorway to the Meuse by Hans J. Wijers
The Battle of the Bulge: Seize the Bridges by Hans J. Wijers and Elmer S. McKay
In Death's Dark Shadow - A Soldier's Story by Cleve Barkley
If so, here is how to join up.
Just go to our site at
Also at this site is posted the history of the 2ID, more war stories, and more info. It is
a great place for members to communicate with one another.
Our Yahoo site has a lot of members who have knowledge about the 2nd
Infantry Division during World War 2. It's a message board kind of site
where you can ask questions and submit inquiries. Many members there
have written books that might be helpful to you and they can advise you
as to the titles, price, and availability.
The U.S. 9th Infantry Regiment (9IR)
The U.S. 23rd Infantry Regiment (23IR)
The U.S. 38th Infantry Regiment (38IR)
The war history of each of the 3 Infantry Regiments of the 2ID during World War 2
Foot Soldier by Fred Felder
(9th Infantry Regiment)
The combat diary of Staff Sergeant Hanford Maurice Rice
(9th Infantry Regiment)
The 9th Regiment As I Knew It (During World War 2) by Bill Hancock
The war story of Clem Turpin
(23rd Infantry Regiment)
The Diary Of A Soldier by Alfred Whitehead II
(38th Infantry Regiment)
Reprinted by the Battery Press, Nashville, Tenn., 1979 (No copyright)
Written by Al Castillo
Shipped to Europe as a replacement, he took command of Company I, 23rd Infantry in early September of 1944. He was in command of Company I in an action during the Battle of the Bulge in which the 3rd Battalion received the Presidential Unit Citation.
U.S. Troops Block Northern German Advances December 1944 (Paperback - 2001)
Comments: An exceptional self-published history of the American
actions blocking the German army's northward advance in the Battle of the Bulge;
interesting interviews on the Malmedy Massacre (Paperback - 2005)
(2nd Battalion of the 38th Infantry Regiment)
One can order it by making payment of $19.50 and send to:
A Soldier's Story
P O Box 332
Loraine, IL 62349=0332
Chick's Holy Joe Gospel Comic Booklet
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Friends_of_US_2nd_Infantry_Division_WWII
and click on "join this group"
or
place your email address in this slot to get started.
Then you can send emails to our
group or go to the site in person and post a message there for all to read.
While there you might want to view some photos or read some messages there pertaining
to the 2ID during WW2. The messages contain info about people, places, and things.
And about how things were during those days. Queries about any vet who fought in the
2ID (during WW2 only) are welcome there, as well.
Note: yahoogroups.com requires you to become a member before you
can view their sites. Membership is free.
Be sure to add this page to your favorites or bookmark it so you can come and visit us again:-)
2ID Order of Battle and supporting units
The Current 9th Infantry Regiment Website
Click on the above picture if you want to learn how to have peace in your heart.
