The 97th Infantry Division was a unit of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Nicknamed the "Trident division" because of its shoulder patch, a vertical

trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other mar ...

in white on a blue background, it was originally trained in amphibious assaults as preparation for deployment in the Pacific Theater. It was deployed to Europe in 1944 when casualties from the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

needed to be replaced.

World War I

The 97th Division was one of the divisions planned to be activated in late 1918 and deployed to France in 1919 to reinforce the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought along ...

. The division was organized at Camp Cody,

Deming, New Mexico Deming (, ''DEM-ing'') is a city in Luna County, New Mexico, United States, west of Las Cruces and north of the Mexican border. The population was 14,855 as of the 2010 census. Deming is the county seat and principal community of Luna County ...

and activated on 5 September 1918. It included the 193rd and 194th Infantry Brigades, and the 172nd Field Artillery Brigade. The 194th was to be organized and trained at Camp Cody, the 172nd at Camp Jackson, South Carolina, and the 193rd was to be organized in France with the AEF. The division's cadre consisted of over 1,000 trained officers and enlisted men, and Colonel Carl A. Martin became its first commander on 26 September. The division was intended to be composed of National Army draftees mainly from

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

and

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, but in October, over 5,000 draftees, mainly from Oklahoma and Minnesota, were sent to the division at Camp Cody. Initial instruction at Camp Cody went relatively well, but the 172nd Brigade's training at Camp Jackson was delayed by a lack of personnel. Its regiments were at less than half-strength as late as the beginning of November. In late October, the 97th was struck by the

1918 flu pandemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

, which sickened over 500 soldiers and killed more than 100. On 25 October, Brigadier General James R. Lindsay became division commander as Martin became its chief of staff. The war ended with the Armistice of 11 November, and the 97th was ordered to be demobilized on 20 November. At the time, it was only partially organized and consisted of 402 officers and 7,889 men. The demobilization was completed on 22 December/

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 time ...

's trident was originally adopted as the division's symbol, to represent the coastal states of Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire, from which the first recruits were drawn in 1918. The three prongs of the trident represent the three states, the blue symbolizes the states' numerous fresh water lakes, and the white of the border and trident represents the snow that covers these states' mountains.

Composition

*Division Headquarters *387th Infantry Regiment *388th Infantry Regiment *622nd Field Signal Battalion *366th Machine Gun Battalion *322nd Headquarters Train and Military Police *322nd Sanitary Train 172nd Field Artillery Brigade The brigade was organized at Camp Jackson, South Carolina, under the command of Brigadier General Dennis H. Currie. *61st Field Artillery Regiment *62nd Field Artillery Regiment *63rd Field Artillery Regiment *21st Trench Mortar Battery *322nd Ammunition Train Commanders *Colonel C. A. Martin - 26 September 1918 to 19 October 1918; *Brigadier General James R. Lindsay - 19 October 1918 until demobilization on 20 November 1918.

Interwar period

The division was reconstituted in the Organized Reserve on 24 June 1921 and assigned to the states of New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont. The headquarters was organized in December 1921.

World War II

97th Infantry Division in Cologne, Germany, March 18, 1945

The 97th Infantry Division was ordered into active military service on 25 February 1943 at

Camp Swift Camp Swift is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bastrop County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,943 at the 2020 census. Camp Swift began as a United States Army training base built in 1942. It is named after Major General Eben Swift. H ...

, Texas, the last of the Organized Reserve infantry divisions to enter active duty. Because the activation rate of Army units in late 1942 was proceeding faster than the expected induction rate of new soldiers and there was an urgent need for personnel to participate in the

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – 16 November 1942) was an Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa while al ...

landings in North Africa planned for November 1942, the reorganization of the 97th was deferred until early 1943 and three partially-trained divisions were stripped to less than 50 percent strength. Most of the cadre for the 97th came from the 95th Infantry Division stationed at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. In February 1944 the division was moved to

Fort Leonard Wood Fort Leonard Wood is a U.S. Army training installation located in the Missouri Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of The City of St. Robert. The post was created in December 1940 and named in honor of General Leonard W ...

, Missouri, for additional training. During 1944, approximately 5,000 soldiers were stripped from the division and sent as replacements to other units in Europe. Division strength was eventually restored when the Army Specialized Training Program and aviation cadet training program were sharply reduced or terminated and many of their personnel were reassigned to

Army Ground Forces The Army Ground Forces were one of the three autonomous components of the Army of the United States during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Service Forces. Throughout their existence, Army Ground Forces were the large ...

for retraining as infantry. In July 1944 the division relocated to

Camp San Luis Obispo Camp San Luis Obispo is the original home of the California Army National Guard. It served as an Infantry Division Camp and Cantonment Area for the United States Army during World War II. History Camp San Luis Obispo, formerly called Camp Mer ...

, California. Under the supervision of the Navy and Marine Corps, the division began amphibious training and exercises at

Camp Callan Camp Callan was a United States Army anti-aircraft artillery replacement training center that was operational during World War II. It was located on the southern west coast of the United States, north of San Diego at La Jolla, California. Th ...

, Coronado Strand,

San Clemente Island San Clemente Island ( Tongva: ''Kinkipar''; Spanish: ''Isla de San Clemente'') is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. It is administered ...

, San Nicolas Island and

Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by O ...

. In September 1944 the 97th was transferred to Camp Cooke, California, for further amphibious training. In early January 1945, General Dwight D. Eisenhower was alarmed over the swift progress the Germans had made during the waning

and was concerned that the Germans could move additional reinforcements to the west from the Eastern Front. He requested additional divisions over and above those already earmarked for the European theater. The 86th and 97th Infantry Divisions, allocated for service in the Pacific, were ordered to the

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...

instead for the final assault on Germany. The strength of the division upon deployment in Europe was 600 officers and 14,000 men. *Overseas: 19 February 1945 for the ETO; *Returned to U.S.: 16 June 1945, from the ETO *Overseas: 28 August 1945, for the Pacific Theater, arriving 25 September 1945 in

Yokohama, Japan is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

*Campaigns:

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

*Days of combat: 41 (ETO) *

Prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

taken in the ETO: 48,796 *Inactivated: 31 March 1946 in Japan

Casualties

*Total battle casualties: 979Army Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths, Final Report (Statistical and Accounting Branch, Office of the Adjutant General, 1 June 1953) *Killed in action: 188 *Wounded in action: 721 *Missing in action: 9 *Prisoner of war: 61

Awards

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of val ...

- 1 ( Joe R. Hastings) *

Distinguished Service Cross (United States) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is the United States Army's second highest military decoration for soldiers who display extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be o ...

- 1 *

Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army) The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. The ...

- 1 *

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

- 61 *

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight u ...

- 2 (A. James Faulkner and Robie Macauley) * Soldier's Medal - 3 *

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. W ...

− 206

Composition

* Headquarters, 97th Infantry Division * 303rd Infantry Regiment * 386th Infantry Regiment * 387th Infantry Regiment * Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 97th Infantry Division Artillery **303rd Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm) **365th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm) **922nd Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm) **389th Field Artillery Battalion (155 mm) * 322nd Engineer Combat Battalion * 322nd Medical Battalion * 97th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized) * Headquarters, Special Troops, 97th Infantry Division ** Headquarters Company, 97th Infantry Division ** 797th Ordnance Light Maintenance Company ** 97th Quartermaster Company ** 597th Signal Company ** 97th Military Police Platoon ** 97th Infantry Division Band * 97th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment Commanders *Major General

Louis A. Craig Louis A. Craig (July 29, 1891 – January 3, 1984) was a career officer in the United States Army. He attained the rank of major general, and served in both World War I and World War II. Craig served as a corps and division commander during ...

- 4 February 1943 to 19 January 1944 *Brigadier General Milton B. Halsey - 20 January 1944 – 24 September 1945 *Major General Herman F. Kramer - 24 September 1945 to inactivation on 31 March 1946.

Combat chronicle

After assembly and training at Camp Cooke in California, the 97th Infantry Division was transported by train to

Camp Kilmer Located in Central New Jersey, Camp Kilmer is a former United States Army camp that was activated in June 1942 as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation. The camp was organized as part of the Army Service ...

, New Jersey. The division embarked on

troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

s in New York and landed at Le Havre, France on 2 March 1945, then moved to Camp Lucky Strike. After crossing France by troop train, the division passed through

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

and crossed the German border west of

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th ...

on 28 March, taking up a defensive position along the west bank of the

Rhine River ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

opposite

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...

. As all bridges over the Rhine had been destroyed and the city was well-defended, the 97th was ordered to move south along the west bank of the Rhine, crossing over it near

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

on 3 April and taking up a position on the southern bank of the Sieg River at

Hennef Hennef (Sieg) () is a town in the Rhein-Sieg district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the river Sieg, approx. south-east of Siegburg and east of Bonn. Hennef is the fourth-biggest town in the Rhein-Sieg-Kreis (i.e. distr ...

Ruhr pocket

The division then entered the battle of the Ruhr pocket, crossing the Sieg River on 7 April, battling German

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

troops defending

Schloss Allner Schloss Allner is a fifteenth-century castle in Rhein-Sieg-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the southern slope of the Nutscheid Ridge, on the north bank of the River Sieg, and just northeast of the Allner See. It lies to ...

."Elimination of the Ruhr Pocket; XVIII Airborne Corps (First U. S. Army) 387th Infantry Regt, 97th Infantry Division." Interview with Capt. Milton Ponitz and First Lt. Robert McCaffrey.
/ref> According to the after action report: :"Machine-gun fire was

strafing Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such ...

the crossing area from castle near ALLNER where it had a clear field of fire and from a wooded spur at a bend in the river W of the crossing, firing upriver toward the boats. Artillery fire, TD's, heavy MG fire and

mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a villag ...

were all brought to bear on this castle but although it crumbled, the MG fire continued. Fire was also coming from the high ground N of the river." In two days the 922nd Field Artillery Battalion fired over three thousand rounds at the area around the castle.'B' Battery, 922nd F.A., 97th Infantry Division
WWII History. Pfc John Hedrick seized an abandoned assault boat while under heavy enemy fire and used the craft to help ferry troops across the river. He was awarded the

. After crossing the river, elements of the 387th Infantry Regiment assaulted the castle: :"The 2d Battalion hit very stiff resistance at the ALLNER Castle and on the ridge in the loop of the river.

Anti-tank Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first dev ...

company and the TD's blasted the castle from the S bank of the SIEG River and G Company was able to clear it out." Entering

Siegburg Siegburg (i.e. '' fort on the Sieg river''; Ripuarian: ''Sieburch'') is a city in the district of Rhein-Sieg-Kreis in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the banks of the rivers Sieg and Agger, 10 kilometres from the former seat ...

on 10 April, troops again encountered heavy resistance at the Glockner works.The Story of the 97th Infantry Division, Orientation Branch. Information and Education Division, HQ, USFET
Also reproduce
Original document with photos
On 12 April Pfc Joe R. Hastings of Company C, 386th Infantry Regiment, distinguished himself in action at Drabenderhöhe, Germany while attacking an enemy position. According to his citation: :" astingsrushed forward over 350 yards of open, rolling fields to reach a position from which he could fire on the enemy troops. From this vantage point he killed the crews of a 20mm gun and a machine gun, drove several enemy riflemen from their positions, and so successfully shielded the 1st Platoon that it had time to reorganize and remove its wounded to safety. Observing that the 3d Platoon to his right was being met by very heavy 40mm and machine gun fire, he ran 150 yards with his gun to the leading elements of that unit, where he killed the crew of the 40mm gun... e thenadvanced, firing his gun held at hip height, disregarding the bullets that whipped past him, until the assault had carried 175 yards to the objective...He was killed 4 days later while again supporting the 3d Platoon." He received the

posthumously for his actions. On 14 April, intelligence officers from the 97th Division liberated approximately 800

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

, including 177 Americans, being held at a

POW camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

in Hoffnungstal, near

Much, Germany Much () is a municipality in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately north-east of Bonn, and south-west of Gummersbach. Twin towns * Doullens, France, since 1976 * Groß Köris, Brandenbur ...

. Pushing on toward Düsseldorf through difficult terrain and heavy resistance in densely wooded areas, the division captured Solingen on 17 April.The 97th Infantry Division During World War II
/ref> Düsseldorf fell without much fighting the next day, after the German Resistance launched Aktion Rheinland, and the Ruhr pocket was eliminated by 21 April.

Flossenbürg concentration camp

On 23 April elements of the 97th, together with members of the 90th Infantry Division, liberated

Flossenbürg concentration camp Flossenbürg was a Nazi concentration camp built in May 1938 by the SS Main Economic and Administrative Office. Unlike other concentration camps, it was located in a remote area, in the Fichtel Mountains of Bavaria, adjacent to the town of Flo ...

near Floß in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

. A

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear rec ...

patrol from the 303rd Infantry Regiment may have been the first U.S. Army unit to reach the camp, although the 2nd Cavalry Group, Mechanized and a colonel from the 90th Infantry Division later took credit for liberating the camp.Kurt Frank Korf, quoted in Patricia Kollander
''I Must be a Part of this War: A German American's Fight against Hitler and Nazism,''
Fordham University Press, 2005. Members of the 97th Division treated sick and dying prisoners and buried the several hundred corpses discovered in the camp. Brigadier General Milton B. Halsey inspected the camp as did General Sherman V. Hasbrouck, the commanding officer of the division artillery. Members of the Counter Intelligence Corps, which included Robie Macauley, Ib Melchior and

Anthony Hecht Anthony Evan Hecht (January 16, 1923 – October 20, 2004) was an American poet. His work combined a deep interest in form with a passionate desire to confront the horrors of 20th century history, with the Second World War, in which he fought, ...

, interviewed former prisoners and gathered evidence for trials of former camp officers and guards. The 97th also liberated Helmbrechts concentration camp, a sub-camp of Flossenbürg for female prisoners. The following day a unit of the 97th CIC Detachment led by Captain Oscar M. Grimes captured about two hundred

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

officers and men in hiding near

Hof, Bavaria Hof () is a town on the banks of the Saale in the northeastern corner of the German state of Bavaria, in the Franconian region, at the Czech border and the forested Fichtelgebirge and Frankenwald upland regions. The town has 47,296 inhabitant ...

. They were in possession of American uniforms and equipment, but had evidently made the decision to surrender.

Czechoslovakia

On 25 April the division entered Czechoslovakia, moving to protect the left flank of the Third Army on its southern drive. The 97th took Cheb, Czechoslovakia, on 25 April 1945 and attacked the Czechoslovak pocket near Weiden, Germany on 29 April. It had advanced to

Konstantinovy Lázně Konstantinovy Lázně (german: Konstantinsbad) is a spa municipality and village in Tachov District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 900 inhabitants. Konstantinovy Lázně lies approximately east of Tachov, north-west o ...

, Czechoslovakia, when it received the

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state ac ...

order on 7 May.Captain Eugene A. Buckley Jr., "After Battle Report, Participation of the 387th Inf Regt in the Battle of Germany, 21 April - 8 May, 1945."
/ref> Part of the division was in

Teplá Teplá (german: Tepl) is a town in Cheb District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,900 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as urban monument zone. Administrative parts Villages of ...

where the German 2nd Panzer Division had surrendered. The troops used the monastery there as a

for the Germans. The 97th Infantry Division was credited with firing the last official shot in the

European Theatre of Operations The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ending with th ...

during World War II. This shot was fired by Pfc. Domenic Mozzetta (1925-2001) of Company B, 387th Infantry Regiment, 97th Infantry Division, at a German sniper near Klenovice, Czechoslovakia shortly before midnight, 7 May 1945.

Assignments in the ETO

*30 January 1945: Fifteenth Army,

12th Army Group The Twelfth United States Army Group was the largest and most powerful United States Army formation ever to take to the field, commanding four field armies at its peak in 1945: First United States Army, Third United States Army, Ninth United Stat ...

*28 March 1945: XXII Corps *1 April 1945: First Army, 12th Army Group *10 April 1945: XVIII (Abn) Corps *19 April 1945: Third Army, 12th Army Group *22 April 1945: XII Corps *28 April 1945: First Army, 12th Army Group *30 April 1945:

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army ...

*6 May 1945: Third Army, 12th Army Group

Command posts in the ETO

*2 Mar 45 - Camp Lucky Strike, Seine-Inferieure, France *28 Mar 45 - Lövenich,

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

, Germany *31 Mar 45 - Glehn, Rhineland, Germany *4 Apr 45 - Oberpleis, Rhineland, Germany *12 Apr 45 -

, Rhineland, Germany *14 Apr 45 - Rosrath, Rhineland, Germany *15 Apr 45 -

Bergisch Gladbach Bergisch Gladbach () is a city in the Cologne/Bonn Region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and capital of the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis (district). Geography Bergisch Gladbach is located east of the river Rhine, approx. 10 kilometers east o ...

, Rhineland, Germany *17 Apr 45 - Solingen, Rhineland, Germany *21 Apr 45 - Hof, Bavaria, Germany *23 Apr 45 -

Wunsiedel (; Northern Bavarian: ''Wåuṉsieḏl'' or ''Wousigl'') is the seat of the Upper Franconian district of in northeast Bavaria, Germany. The town is the birthplace of poet Jean Paul. It also became known for its annual Festival and the Rudo ...

, Germany *29 Apr 45 - Weiden in der Oberpfalz, Bavaria, Germany *5 May 45 -

Tachov Tachov (; german: Tachau) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 13,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Mže River. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administrative parts ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

, Czechoslovakia *7 May 45 -

, Bohemia, Czechoslovakia *9 May 45 -

, Bohemia, Czechoslovakia *15 May 45 - Memmelsdorf, Bavaria, Germany *1 Jun 45 - Camp Old Gold, Seine-Inferieure, France

Post-war duties

The division left

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

on 16 June 1945 aboard the SS Brazil, arriving at

Camp Shanks Camp Shanks was a United States Army installation in the Orangetown, New York area. Named after Major General David C. Shanks, it was situated near the juncture of the Erie Railroad and the Hudson River. The camp was the largest U.S. Army embarka ...

on 24 June. After a 30-day leave, the division reassembled at

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cu ...

, crossed the US by troop train and on 1 September embarked aboard the

USS Grundy USS ''Grundy'' (APA-111) was a ''Windsor''-class attack transport that served with the United States Navy from 1945 to 1946. She was subsequently sold in to commercial service and was scrapped in 1973. History ''Grundy'' was launched under Marit ...

for redeployment to the Pacific, arriving at

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 16 ...

, Philippine Islands on 16 September and then sailing to Japan for occupation duty, the first unit previously stationed in Europe to arrive in Japan after the end of the war. Arriving at

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

on 25 September 1945, the division relieved the 43rd Infantry Division and established its headquarters at Mitsugahara Airfield in

Kumagaya is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 195,277 in 87,827 households and a population density of 1200 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kumagaya is one of the large ...

.Geoffrey Lindsay, "Anthony Hecht in Occupied Japan." ''Sewanee Review,'' 2011, 119 (4). pp. 641–655.
/ref> By December the 97th had reached its maximum deployment through six prefectures: Saitama,

Gunma is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima P ...

, Nagano, Niigata, Fukushima, and Tochigi."97th Division to be inactivated on March 31," Public Relations Office Press Release, 22 March 1946
/ref> Confiscating and disposing of Japanese military property proved to be the Division's prime task. The 97th returned 198,142,046 pounds of foodstuffs, 670,226 gallons of gasoline, 8,568,857 yards of cloth and 480,343 pairs of boots and shoes to the Japanese government for distribution to civilians. On 26 October counter-intelligence officers from the 97th Division located $2.5 million worth of stolen

radium Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rat ...

in the German consulate in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, and another $3 million in silver bullion in a warehouse in Iida, Nagano. On 31 October, Special Agent Robie Macauley of the division's counter-intelligence unit arrested 26 prominent Nazis who were in hiding in

Karuizawa is a resort town located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 20,323 in 9897 households, and a population density of 130 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Karuizawa is one of the oldest and most ...

. The division was inactivated on 31 March 1946 in Yokohama.

Command posts in Japan

*25 Sep 45 - Mitsugahara Airfield in

Kumagaya, Saitama is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 195,277 in 87,827 households and a population density of 1200 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kumagaya is one of the large ...

, Japan *7 Oct 45 -

Ueda, Nagano is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 157,480 in 67,783 households, and a population density of 290 persons per km2. The total area of the city is , which makes it the fifth largest city in Nag ...

, Japan

Cold War to present

On 15 July 1962, the division's 97th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop was converted and redesignated, less the 3rd Platoon, as the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 193rd Infantry Brigade, and relieved from assignment to the 97th Infantry Division. Concurrently, it was withdrawn from the Army Reserve and allotted to the Regular Army. The 3rd Platoon, 97th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop was concurrently converted and redesignated as the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 194th Infantry Brigade - hereafter separate lineage). The unit was reactivated shortly thereafter on 8 August 1962 in the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the ter ...

. On 22 December 1967, the 97th Army Reserve Command was activated at

Fort Meade, Maryland Fort Meade is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 9,327 at the 2010 census. It is the home to the National Security Agency, Central Security Service, United States Cyber Command and t ...

. While the 97th ARCOM was allowed to wear the shoulder sleeve insignia of the 97th Infantry Division and use its number, Department of the Army policy does not allow for the lineage of Table of Organization and Equipment (TOE) units, such as infantry divisions, to be perpetuated by Table of Distribution (TDA) units, such as ARCOMs. Three medical units of the 97th were mobilized and deployed to

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. In U.S. military Operations in Panama to oust dictator

Manuel Noriega Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno (; February 11, 1934 – May 29, 2017) was a Panamanian dictator, politician and military officer who was the ''de facto'' ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989. An authoritarian ruler who amassed a personal f ...

in 1989, the 97th deployed troops to neutralize key Panamanian Defense Forces positions on the Pacific side of the Canal Zone; civil affairs soldiers from the 97th later assisted in rebuilding the new Government of Panama. During operations

Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

and

Desert Storm The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases ...

, more than 3,000 division troops deployed to missions in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...

. In 1996, as part of the overall force reduction following the end of the Cold War, the 97th Army Reserve Command was inactivated and its units were absorbed into the 99th Regional Readiness Command.Ninety-Seventh Infantry Division
US Militaria Forum. Years later the lineage of the 97th Infantry Division was reactivated as the 97th Training Brigade, a subordinate unit of the 100th Training Division.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* {{Authority control 097th Infantry Division, U.S. Infantry Division, U.S. 097 Military units and formations established in 1918 United States Army divisions of World War I Infantry divisions of the United States Army in World War II 1918 establishments in New Mexico Military units and formations disestablished in 1946

World War I

Composition

Interwar period

World War II

Casualties

Awards

Composition

Combat chronicle

Ruhr pocket

Flossenbürg concentration camp

Czechoslovakia

Assignments in the ETO

Command posts in the ETO

Post-war duties

Command posts in Japan

Cold War to present

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography