How It Started

The 45th Infantry Division was new, comparatively in the history of the United States Army. Stood up in 1924, the units that made up the division came from Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas, and as a result, had a large number of Native Americans within its ranks. The symbol chosen for the 45th was in recognition of that heritage, and of the four states the unit came from was a gold swastika set on a red square. This remained the insignia well into the ’30s; however, it was changed in 1938 as the more sinister overtones became attached to it thanks to Nazi Germany. The replacement insignia was a Thunderbird, believed in many native American mythologies as a symbol of good luck. It is from this insignia that the unit's nickname, The Thunderbirds, is drawn. (1)

Activated for a year of training and federal service in the fall of 1940, the unit was sent first to Fort Sill, then training in Texas and Louisiana. On maneuvers in Louisiana in August of 1941, the unit learned their active-duty service had been extended by another year and a half. (2) By this time in the United States, it was clear that war was coming, but it was unknown when or where.

Over the next year, the 45th continued to train, not knowing when they would be called up for combat. That call came in April of 1943, with the Allies plan to invade Sicily. The time for training was over. On the 25th of May 1943, the Division was loaded onto transport ships, and on June 8th, they began the voyage to Oran, Algeria, in Northern Africa. They arrived in the latter half of June, and it is here where I will begin telling the story of my Great-Grandfather’s time in combat.

Citations:

1) Flint Whitlock, The Rock of Anzio: From Sicily to Dachau: A History of the US 45th Infantry Division Boulder, CO: Westview, 2005. 20-24.

2) Stars and Stripes, ed., The Story of the 45th Infantry Division Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Legacy Reprints, 2010.