87th Division (United States)

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=87th Infantry Division


caption=87th Division shoulder sleeve insignia
nickname=The Golden Acorn Division
motto=Stalwart and Strong
colors=
march=
ceremonial_chief=
type=Infantry
branch=Army Reserve
dates=1942 - 1945
1946 - 1954
1993 -
country= United States of America
allegiance=
command_structure=
size=Division
specialization=
current_commander=
garrison=
battles=World War I World War II
wartime commander=Major General Frank L. Culin
anniversaries=US Infantry
previous=86th Infantry Division
next=88th Infantry DivisionThe 87th Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in World War I and World War II.

World War I

*87th Division was a National Army division allocated to Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
*Was activated at Camp Pike, Arkansas on 25 August 1917.
*Went overseas in September 1918, was utilized as a pool of laborers.
*Returned to the Continental US in January 1919 to Camp Dix, New Jersey, and was deactivated in February, 1919.
*Was reassigned to the Organized Reserve program in 1921, and allocated to Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.

*Commanders:
# MG Samuel D. Sturgis (25 August 1917),
# BG R. C. Van Vliet (13 November 1917),
# MG Samuel D. Sturgis (17 November 1917),
# COL John O'Shea (6 October 1918),
# MG Samuel D. Sturgis (23 October 1918),
# BG W. F. Martin (22 November 1918).

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World War II

*Activated: 15 December 1942 at Camp McCain, Mississippi.
*Training: Moved to the Tennessee Maneuver Area on December 3, 1943, for the Second Army #4 Tennessee Maneuvers; Consolidated to Fort Jackson, South Carolina on January 20, 1944 for divisional training.
*Staged at Camp Kilmer, at Stelton (now Edison), New Jersey, on October 10, 1944 until it received its Port Call to the New York Port of Embarkation in Brooklyn, NY.
*Overseas: Deployed to the European Theater on 17 October 1944.
*Arrived England on November 12, 1944, and Staged for movement to France.
*Moved to Cherbourg, France on December 5, 1944, and was assigned to US 3rd Army on November 25, 1944.
*Was further assigned to US III Corps on December 4, 1944, and to US XII Corps on December 11, 1944, and to US XV Corps on December 21, 1944, and to US VIII Corps on December 29, 1944.
*Crossed into Belgium on January 12, 1945, and returned to XII Corps on January 14, 1945.
*Crossed into Luxembourg on January 21, 1945, and assigned to VIII Corps on January 25, 1945.
*Due to discontinuity of German railroad system, 87th ID was routed to Germany by returning to Belgium on February 3, 1945.
*Entered Germany Mar 16, 1945, and remained to VE Day.
*Returned to Continental US at New York Port of Embarkation on July 11, 1945, and proceeded to Fort Benning, Georgia on July 14, 1945 to prepare for deployment to Japan.
*Was at Fort Benning on VJ Day.
*87th Infantry Division was deactivated on September 21, 1945, at Fort Benning, Georgia.
*Campaigns: Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe.
*Days of combat: 154.
*Distinguished Unit Citations: 2.
*Awards:
#Medal of Honor-1 ;
#Distinguished Service Cross-9 ;
#Distinguished Service Medal-1 ;
#Silver Star-364;
#Legion of Merit -20;
#Soldier's Medal -41 ;
#Bronze Star -1,542 ;
#Air Medal -49.

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*Commanders:
# MG Percy W. Clarkson (December 1942-October 1943),
# MG Eugene M. Landrum (October 1943-April 1944),
# MG Frank L. Culin, Jr. (April 1944 to inactivation).

*Returned to U. S.: 11 July 1945.
*Inactivated: 20 September 1945.

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Combat Chronicle

The 87th Infantry Division arrived in Scotland, 22 October 1944, and trained in England, 23 October-30 November. It landed in France, 1-3 December, and moved to Metz, where, on the 8th, it went into action against and took Fort Driant. The Division then shifted to the vicinity of Gross Rederching near the Saar-German border on 10 December and captured Rimling, Obergailbach, and Guiderkirch.

The 87th was moving into Germany when Von Rundstedt launched his offensive in the Ardennes. The Division was placed in SHAEF reserve, 24-28 December, then thrown into the Bulge battle in Belgium, 29 December. In a fluctuating battle, it captured Moircy on the 30th and Remagne on the 31st. On 2 January 1945, it took Germont, on the 10th Tillet, and reached the Ourthe by the 13th. On 15 January 1945, the Division moved to Luxembourg to relieve the 4th Division along the Sauer and seized Wasserbillig on the 23d. The 87th moved to the vicinity of St. Vith, 28 January, and attacked and captured Schlierbach, Selz, and Hogden by the end of the month. After the fall of Neuendorf, 9 February, the Division went on the defensive until the 26th, when Ormont and Hallschlag were taken in night attacks. The 87th crossed the Kyll River, 6 March, took Dollendorf on the 8th, and after a brief rest, returned to combat, 13 March 1945, crossing the Moselle on the 16th and clearing Koblenz, 18-19 March. The Division crossed the Rhine, 25-26 March, despite strong opposition, consolidated its bridgehead, and secured Grossenlinden and Langgöns. On 7 April, it jumped off in an attack which carried it through Thuringia into Saxony. Plauen fell, 17 April, and the Division took up defensive positions, 20 April, about 4 miles from the Czech border. On 6 May 1945, it took Falkenstein and maintained its positions until VE-day.

The 87th Division returned to the States in July 1945 expecting to be called upon to play a role in the defeat of the Japanese, but the sudden termination of the war in the Pacific while the division was reassembling at Fort Benning changed the future of the 87th. The Division was inactivated 21 September 1945.

Assignments in the European Theater of Operations

*25 November 1944: Third Army, 12th Army Group.
*4 December 1944: III Corps.
*11 December 1944: XII Corps.
*21 December 1944: XV Corps, Seventh Army, 6th Army Group.
*29 December 1944: VIII Corps, Third Army, 12th Army Group.
*14 January 1945: XII Corps.
*25 January 1945: VIII Corps.
*22 April 1945: VIII Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group.

Order of Battle

*345th Infantry Regiment
*346th Infantry Regiment
*347th Infantry Regiment
*87th Reconnaissance Troop
*312th Engineer Combat Battalion
*312th Medical Battalion

87th Division Artillery
*334th Field Artillery Battalion
*335th Field Artillery Battalion
*336th Field Artillery Battalion
*912th Field Artillery Battalion

Special Troops
*549th AAA Battalion
*787th Ordnance Light Maintenance
*87th Quartermaster Company
*87th Signal Company
*Military Police Platoon
*Headquarters Company
*Band

Honours

Decorations
*Presidential Unit Citation (Army)Rhine Crossing (347th Infantry regiment)

Postwar

The 87th Infantry Division was reformed in the Organized Reserve Corps after the war, in the Third Army area. It comprised units in Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Florida. It was inactivated in 1954.

References

*"The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States" U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950 reproduced at [http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/lineage/cc/cc.htm http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/lineage/cc/cc.htm] .
* [http://www.lonesentry.com/gi_stories_booklets/87thinfantry/index.html Stalwart and Strong: The Story of the 87th Infantry Division]
* [http://www.87thinfantrydivision.com/Home.shtml 87th Infantry Division Association]