Like many Army divisions formed in the 1920s, the 43rd Infantry Division, nicknamed “Winged Victory,” was originally constituted in the National Guard as the 43rd Division on 19 October 1920; its Headquarters were organized and Federally recognized over four years later on 21 March 1925. Its units were drawn from four states: Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, and Rhode Island.
Called into active service on 24 February 1941, the Division was officially redesignated as the 43rd Infantry Division while stationed at Camp Shelby in Mississippi. Deployed to the Pacific Theater in October 1942, the Division took part in three Campaigns—New Guinea, Northern Solomons, and Luzon—and four Presidential Unit Citations were awarded to Battalions under its control. It was during this period that the unit acquired its nickname in honor of the Commander, Major General Leonard F. Wing.
Following the war, the Division was reorganized into units from three states (Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Maine) and during the Korean War it was deployed to Germany along with the 4th and 28th Infantry Divisions to serve with the 1st Infantry Division in I Corps. It was released to state control in 1954. Inactivated on 1 May 1963, its Headquarters were reorganized as the 43rd Brigade of the 26th Infantry Division, which in turn was inactivated in 1993. It then became HHC, 43rd Infantry Brigade and subsequently was organized as the Headquarters Compan, 143rd Regional Support Group.
The 43rd Infantry Division Shoulder Sleeve Insignia has a black grape leaf on a red quatrefoil. Four lobes of the quatrefoil represent the four states that contributed to the first incarnation of the Division; red indicates the four states were at one time English colonies; and the grape leaf means that the New England area was the Vinland of the Norsemen.