Activated in March, 1921 as Headquarters, Hawaiian Division, it wasn’t until October, 1941 that it received its designation as Headquarters, 24th Infantry Division. Based on the island of Oahu, the 24th Infantry suffered casualties during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, after which it was tasked with constructing defenses on the northern part of the island.
In September, 1943, it deployed to Australia for amphibious assault training, and put what it had learned into action with landings on New Guinea about 30 miles from Hollandia (now called Jayapura). Within two months the division had made its way across the entire island of New Guinea, after which it was assigned to X Corps for the October, 1944 amphibious landings at Leyte. The successful completion of that campaign was followed by the January, 1945 invasion of Luzon; though the campaign’s official end was declared as June 30, the division continued to encounter Japanese resistance throughout the next two months. It carried out occupation duty in Japan from 1945 until 1950. For its actions in World War II, the unit received official credit for participation in five campaigns and was awarded a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.
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24th Infantry Division Unit Patch (SSI)
24th Infantry Division Unit Crest (DUI)
As the closest ground force, the 24th Infantry Division was the first to arrive in South Korea in response to the 1950 North Korean invasion. It took part in establishing the Pusan Perimeter and the consequent breakout and offensive that followed the Inchon landings, and was also on the receiving end of the massive Chines intervention in late November. After the subsequent retreat, restoration of stable battle lines, and many months of what can only be termed stalemate, the division was withdrawn and sent back to Japan; it returned just two weeks before an armistice put an end to the fighting. The division was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation and two Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citations for its heroic efforts between 1950 and 1953.
Nicknamed the “Victory Division” (“Victory” is also the unit’s motto), the 24th Infantry was deployed to Saudi Arabia in 1990 as part of Operation Desert Shield and the follow-up Operation Desert Storm, where it anchored the east flank of coalition forces and defeated or pushed aside any enemy forces, including units from the Iraqi Republican Guard. After a period of inactivation, its headquarters unit was reactivated in 1999 to conduct training of National Guard units. It was inactivated for the final time in 2006.
The Combat Service ID Badge (CSIB) for the 24th Infantry Division pays tribute to its origins in Hawaii with a taro leaf centered in a circular design (called kalo in Hawaiian, taro was named the state plant of Hawaii in 2007). Almost the same design is used for the division’s Unit Crest, also called a Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI).