80th Infantry Division (United States)
| 80th Infantry Division | |
|---|---|
80th Infantry Division shoulder sleeve insignia
|
|
| Active | 1917–19 1921–present |
| Country |
 United States
|
| Branch |
 United States Army
|
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Garrison/HQ | Richmond, Virginia |
| Nickname(s) | "Blue Ridge" |
| Motto(s) | Only Moves Forward |
| Engagements | |
| Website | www |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
A.C. Roper |
| Notable commanders |
Lloyd Brett, Horace McBride |
| Insignia | |
| Distinctive unit insignia |  |
The 80th Training Command (The Army School System - TASS) is a formation of the United States Army Reserve. During World War I and World War II, the unit was designated the 80th Infantry Division. Nicknamed the "Blue Ridge Division", it was initially composed of draftees from the mid-atlantic states of Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
From 1946 to 1952, the 80th Division was redesignated the 80th Airborne Division. In May 1952, it was designated reserve infantry division and a reserve training division in March 1959. In 1994, the division was granted the designation, 80th Division (Institutional Training). On 1 October 2008 the Division underwent a major transformation and is now the 80th Training Command.
Because of significant common heritage in the past (Indian War, Revolutionary War and Civil War), residents of Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia became the structure of the 80th Division. The 80th Division was organized in August 1917 at Camp Lee, Virginia. The units were made up mostly of men from the above three states.
The 317th Infantry included men from the Piedmont and Western Virginia areas; the 318th Infantry was made up mostly of men from the Shenandoah Valley and Tidewater areas; the 313th Machine Gun Battalion were mostly men from the Erie area. These units comprised the 159th Brigade.
The 318th Infantry were nicknamed * squirrels*, while training with the British in the Artois/Picardy section of France: 1st Battalion were RED squirrels; 2nd Battalion were GRAY squirrels; 3rd Battalion were called FLYING squirrels. The insignia of the 318th was a square; the machine gun unit colored their square red and blue. The 319th Infantry included men from Allegheny County and from that area north to Erie, and some from Eastern Ohio. The 320th Infantry were mostly men from Pittsburgh; the 315th Machine Gun Battalion were men from Pittsburgh and Erie. These units combined to create the 160th Brigade.
The 313th, 314th and 315th Field Artillery units were composed of men almost exclusively from the State of West Virginia, and were the 155th Field Artillery Brigade.
Serving with the division were the 314th Machine Gun Battalion, men from the Tidewater area, as well as the 305th Engineers, men from an area east and north of Pittsburgh; the 305th Trains (Ammunition, Motor Supply and Sanitary) were men from Western PA, West Virginia and VA. The engineers were more often than not sent out ahead. During the rest period from 14 October through the Armistice, they finally were outfitted with U.S. Springfield and Browning automatic rifles. They had two weeks to train before the third and final push began in the Meuse Argonne. It was also during this period that an attack formation was reorganized to allow for more maneuverability.
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Wikipedia