Philippine Division

Philippine Division 12th Infantry Division
Shoulder sleeve insignia
Active	1921 – 47
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Type	Square Division
Headquarters	Fort William McKinley
Engagements	World War II Philippine Islands
Commanders
Notable commanders	MG Jonathan M. Wainwright MG William Weigel
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia	None authorized

World War II

Philippine Division, or from 1944–45 the 12th Infantry Division, was the core U.S. infantry division of the United States Army's Philippine Department during World War II. On 31 July 1941, the division consisted of 10,473 troops, mostly enlisted Filipinos, known as the Philippine Scouts who formed the 45th and 57th US Infantry Regiments. All of the division's enlisted men, with the exception of the 31st Infantry Regiment, and various military police and headquarters troops, were Philippine Scouts.

In October 1941, as part of the U.S. Army Forces Far East, plans were made to "triangularize" the division. The 34th Infantry was detached from the 8th Infantry Division and moved to a port of embarkation in December 1941, along with two battalions of 105mm field artillery. The Philippine Division was to have two complete U.S. regimental combat teams in place by January 1942 to provide General Douglas MacArthur with a modern, trained mobile reaction force, while freeing up Philippine Scouts for rounding out other units. The outbreak of war in December 1941, however, isolated the Philippines and prevented implementation of the plan. It was briefly reconstituted as the 12th Infantry Division in 1944–45.

The regimental colors of the 12th Quartermaster Regiment (PS) were given to an Army nurse (one of the "Angels of Bataan and Corregidor") by the regimental commander. Upon her capture she told the Japanese that they were "only a shawl" and kept them safe throughout more than three years of captivity. Today, the colors are on display at the U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum, Fort Lee, Virginia.