29th Infantry Division | |
---|---|
Active | 1917–68 1985–present |
Country | United States of America |
Branch | United States Army |
Type | Infantry |
Size | Division |
Part of | Army National Guards of Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and Florida |
Garrison/HQ | Fort Belvoir, Virginia, U.S. |
Nickname(s) | "Blue and Gray" (special designation) |
Motto(s) | "Twenty-nine, let's go!" |
Engagements |
Peacekeeping in Bosnia and Kosovo |
Commanders | |
Current commander |
Maj. Gen. Blake C. Ortner |
Notable commanders |
Milton Reckord Leonard T. Gerow Charles H. Gerhardt H Steven Blum |
Insignia | |
Distinctive unit insignia | |
Flag |
Peacekeeping in Bosnia and Kosovo
Iraq War
The 29th Infantry Division (29th I.D.), also known as the "Blue and Gray", is an infantry division of the United States Army based in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. It is a formation of the United States Army National Guard and contains units from Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina.
Formed in 1917, the division deployed to France as a part of the American Expeditionary Force during World War I. Called up for service again in World War II, the division's 116th Regiment, attached to the First Infantry Division, was in the first wave of troops ashore during Operation Overlord, the landings in Normandy, France. It supported a special Ranger unit tasked with clearing strong points at Omaha Beach. The rest of the 29th ID came ashore later then advanced to Saint-Lô, and eventually through France and into Germany itself. These actions have since been the subject of many motion pictures and video games.
Following the end of World War II, the division saw frequent reorganizations and deactivations. Although the 29th did not see combat through most of the next 50 years, it participated in numerous training exercises throughout the world. It eventually saw deployments to Bosnia (SFOR10) and Kosovo (KFOR) as command elements, and units of the division continue to deploy to locations such as Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and to the War in Afghanistan as a part of the Global War on Terrorism's Operation Enduring Freedom, and also to the Iraq War, as a part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn.