A Brief History of "the Indianhead Division" During World War 2
WORLD WAR II (1941 – 1945) Battle Legacy:
October 1943, transferred from Fort Sam Houston to Ireland
10 months training as part of Operation Overload, the Normandy invasion
June 7, 1944 (D Day +1) the division stormed Omaha Beach
After 39 day battle, Division liberated vital port city Brest on September 18, 1944
From positions around St. Vith, Belgium, sized Roer River Dam on December 11, 1944
Division held key roads leading to Liege and Antwerp during Battle of the Bulge
February 6, 1945 resumed offensive against fleeing Wehrmacht
Transferred from First Army to Patton’s Third Army
Last days of war spent moving across Czechoslovakia, halting at Pilsen
Met Soviet allies in Pilsen
The division participated in the Normandy, Northern France, the Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and the Central Europe Campaigns of World War Two. The Division suffered 3,031 killed in action and 12,785 wounded in action during the war.
The Second Infantry Division arrived back home at Ft. Swift, Texas on July 22, 1945.