77th Division (United States)

77th Division (United States)
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Unit name	77th Division (United States)
Caption	Shoulder sleeve insignia
Dates	1917–1919; 1921–1945; 1946–present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Type	Infantry; Training
Role	Infantry, replacement, training
Size	Division
Nickname	Metropolitan Division; Statue of Liberty Division
Notable commanders	Joseph F. Rockwell; Edward S. Hinkley
Identification symbol label	Shoulder sleeve insignia

77th Division (United States) was an infantry formation of the United States Army activated for World War I, reconstituted in the Interwar period as a United States Army Reserve unit, and later transformed into a training and replacement formation during World War II and the Cold War. Raised largely from men in New York City, the division earned a reputation in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and later provided cadre and training for replacement soldiers across multiple conflicts. Its lineage persists through reserve and training organizations associated with the United States Army Reserve Command and First Army.

Formation and Organization

The division was constituted in the National Army in 1917 and organized at Camp Upton with personnel drawn primarily from Brooklyn, Manhattan, The Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island; its composition included the 153rd, 154th, and 155th Infantry Brigades, the 152nd Field Artillery Brigade, and supporting units such as the 302nd Engineer Regiment and 302nd Machine Gun Battalion. Its shoulder sleeve insignia, the Statue of Liberty silhouette, reflected ties to Statue of Liberty and the city's immigrant communities, and the division was nicknamed the "Metropolitan Division" and "Statue of Liberty Division". Commanders included officers with prior service in the Philippine–American War and Mexican Expedition, and training drew on doctrine from General John J. Pershing and staff procedures used at Camp Sherman and Camp Dix.

World War I Service

After embarkation from New York Harbor, the division arrived in France under the command of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), integrating into operations alongside the French Army, British Expeditionary Force, and elements of the Belgian Army. The division fought in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, conducted operations near Ypres-sector lines, and participated in the drive that pressed German forces toward the Hindenburg Line; its operations involved combined-arms coordination with units from the United States Army Air Service, AEF Siberia detachments for logistics, and liaison with French Fourth Army elements. The 77th sustained casualties in trench warfare, gas incidents, and assault operations while its regiments received commendations from AEF commanders including leaders associated with the Battle of Saint-Mihiel and the later Armistice of 11 November 1918.

Interwar Period and Reorganization

Demobilized after the armistice and disbanded in 1919, the division was reconstituted in the Organized Reserves in 1921 with headquarters in New York City and assigned to the Fourth Corps Area. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s the division conducted summer training at locations such as Fort Niagara and engaged in Citizens' Military Training Camp programs linked to Plattsburgh Movement veterans and Reserve affairs. Its reorganizations tracked shifts in Army doctrine influenced by studies from the Chief of Staff of the United States Army and interwar mobilization plans that involved coordination with War Department planning and the National Defense Act of 1920 implementations.

World War II and Postwar Activities

Ordered into active service in 1942 during World War II, the division served as a source of replacements and was reorganized under the triangular division structure, shedding brigade headquarters and converting units into infantry regiments, reconnaissance, engineer, and signal elements aligned with contemporary doctrine from Army Ground Forces. Elements of the division trained at Camp Edwards, Fort Dix, and other posts, furnished replacements to campaigns such as Operation Overlord and the Italian Campaign, and postwar the division was inactivated and later allotted to the Army Reserve system. Its postwar activities included participation in Reserve training exercises, summer encampments, and integration into mobilization plans coordinated with United States European Command and United States Army Forces Command.

Cold War, Reserve, and Training Roles

During the Cold War the division's lineage continued in the United States Army Reserve where it transformed into training and replacement commands providing individual and unit training for mobilization under directives from Department of Defense authorities and coordination with Selected Reserve structures. The division's descendant units conducted internships with Reserve Officers' Training Corps programs, supported the Berlin Crisis mobilization planning, and contributed personnel expertise to Operation Desert Shield readiness via mobilization stations such as Fort Dix and Fort Meade. In later decades, affiliated units served under training support brigades aligned with First Army and provided mobilization readiness for operations including Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

Notable Engagements and Honors

The division's most notable combat credit derives from its service in World War I during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and related AEF operations, with individual and unit awards including decorations authorized by the War Department and acknowledgments from AEF commanders. Regimental citations recognized actions by infantry regiments and supporting artillery and engineer units during assaults on fortified positions, and veterans received campaign streamers for St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne sectors. Postwar honors include unit lineage distinctions maintained by the United States Army Center of Military History and commemorative observances in New York City veteran communities and organizations such as the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Legacy and Lineage

The division's legacy endures through descendant units in the United States Army Reserve Command, lineage records preserved by the Center of Military History, and monuments in Brooklyn and Liberty Island that commemorate service and sacrifice. Its nickname, ties to the Statue of Liberty, and recruitment from New York City immigrant communities contributed to cultural memory recorded in regimental histories, veteran memoirs, and historical works associated with the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and AEF studies. The lineage continues to inform modern training brigades and reserve mobilization doctrine under First Army and provides a focal point for historians at institutions like the National World War I Museum and Memorial and the New-York Historical Society.

Category:Infantry divisions of the United States Army