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"Hourglass Division"
 (Updated
1-28-10)
The 7th Infantry Division, the "Bayonet," was a light
division formerly stationed at Fort Ord, California. Known at the end of the
Cold War as "light fighters," this division has a storied history from WWII and
Korea to Operation Just Cause, the invasion of Panama.
The shoulder sleeve insignia was first adopted in
October of 1918. It originated from the use of two sevens, one inverted and one
upright, to create an hourglass symbol. As a result, the 7th Division was also
known as the "hourglass division." A bayonet was added to the distinctive unit
insignia as a result of the Division's participation in the Korean War and
symbolizes the fighting spirit of the 7th Infantry.
The 7th Infantry Division was originally formed for
service during World War I. It was activated into the regular army on December
6, 1917 at Camp Wheeler, Georgia and after training arrived in France in
October of 1918, approximately a month before the armistice was signed.
Although the 7th Infantry Division as a whole did not see action, many of its
subordinate units did. After 33 days in combat, the division suffered 1,988
casualties that included 204 killed in action. The 7th Infantry Division
returned to the United States in late 1919 and was gradually demobilized at
Camp Meade, Maryland. The Division was deactivated on September 22, 1921.
In the buildup for World War II, a cadre was sent to
Camp Ord, California to reactivate the 7th Infantry Division on July 1, 1940.
The Division was formed around the 17th, 32nd, and 53rd Infantry Regiments and
was commanded by Major General Joseph Stilwell. Many of the new soldiers in the
Division were draftees, called up in the US Army's first peacetime draft in
history.
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the 7th
Infantry Division was sent to Camp San Luis Obispo to continue training. The
159th Infantry, recently mobilized from the California National Guard, replaced
the 53rd Infantry Regiment. From April of 1940 until January 1, 1943, the
Division was designated the 7th Motorized Division and the unit trained in
California's Mojave Desert. It was thought that the Division would head to
North Africa. However, the motor vehicles went away, and the unit was
redesignated the 7th Infantry Division once again. Amphibious training began
under the tutelage of the Feet Marine Force and General Holland Smith. The 7th
Division was now destined for the Pacific Theater.
The Hourglass Division first saw combat in WWII in the
Aleutian Islands. On May 11, 1943, lead by the 17th Infantry Regiment, elements
of the Division landed on Attu Island where Japanese forces were established.
The 7th Infantry Division destroyed all Japanese resistance on the island by
May 29th after defending against a suicidal "Bonzai" charge. Approximately
2,351 Japanese were killed, leaving only 28 to be taken prisoner. The 7th
Infantry Division lost 600 soldiers killed in action. The 159th Infantry
Regiment remained on Attu to secure the island and was replaced by the 184th
Infantry Regiment. In August of 1943 the 7th Infantry landed on Kiska Island
only to find that the Japanese forces there had secretly withdrawn. The
Hourglass Division was then redeployed to the Hawaiian Islands for more
training.
The 7th ID was now assigned to the Marine's V
Amphibious Corps along with the 4th Marine Division. Their next stop was
Kwajalein Atoll, landing on January 30, 1944. The purpose of Operation
Flintlock was to remove all Japanese forces from this group of 47 islands in
the Pacific. The 7th Infantry Division landed on the main island of Kwajalein
while the Marines moved on to outlying islands. By February 4th the island was
under the control of the Hourglass soldiers. The 7th Infantry Division suffered
176 killed in action and 767 wounded.
Elements of the 7th Infantry Division also
participated in Operation Catchpole to capture Engebi in the Eniwetok Atoll on
February 18, 1944. The islands of that atoll were secured in only a week.
Afterwards, all elements of the Division were back in Hawaii for refit and
training in preparation for the assault on the Philippine Islands. While there,
the Hourglass Division was reviewed by General Douglas MacArthur and President
Franklin Roosevelt in June of 1944.
The 7th Infantry Division was now assigned to XXIV
Corps of the Sixth Army. On October 20, 1944 the Hourglass Division made an
assault landing at Dulag, on Leyte in the Philippine Islands. Initially there
was only light resistance. However, on October 26th the enemy launched a large,
but uncoordinated counter attack against the Sixth Army. High casualties were
suffered in fierce jungle fighting, but the 17th Infantry Regiment took Dagami
on October 29th. The 7th Infantry Division then moved to the west coast of the
island on November 25th, attacking north to Ormoc and securing Valencia on
December 25, 1944. Operations to secure Leyte continued until February of 1945.
The 7th Infantry Division was then removed from the Sixth Army, which went on
to attack Luzon and continue the Philippine Campaign. The Hourglass Division
would begin training for their next stop through the Pacific, the Japanese
island of Okinawa.
For the landing on Okinawa, the 7th Infantry Division
was again assigned to the XXIV Corps, now of the Tenth Army. On April 1, 1945,
the 7th Infantry Division landed south on Okinawa along with the 96th Infantry
Division, and the 1st, and 6th Marine Divisions. The Okinawa Campaign would
eventually have 250,000 troops on the island. The Japanese had removed their
armor and artillery off the beach and set up defenses in the hills of Shuri.
The XXIV Corps destroyed these forces after 51 days of battle over harsh
terrain and in inconsiderate weather. After 39 more days of combat, the 7th
Infantry Division was moved into reserve after having suffered heavy
casualties. The Hourglass Division was soon moved back into the line and fought
until the end of the Battle of Okinawa on June 21, 1945. The 7th ID had
experienced 89 days of combat on Okinawa and lost 1,116 killed in action and
approximately 6,000 wounded. However, it is estimated that the 7th Infantry
Division killed at least 25,000 Japanese soldiers and took 4,584 prisoners.
During WWII, the Hourglass soldiers spent 208 days in
combat and suffered 8,135 casualties. The 7th Infantry Division won three
Medals of Honor, 26 Distinguished Service Crosses, 1 Distinguished Service
Medal, 982 Silver Star Medals, and 3,853 Bronze Star Medals. The Division
received nine Distinguished Unit Citations and four campaign streamers.
After the Japanese surrender, the 7th Infantry
Division was moved to Korea to accept the surrender of Japanese forces there.
After the war, the Bayonets remained as occupation forces in Japan and as
security forces in South Korea. During this period, the US Army went through a
massive reduction in strength, falling from a wartime high of 89 divisions to
only 10 active duty divisions by 1950. The 7th Infantry Division was one of
only four drastically under strength and under trained divisions on occupation
duty in Japan when the North Koreans invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950.
At the beginning of the Korean War, the 7th Infantry
Division was further reduced in strength when the Division provided
reinforcements for the 25th Infantry Division and the 1st Cavalry Division who
were sent directly to South Korea. Over the next two months the Bayonet
Division was brought up to strength with replacements from the US, over 8,600
South Korean soldiers, and the attachment of a battalion of Ethiopians as part
of United Nations forces.
The 7th Infantry Division and the 1st Marine Division
made up the landing force for the famous Inchon Landing, code named Operation
Chromite. Supported by the 3rd Infantry Division in reserve the landing began
on September 7, 1950 under the command of the X Corps. The operation took the
North Koreans completely by surprise and the X Corps immediately moved on to
retake the South Korean capital of Seoul. Seoul was captured on September 26th,
and the 7th Infantry Division soon linked with American forces moving north
from the breakout of the Pusan Perimeter. The Inchon operation cost the
Division 106 killed, 411 wounded, and 57 missing. Casualties of South Korean
soldiers with the Division numbered 43 killed and 102 wounded. The X Corps was
removed through the ports at Inchon and Pusan to prepare for another amphibious
landing further north.
With the North Korean army broken and on the run, the
7th Infantry Division made an unopposed landing at Iwon on October 31, 1950
with orders to move north to the Yalu river with the rest of the X Corps.
Through cold, early winter weather, like that only known to a soldier who has
been to the Korean Peninsula, the 17th Infantry Regiment made it to Hyesanjin
on the Yalu on November 20th. This made the 17th, and as a result the 7th ID,
the first American unit to reach the Manchurian border with Communist
China.
Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) entered the war on
November 27, 1950, storming across the border to attack the Eighth Army in the
west and X Corps in the east. Twelve Chinese divisions now assaulted the spread
out regiments of the Bayonets and the rest of X Corps. United Nations forces
could not stand up to the onslaught and a retreat was ordered. The 7th ID
repulsed repeated attacks as they moved to the port of Hungnam during December
of 1950. Three battalions of the division, known as Task Force Faith were
trapped by the CCF during the withdrawal. These battalions were wiped out
during what became known as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. During the retreat
from the Yalu, the 7th Infantry Division lost 2,657 killed and 354 wounded.
The 7th Infantry Division was back on the front lines
during January of 1951 as part of the United Nations offensive to push back the
CCF and North Koreans. The Division was now part of the IX Corps and saw action
almost continuously until June when it was moved to the rear for rest and
refit. The first since coming to the Korean Peninsula. The Bayonets returned to
the line in October, now entering the "stalemate" phase of the war. The 7th ID
defended a "static line" with the rest of United Nations forces until the
armistice. It was only known as "static" because although the enemy was kept
above the 38th parallel, very few gains in territory were made. Still, the
Bayonets participated in multiple recognizable actions like the Battle for
Heartbreak Ridge, the Battle for Old Baldy, the assault on the Triangle Hill
complex as part of Operation Showdown, and the famous Battle at Pork Chop
Hill.
The Korean War Armistice was signed on July 27, 1953.
During the Korean War, the Bayonets were in combat for a total of 850 days.
They suffered 15,126 casualties, including 3,905 killed in action and 10,858
wounded. The 7th Infantry Division remained on the DMZ, it's headquarters at
Camp Casey, South Korea until 1971. On April 2, 1971 the Division was
deactivated at Fort Lewis, Washington.
The 7th Infantry Division was reactivated at Fort Ord,
California in October of 1974. The Bayonets did not deploy to Vietnam. They
were held as a contingency force for South America. On October 1, 1985 the
Division was redesignated as the 7th Infantry Division (Light) and organized as
a light infantry division. It was the first US division specifically designed
as such. During the Cold War the "Light Fighters" trained at Fort Ord, Camp
Roberts, Fort Hunter Liggett and Fort Irwin. The 7th ID now had battalions from
the 21st, 27th, and 9th Infantry Regiments.
In December of 1989, the 7th Infantry Division
participated in Operation Just Cause, the invasion of the Central American
nation of Panama. The 7th Light Infantry Division was joined by the 82nd
Airborne Division, the 75th Rangers, Marines and other US forces totaling some
27,684 personnel and over 300 aircraft. On December 20th, elements of the 7th
ID landed in the northern areas of Colon Province, securing the Coco Solo naval
Station, Fort Espinar, France Field, and Colon. The symbolic end of the
operation was the surrender of Panamanian Dictator Manuel Noriega on January 3,
1990. Most US units began to return to their American bases on January 12th,
however several units, including the 5th Battalion, 21st Infantry (Light) of
the 7th Light Infantry Division stayed in Panama until later in the spring to
train the new Panamanian Police Forces.
One final mission for the 7th Infantry Division was
helping to restore order to the Los Angeles basin during the riots in 1992.
Their deployment was called Operation Garden Plot, whose objective was to
patrol the streets of Los Angeles and act as crowd control, supporting the Los
Angeles Police Department and the California National Guard. In 1991 the Base
Realignment and Closure Commission recommended the closing of Fort Ord due to
the high cost of living in the coastal California area. By 1994 the 7th ID had
moved to Fort Lewis, Washington. As part of the post-Cold War reduction of
forces, the 7th Infantry Division (Light) was deactivated on June 16, 1994 at
Fort Lewis.
Since the end of the Cold War, the US Army has
considered new options for integrating the components of the Active Army,
National Guard, and Army Reserve. To facilitate the training and readiness of
National Guard units, two active duty division headquarters were activated. The
7th ID was one of these, reactivated on June 4, 1999 at Fort Carson, Colorado.
While the active division headquarters concept worked admirably, a new
component called Division West under First Army was activated to control the
training of reserve units in 21 states. This made the need for the active
component headquarters obsolete and the 7th Infantry Division headquarters was
deactivated for the final time on August 22, 2006.
The 7th Infantry Division was identified as the
highest priority inactive division in the US Army Center of Military History's
lineage scheme due to its numerous accolades and long history. All of the
Bayonets' flags and heraldic items are located in the National Infantry Museum
at Fort Benning, Georgia.
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