 the mechanized infantry. That's us. We're known as the 24th Infantry Division of the United States Army. During the last 30 years, our men and machines have served in many places in many lands. At first, we used to travel by ship. Later, we moved by jet airlift, and we got on the job fast. As part of the United States military force serving on the NATO team in Europe, we stayed alert and stood ever ready to carry the ball if trouble should start. In years gone by, we handled our share of troubles with a variety of shooting enemies, and according to the record, when we set our minds to do something, it was done. Wherever we've gone and whatever job we've been given to do, we've brought honor to our country and to our official unit insignia, the Green Tarot Leaf of the United States Army. 24th Infantry Division. Hawaii was our original home, and that's how we came to have a tarot leaf insignia. To the Hawaiians, the tarot leaf is the symbol of life. On the 1st of October, 1941, our birthday, the 24th Infantry Division was activated at Scholefield Barracks. Our ranks were made up of units from the historic old Hawaiian division and some other support elements. Being a soldier in Hawaii in those days was beautiful, like some kind of a pleasant dream. It lasted exactly 68 days. President Roosevelt called it the Day of Infamy. When it was over, we had brought down five enemy planes with small arms fire, with intensive training, first in Hawaii, then in Australia, which went on for nearly two years after Pearl Harbor. All this time, the men of the 24th were itching to get on with it, to hit back at the enemy. In early April, 1944, we got our wish, on fight to regain the Philippines began. We landed at Talamira Bay in New Guinea and began the assault to liberate the airfield at Holandia. General MacArthur had a personal interest in this campaign, and he was right there with us. He commended our boss, Major General Frederick Irving, for a brilliant plan of attack. Troops of the rising sun fought fanatically to hold the airfield at Holandia. It was the key to air support for much of the Philippines, but we couldn't be denied. For hundreds of the enemy defenders, the sun had set. On April 27th, 1944, Holandia air drone became an American airfield. We spent the summer hunting down the enemy in New Guinea and preparing for the invasion of the Philippines. One of the largest ship convoys ever to assemble sailed from Holandia Bay on the 13th of October. We were aboard some of the 470 ships. October 20th, we landed at Lady Harbor. The place was literally crawling with enemy troops, and they were ready for us. They were dug in behind every rock and tree and bush. It was rough. Routing them out and pushing them back took guts. Our casualties soared. We found out one thing, though. They weren't invincible. The worst of it came in a place called Breakneck Ridge. We had a bad time of it there. The enemy forces had built their defenses deep into the hillsides, sometimes using hidden caves for their artillery. The place was alive with machine gun nests. We set some kind of record for continuous combat when the battle went on for 78 straight days. Well, we won that battle and a lot of others in the Philippines before it was over. But it wasn't easy. The Japanese were well organized, tough and tenacious. We were fighting on the island of Mindanao when VJ Day came. The Filipinos hailed us as the Victory Division. Two months after VJ Day in the fall of 1945, we were serving as occupation troops in Japan, where our first job was to disarm the Japanese military forces. Then for the next five years, we worked to build a climate of cooperation and friendly relations with our former enemy. Just when everything was coming up roses, the communists attacked in Korea. July 1950 found us moving north from Busan to meet thousands of North Korean troops backed by Russian-built T-34 tanks. Our commander in those days was Major General William Dean. He later became a legend when separated from our forces during battle, he dodged the enemy for 36 days, living off the land, until he was betrayed and finally captured. We slugged it out with the aggressors all up and down the Korean Peninsula for the next year. We were in the thick of it when the red Chinese army tried to crush the United Nations forces and failed. In 1957, after nearly six years of service in Korea, they decorated us and announced that the 24th Infantry Division would join the honored list of inactive U.S. Army divisions. The inactive period didn't last long. Early in 1958, we were reactivated and the new 24th Infantry Division was sent to West Germany to replace the 11th Airborne Division in Bavaria. In July, we participated in a demonstration exercise. We had become part of the U.S. Army Europe team serving with our NATO allies. In Bavaria was the colorful old world city of Augsburg, though some of our units were housed in nearby Munich. Augsburg is one of the oldest cities in Europe, having been built by the Romans nearly 2,000 years ago. So the 24th had come to Germany. Our mission was to safeguard the frontiers of the South Bavaria district, an area of more than 21,000 square miles. We called our Kassara area Reese Barracks and we were soon given the nickname the Shield of Bavaria. In 1963, five years after our arrival in Germany, we became the first U.S. division to be reorganized under the Army's new concept of increased mobility and firepower. The changeover was accomplished in 27 days and the new United States Army 24th Infantry Division mechanized, became one of the most powerful fighting forces in NATO. Under terms of an agreement with our NATO allies in 1967, two brigades of the 24th were returned to the states to Fort Riley, Kansas. They moved out with their dependents by specially chartered aircraft. The two units remained committed to NATO, however, and stood ready to return upon call. Under this plan, we were in outfit with two homes, one in West Germany and one in the U.S. To make sure the plan would work, the heavy armored vehicles of the rotated units were dispersed to selected storage areas. At these pre-positioned vehicle parks, our European maintenance personnel kept the stored machines in a constant state of readiness, awaiting the day when our stateside units would return and use them. In the event of an emergency situation, to test this new on-call system, the U.S. Army Command Europe staged a huge deployment exercise called Reforger 1 in January and February 1969. Major General Linton S. Boakwright, then our division commander, and other top military leaders were the first to arrive for the giant exercise. In this massive deployment, more than 12,000 troops would be returning to Germany from the United States. On the 6th of January, the tarot men began coming in. From the beginning, everything was done in a planned, orderly fashion. Everything went like clockwork. Despite the snow on the airfield and hazardous weather conditions, the huge airlift continued day and night. As the first contingents moved out toward their assigned vehicular storage areas, fresh troops kept arriving in Germany by airlift. The entire delivery schedule of 12,000 men was completed in a week, and the 24th Infantry Division was once again at full strength in West Germany. The pre-positioned vehicle storage park swarmed with crews of men moving their armored machines. The armored personnel carriers, tanks, and other equipment were loaded aboard special trains, all headed for the U.S. 7th Army Training Center at Grafenwald. The best way to test men and machines, the commanders decided, was to take them out on a huge field training exercise called Carbide Ice. So the maneuver troops and their equipment moved off to the training areas. Once at Grafenwald, the troops took up positions on the range and began test firing their weapons. Taking a personal interest in the mass exercise, General William C. Westmoreland, U.S. Army Chief of Staff, arrived on an inspection trip. And he wasn't the only noted visitor we had. General James H. Pope, Commander-in-Chief U.S. Army Europe, came out to Vilsack Airfield with West German Defense Minister Gerhard Schroeder. Together, they inspected the various types of helicopters which would be used in the field training exercise. In an atmosphere of suspense and excitement, the massive air assault demonstration phase of exercise Carbide Ice was staged on the 1st of February. General Lyman L. Limnitzer, then Supreme Allied Commander Europe, headed the delegation of top-ranking NATO officials and a host of high-level American military leaders. As the training exercise got underway, armored units of the 24th Infantry Division rolled out, heading for predetermined blocking positions. These mechanized units were to prevent the imaginary enemy from escaping the trap when the airborne assault forces would strike. The attack upon the maneuver enemy forces began with phantom jets of the U.S. Air Force striking the target area. Jets zoom away. Phase two of the assault finds the division artillery beginning to pound the target area. Military crews complete their fire mission as the troops who will make the airborne assault are already flying toward the objective landing zones. In the assault target area, phase three of the operation is underway. Helicopter gunships come over the target to reconnoiter and to suppress enemy movement in the area. Level smoke screen is laid down to prevent the maneuver enemy from zeroing in on the assault helicopters as they bring in the troops. The troop helicopters of the assault force are moving into the objective landing zones. The West German Air Aviation Group, also participating in the exercise, delivers nearly 400 American troops. With the airborne assault troops now in control of the landing zones, the logistic support elements swing into action. 105 millimeter howitzers are slain carried into the tactical zone by Chinook cargo helicopters. These artillery units move in with full crews and ammunition ready to fight. Giant CH-54 sky cranes hustle the heavier artillery into position as the temple of the attack quickens. By now, armored elements are rolling toward the scene of the simulated battle. The purpose of the exercise is achieved. It has demonstrated how a large number of troops and their equipment can be delivered to a combat landing zone while keeping the enemy under constant fire. The entire operation required only 45 minutes. The tarot men of the 24th Infantry Division had left no doubt as to their state of preparedness or that of their supporting elements. Those who came to see saw and the experience was something they would never forget. In April 1970, the Victory Division began its final historic adventure. Forbes Air Force Base outside of Topeka, Kansas was where it started. Our band and honor guard went to welcome troop elements of another US Army fighting team, the men of the Big Red One, the First Infantry Division. In the process of streamlining our nation's great army, the 24th was ordered inactivated and our men and equipment to become part of a newly organized First Infantry Division mechanized. Our banners and battle screamers were to be retired to America's proud military past. Flying in from Vietnam, the gleaming jets suddenly appeared in the blue skies of Kansas. Our comrades in arms had arrived, the honor guard contingent of the First Infantry Division. We watched them approach with measured tread. Veterans of a thousand battles since the days of Captain Alexander Hamilton in 1775. Their history was as old as our country. Last, these flags were flown. It was in the face of the enemy in Southeast Asia. Now they rippled in the prairie winds of their native land. The men who bore them appeared as the very spirit of our nation. Brigadier General John Hanyan had brought his fighting first home to meet their new boss, Major General Robert Lindville. We already knew General Lindville, or he was not only the commander of the Tarot Men, but was also the post commander at Fort Riley, our home base. Soon the greetings were over and the Vietnam veterans were moving out for the trip to the historic cavalry post at Fort Riley. They would be given a few days of rest before the official ceremonies, redesignating them as the First Infantry Division mechanized. As the honor guard representative group arrived at Fort Riley, those who had long awaited their return pressed forward eagerly for this moment of joy. Fort Riley, Kansas. You can feel the spirit of our nation here. Over 100 years have passed since the blue clad men of the 7th Cavalry rode forth to battle the massive Indian War parties of the plains. In this house lived one of those legendary figures, General George Armstrong Custer, who met a tragic death at the hands of the Sioux Indians. Here too, the historic old parade grounds where men and mounts passed in review as the sound of horses mingled with a plaintive note of bugles blown in the sun. In the heartland of America, the home of the Tarot Division and now the new home of the Army's oldest fighting unit, the First Infantry Division, the Big Red One. For us, the Tarot Men of the 24th, the time for change was at hand. Our proud green tarot leaf was being replaced by the shining olive shield with the red numeral one in the center, April 15th, 1970. The final day of service to the nation by the 24th Infantry Division. In one moment, these thousands of men and machines were the Tarot Men, the Victory Division. In the next, they would be part of the new First Infantry Division mechanized. From every point on the compass, friends, families, and a host of military guests had come to witness the final ceremonies for a great combat division and the impressive rebirth of the Big Red One. From the reviewing stand, our commanders came to the center of the field as the throngs of onlookers watched the massing of the colors of both divisions. Somehow, it was hard to realize that this was the end of the 24th, that the Tarot Men would be no more, that the adventure which had begun in Hawaii nearly 30 years before was coming to a close. Goodbye, Pearl Harbor, Australia, New Guinea, the Philippines, Japan, Korea, Germany, and to all those who so bravely fought and lived behind the sign of the green tarot leaf. Memories of the United States Army 24th Infantry Division will dwell in the hearts of free men forevermore. Moments later, our commander, Major General Robert Linville, accepted the flag of the newly reorganized First Infantry Division mechanized. In that instant, we all turned our faces to the future as members of the Big Red One. It was a momentous occasion for all of us in uniform and our families alike. We were honored by the presence of many dignitaries, including the Secretary of Defense, Melvin R. Laird, who made us proud to be part of the Big Red One. First Infantry Division in Vietnam in March of 1969. This was my first visit to your division in Vietnam. And it followed visits which I had made here at Fort Riley to your division in 1962 and in 1963. In my visit with you in Vietnam, I had the opportunity of seeing your great professionalism and your dedication. The matchless courage, the devotion to duty of the thousands of men who were serving in Vietnam with this First Infantry Division made it possible for us to help thwart aggression and to turn over to the people of South Vietnam the ever-increasing responsibility of achieving for themselves the right of self-determination. And so today, after returning from far across the Pacific, you assume new responsibilities as part of our forces committing and committed to the fulfillment of our obligations under the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. With this commitment with our NATO allies, you will help provide adequate strength to deter aggression and to preserve the peace which NATO has made possible in Western Europe. But for the moment, let us not look either to the past, achievements, or to future challenges. Let us say in the plain talk of the great plain state, welcome home. It's good to have you back. And with this, and with the greetings of the President of the United States, our Commander-in-Chief, I bid you welcome to Port Riley. Welcome to the United States, and congratulations on a job well done. As members of the Big Red One, our duties would remain the same. Part of our outfit would continue its service in Germany, and the rest of us will stand ready to deploy if the call should come. The changeover was complete. For the first time, the newly reorganized First Infantry Division mechanized, displayed its might, and we were part of it. Serve under the sign of the tarot leaf or the Big Red One, our job is the same. We are the men of the United States Army mechanized infantry.