• Inducted into federal service: 15 October 1940 • Overseas: 26 May 1942 • Campaigns:
Northern Solomons,
Battle of Luzon • Distinguished Unit Citations: 9 • Awards: •
Medals of Honor: 7 •
Distinguished Service Crosses: 116 •
Distinguished Service Medals: 4 •
Silver Stars: 1,008 •
Legions of Merit: 71 •
Soldier's Medals: 101 •
Bronze Stars: 6,807 •
Air Medals: 84 • Commanders: Maj. Gen.
Robert S. Beightler commanded the Division during its entire period of Federal service in World War II. • Returned to U.S.: November 1945 • Inactivated: 18 December 1945 at
Camp Anza, California. 15 January 1944.
Order of battle The 37th Division was originally commanded by Major General Gilson D. Light. However, Light failed to pass the new pre-mobilization medical examinations enacted on the guardsmen. To fill the vacancy, Ohio Governor
John W. Bricker selected Robert S. Beightler, who he had known from his time as the chief engineer in Ohio's highway department. The 112th Engineer Combat Battalion had been sent to Ireland in May 1942 as part of an advance party in anticipation of the 37th Infantry Division's deployment to Europe, but the division's orders were shortly changed to deployment to the Pacific Theater. The
29th Infantry Division's 121st Engineer Combat Battalion, less five officers and 120 men that remained with the division to form the nucleus of a new battalion, was assigned to the 37th Infantry Division as the new 117th Engineer Combat Battalion. • Headquarters, 37th Infantry Division •
129th Infantry Regiment •
145th Infantry Regiment •
148th Infantry Regiment • Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 37th Infantry Division Artillery • 6th Field Artillery Battalion • 135th Field Artillery Battalion • 136th Field Artillery Battalion • 140th Field Artillery Battalion • 117th Engineer Combat Battalion • 112th Medical Battalion • 37th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized) • Headquarters, Special Troops, 37th Infantry Division • Headquarters Company, 37th Infantry Division • 737th Ordnance Light Maintenance Company • 37th Quartermaster Company • 37th Signal Company • Military Police Platoon • Band • 37th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment
Combat chronicle The 37th Infantry Division arrived in
Fiji in June 1942 to fortify the islands against possible invasion. The division continued its training on the islands. With the end of ground fighting on
Guadalcanal, the division moved to that island in April 1943, continued training, and staged for the Munda campaign. Two battalions joined the
Marine Raiders on
New Georgia, 5 July 1943, while the remainder of the division landed, 22 July, and assisted the
43d Infantry Division in taking Munda airfield in heavy fighting. After mopping up on New Georgia, the division returned to Guadalcanal, 9 September 1943, for rest and rehabilitation. The division's next assignment was
Bougainville as part of the
I Marine Amphibious Corps. Landing between 8 and 19 November 1943, the 37th Division expanded the western beachhead sector, constructed roads and bridges, and engaged in extensive patrol activity. On 15 December 1943, IMAC was relieved by the
XIV Corps, to which the 37th Division was then assigned. In March 1944, two Japanese divisions made eight major attacks, but division lines held. In April patrols cleared the Laruma Valley area of major enemy units. The division remained on Bougainville and trained for the
Luzon campaign. Landing with the
Sixth Army on the beaches of
Lingayen Gulf, 9 January 1945, the 37th raced inland against slight resistance to
Clark Field and
Fort Stotsenburg where fierce resistance delayed capture of those objectives until 31 January. The division continued to drive to
Manila against small delaying forces, and entered the city's outskirts, 4 February. Upon crossing the
Pasig River, it ran into bitter Japanese opposition. By heavy street fighting, American and Filipino troops cleared the city by 3 March 1945. The Luzon campaign would prove the most costly for the division during the war, which earned them the nickname "Heavyweight". After garrison duty in Manila, 5–26 March, the division shifted to the hills of Northwest Luzon, where heavy fighting culminated in the capture of
Baguio, 26 April with aided Filipino troops under the 66th Infantry Regiment, Philippine Commonwealth Army, USAFIP-NL. Rest and rehabilitation during May were followed by action in June in the
Cagayan Valley against deteriorating Japanese resistance. With the end of hostilities, 15 August, the division was concerned with the collection and processing of prisoners of war, leaving November 1945 for the States and demobilization. Major General Robert Beightler was one of only eleven generals who commanded their divisions for the entire war, and was the only National Guard general to do so.
Casualties •
Total battle casualties: 5,960 •
Killed in action: 1,094 •
Wounded in action: 4,861 •
Missing in action: 4 •
Prisoner of war: 1 •
Days of combat: 592 ==After 1945==