Constituted on 18 July 1917 following the
American entry into World War I, the 40th Infantry Division was organized at
Camp Kearny, near San Diego, California, on 16 September, originally designated as the
19th Division. It was composed of National Guard units from the states of
Arizona, California,
Colorado,
Nevada,
New Mexico, and
Utah.
World War I It was sent overseas on 3 August 1918 and redesignated as the
6th Depot Division; received, equipped, trained, and forwarded replacements.
Major General Frederick S. Strong was assigned as commander on 25 August 1917, but was replaced less than a month later by
Brigadier General G. H. Cameron on 18 September 1917. The division then saw a rapid turnover of leaders –
Brigadier General L. S. Lyon (19 November 1917),
Brigadier General G. H. Cameron (23 November 1917), Brigadier General
L. S. Lyon (6 December 1917) and then Major General F. S. Strong again on 8 December 1917.
Order of battle • Headquarters, 40th Division •
79th Infantry Brigade •
157th Infantry Regiment (former 1st Colorado Infantry, and 1st Colorado Cavalry less band and Troop E) •
158th Infantry Regiment (former 1st Arizona Infantry) • 144th Machine Gun Battalion (former 3rd Battalion and Machine Gun Company, 1st New Mexico Infantry) • 80th Infantry Brigade •
159th Infantry Regiment (former 5th California Infantry, and 2nd California Infantry less band, 2nd Battalion, and Companies L and M) •
160th Infantry Regiment (former 7th California Infantry, and 2nd Battalion and Companies L and M, 2nd California Infantry) • 145th Machine Gun Battalion (former Troops A, B, and C and Machine Gun Troop, 1st Separate Squadron California Cavalry) •
65th Field Artillery Brigade •
143rd Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm) (former 1st California Field Artillery) • 144th Field Artillery Regiment (155 mm) (former 2nd California Field Artillery) • 145th Field Artillery Regiment (4.7") (former 1st Utah Field Artillery) • 115th Trench Mortar Battery (former Machine Gun Company, 2nd Colorado Infantry) • 143rd Machine Gun Battalion (former 1st and 2nd Battalions, 1st New Mexico Infantry) • 115th Engineer Regiment (former 1st Battalion, Colorado Engineers, and Troop E, 1st Colorado Cavalry) • 115th Field Signal Battalion (former Company B, California Signal Corps and Company B, Colorado Signal Corps) • Headquarters Troop, 40th Division (former Troop D, 1st California Cavalry) • 115th Train Headquarters and Military Police (former Headquarters, Headquarters Company less band, and Supply Company, 1st New Mexico Infantry) • 115th Ammunition Train (former Headquarters, Headquarters Company less band, and 2nd and 3rd Battalions, 1st Colorado Infantry) • 115th Supply Train (former Supply Company and 1st Battalion, 1st Colorado Infantry) • 115th Engineer Train (former 1st Colorado Engineer Train) • 115th Sanitary Train • 157th, 158th, 159th, and 160th Ambulance Companies and Field Hospitals (former California Ambulance Companies No. 1 and 2 and Field Hospital Companies No. 1 and 2, and Utah Field Hospital No. 1) When the division arrived in France in August 1918, the
Imperial German Army had just completed a
series of offensives that started on 21 March and ended on 15 July 1918. It was decided that the new divisions would be used as depot divisions, supplying fresh troops to the more experienced combat divisions. In early 1941, the personnel from Nevada’s 40th Military Police Company and 2nd Battalion, 115th Engineer Regiment were used to form the 121st Coast Artillery Battalion (Separate) (Antiaircraft), and the military police and engineer units were subsequently reorganized in California, removing Nevada from allocation to the division.
Order of battle, 1939 Source: • Headquarters, 40th Division (Los Angeles, California) • Headquarters, Special Troops (
Berkeley, California) • Headquarters Detachment, Special Troops (Berkeley, California) • Medical Department Detachment, Special Troops (Berkeley, California) • Headquarters Company, 40th Division (Los Angeles, California) • 40th Military Police Company (
Reno, Nevada) • 40th Signal Company (
San Francisco, California) • 40th Tank Company (Salinas, California) • 115th Ordnance Company (
Ogden, Utah) • Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 79th Infantry Brigade (
Sacramento, California) •
159th Infantry Regiment (Oakland, California) •
184th Infantry Regiment (Sacramento, California) • Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 80th Infantry Brigade (Los Angeles, California) •
160th Infantry Regiment (Los Angeles, California) •
185th Infantry Regiment (
Fresno, California) • Headquarters, 65th Field Artillery Brigade (
Salt Lake City, Utah) • Headquarters Battery, 65th Field Artillery Brigade (
Payson, Utah) • 143rd Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm) (
Stockton, California) • 145th Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm) (Salt Lake City, Utah) • 222nd Field Artillery Regiment (155 mm) (Salt Lake City, Utah) •
115th Ammunition Train (Inactive) • 115th Engineer Regiment (Salt Lake City, Utah) • 115th Medical Regiment (Los Angeles, California) • 115th Quartermaster Regiment (Berkeley, California)
World War II Commanders •
Major General Walter P. Story (March–September 1941) • Major General
Ernest J. Dawley (September 1941 – April 1942) • Major General
Rapp Brush (April 1942 – July 1945) •
Brigadier General Donald J. Myers (July 1945 to inactivation)
Combat chronicle (right) with Commander,
Sixth Army, lieutenant general
Walter Krueger at the airport in the Philippines in early 1945. The 40th Infantry Division was ordered into federal service on 3 March 1941. In February 1942, the 40th Infantry Division was reorganized from a 'square', two-brigade, four-regiment division to a three-regiment division without any intermediate brigade headquarters. and
Mandurriao. On 29 March, it landed at
Pulupandan, Negros Occidental, advanced through
Bacolod toward
Talisay, which it secured by 2 April 1945. located in Cabatuan, Iloilo, Panay Island, Philippines, on September 2, 1945, the same day as the surrender signing in Japan aboard the U.S.S. Missouri. This was accepted by Col. Raymond G. Stanton, comdg the 160th U.S. Infantry regiment, and was attended by Rear Admiral Ralph O. Davis, comdg the U.S. Navy's 13th Amphibious Group, and by Brig. Gen. Donald J. Myers, comdg the 40th Infantry Division. The 13th Amphibious Group was tasked to transport the 40th U.S. Infantry Division to Korea. The division returned to the U.S. on 7 April 1946 and was reportedly inactivated the same day. During the war, various regiments were assigned to the division, these included the
108th, 159th, 160th, 184th, 185th, and
503d, however no more than three regiments were assigned to the division at any one time.
Casualties •
Total battle casualties: 3,025 •
Killed in action: 614
Korean War Commanders •
Major General Daniel H. Hudelson (2 Dec 1947 to 1 September 1952) •
Major General Joseph P. Cleland (1952 to 1953) •
Major General Ridgely Gaither (1953 to 1954)
Combat chronicle On 1 September 1950, the 40th Infantry Division was again called into active federal service for the
Korean War. Shipping out of
Oakland and San Francisco, California in late March 1951, the division deployed to
Japan for training. For the next nine months, they participated in amphibious, air transportability, and live fire training from
Mount Fuji to
Sendai. On 23 December, the division received alert orders to move to Korea. The division moved to Korea in January 1952. After additional training, the division moved north in February 1952, where it relieved the
24th Infantry Division on the battle line. At the time the division consisted of the
160th,
223rd, and
224th Infantry Regiments, In Korea, the 40th Infantry Division participated in the battles of Sandbag Castle and
Heartbreak Ridge. In these campaigns, the division suffered 1,180 casualties, including 311 who were killed in action, and 47 who later died from wounds received in action. It was used at ceremonial functions until it was stolen, and was subsequently bought at a garage sale by a married couple, who kept it for 18 years. It was then recovered and put on display at the division headquarters. It is now displayed at the 40th Infantry Division Headquarters and is registered in the
National Archives and Records Administration National Archives. Three members of the division's
223rd Infantry Regiment were awarded the
Medal of Honor for their actions during the
Korean War:
David B. Bleak,
Gilbert G. Collier and
Clifton T. Speicher.
David Hackworth did a combat tour as company commander of E Company (Heavy Weapons) 1st Battalion 223rd Infantry Regiment and F Company 2nd Battalion 223rd Infantry Regiment in Korea with the division, when it was under the command of Major General
Joseph P. Cleland. After its return from the Korean War, the division was reorganized on 1 July 1954 as the
40th Armored Division. It had three combat commands (A, B, and C) in 1956.
Cold War The 1st Battalion,
158th Infantry Regiment (1959–1967), 1st Battalion,
159th Infantry Regiment (1974–1976), 2–159th (1974–2000) and the
160th Infantry Regiment (1974–2000) were part of the division from 1959 until 2000. In 1960, the Division combat units were reorganized under the Combat Arms Regimental Systems (CARS), and then in 1963, was reorganized under the Reorganization Objective Army Divisions (ROAD) concept which changed the combat commands to brigades. In January 1968 the company had been redesignated the 40th Aviation Company, having been previously designated the 29th Aviation Company, part of the
29th Infantry Brigade homebased in Hawaii. The 40th Aviation Company did one tour in South Vietnam. It was in active federal service from May 1968 to December 1969. In January 1974
Major General Charles A. Ott, Jr. was appointed commander of the division, and he served until accepting appointment as Director of the
Army National Guard at the
National Guard Bureau later that year. On 30 September 1986, the division's Aviation Brigade was organized and federally recognized at Fresno. In 1987 the division's aviation units were reorganized, and the
140th Aviation Regiment was established. From 1986 until 1995, the division's CAPSTONE wartime organizational structure included the
140th Military Intelligence Battalion (CEWI) (HD). Allocated to the
United States Army Reserve in peacetime, the mission of the
battalion was to provide the division commander and
G-2 with
electronic warfare intelligence and analysis, as well limited
counterintelligence/
interrogation support and
long range surveillance. The battalion's long-range surveillance
detachment was stripped from the battalion in peacetime and allocated to the
California Army National Guard.
Order of battle 1990 Order of battle - 1 October, 1990 •
40th Infantry Division (Mechanized) •
1st Brigade • 2nd Battalion, 159th Infantry (Mech) (M113) • 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry (Mech) (M113) • 1st Battalion, 149th Armor (M60A3) •
2nd Brigade • 2nd Battalion, 160th Infantry (Mech) (M113) • 3rd Battalion, 160th Infantry (Mech) (M113) • 1st Battalion, 185th Armor (M60A3) • 2nd Battalion, 185th Armor (M60A3) •
3rd Brigade • 4th Battalion, 160th Infantry (Mech) (M113) • 3rd Battalion, 185th Armor (M60A3) • 1st Battalion, 221st Armor (M60A3) (Nevada Army National Guard) •
40th Infantry Division Artillery •
40th Combat Aviation Brigade • 1st Squadron, 18th Cavalry (M60A3/M113) • 1st Battalion, 140th Aviation (AH-1) • D Company, 140th Aviation (Cmd)(GS) (UH-1) • E Company, 140th Aviation (Assault) (UH-60) •
40th Infantry Division Support Command • 540th Support Battalion (Main) • 40th Support Battalion (FWD) (2x2) • 240th Support Battalion (FWD) (2x1) • 340th Support Battalion (FWD)(1x2) • F Company, 140th Aviation (MAINT) •
40th Infantry Division Troops Post Cold War The 40th Infantry Division was not deployed in the Persian Gulf War. On 29 April 1992,
Governor Pete Wilson ordered elements of the 40th Infantry Division to duty to put down the so-called
"Rodney King" riots. The 40th ID responded quickly by calling up some 2,000 soldiers, but could not get them to the city until nearly twenty-four hours had passed, due to a lack of proper equipment, training, and available ammunition, which had to be picked up from
Camp Roberts, California (near
Paso Robles). Initially, they only secured areas previously cleared of rioters by police. Later, they actively ran patrols, maintained checkpoints, and provided firepower for law enforcement. By 1 May, the call-up had increased to 4,000 soldiers continuing to move into the city in
Humvees, who were later federalized under Title 10
USC by President
George H. W. Bush. In 1994, the division was made of three brigades, an aviation brigade, an engineer brigade, a division artillery brigade, and other associated units. Associated regiments included the
160th Infantry,
185th Armor,
221st Armor (
Nevada),
159th Infantry,
184th Infantry,
149th Armor,
18th Cavalry, 140th Aviation,
143d Field Artillery, and
144th Field Artillery. On 17 January 1994, Governor Pete Wilson activated the 40th Infantry Division (M) to respond to the aftermath of the Northridge earthquake, and emergency services were up and running within five hours of the quake. In November 1997, Battery F (TA),
144th Field Artillery Regiment, represented the state of California in
Bosnia. During this deployment, Battery F conducted Firefinder
counter-battery radar operations, convoys and base security all with little to no armor, with a high threat of mine strikes and ambushes. Most drivers exceeded 21,000 kilometres (13,000 miles) during the seven months in country. In November 2000, Battery F was again called to duty for its expertise in the
Kosovo region. In June 2018, authority of the command was transferred to Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Smiley who took command with a new group of 40th ID Soldiers; in October 2018, Smiley was injured during an insider attack, which resulted in the death of the police chief of
Kandahar. == Organization ==