29th Infantry Division (United States)

29th Infantry Division (United States)

The 29th Infantry Division ("'Blue and Grey") is an infantry division of the United States Army based in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. It is a formation of the United States Army National Guard and contains units from Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina.

Formed in 1917, the division quickly gained the nickname "Blue and Gray", reflecting on the fact that it comprised soldiers from states on both sides of the American Civil War. Deployed to France as a part of the American Expeditionary Force during World War I, the division saw intense combat in the final days of the war, and suffered heavy casualties. At the end of the war, it demobilized, though remained an active National Guard unit.

Called up for service again in World War II, the division was sent to England where it trained for two years, before participating in Operation Overlord, the landings in Normandy, France. The division is best known for being among the first wave of troops to the shore at Omaha Beach, suffering massive casualties in the process. It then advanced to Saint-Lô, and eventually through France and into Germany itself. These actions have since been the subject of many motion pictures and video games.

Following the end of World War II, the division saw frequent reorganizations and deactivations. Although the 29th did not see combat through most of the next 50 years, it participated in numerous training exercises throughout the world. It eventually saw deployment to Kosovo as a commanding element in Kosovo Force, and units of the division also deployed to locations such as Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and Afghanistan as a part of Operation Enduring Freedom, and Iraq as a part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.