7th Infantry Division - Hourglass

Activated 1 Jul 1940  •  Entered Combat 11 May 1943  •  Days of Combat 208  •  Casualties 9,212

DIVISION CHRONICLE

Elements of the 7th Infantry Division first saw combat in the amphibious assault on Attu, western-most Japanese entrenchment in the Aleutian chain. Elements landed, 11 May 1943, and fought a bitter battle over freezing tundra against fanatically resisting Japanese, finally defeating the Japanese at Chichagof Harbor. In August 1943 elements of the Division took part in the assault on Kiska, only to find the island deserted by the Japanese.

With the Aleutians secured, the Division moved to Hawaii, where it trained in amphibious landing technique and in jungle warfare. On 31 January 1944 the Division landed on islands in the Kwajalein Atoll in conjunction with the 4th Marine Division, and in a week of heavy fighting, wrested them from the Japanese. Elements took part in the capture of Engebi in the Eniwetok Atoll, 18 February 1944. The Division then moved to Oahu, remaining there until mid-September when it sailed to join the assault on the Philippines.

On 20 October 1944, the Division made an assault landing at Dulag, Leyte, and after heavy fighting secured airstrips at Dulag, San Pablo, and Buri. The troops moved north to take Dagami, 29 October, and then shifted to the west coast of Leyte, 26 November, and attacked north toward Ormoc, securing Valencia, 25 December. An amphibious landing by the 77th Infantry Division effected the capture of Ormoc, 11 December 1944, and the 7th joined in its occupation. Mopping up operations continued until early February 1945. Next D-day for the Division was 1 April 1945, when it made an assault landing on Okinawa. It drove from the west to the east coast on the first day and engaged in a savage 51-day battle in the hills of southern Okinawa.