"The only way you can win a war is to attack and keep on attacking, and after you have done that, keep attacking some more."
- General George S. Patton Jr., January 1945
In 1943, the 7th Infantry Division was trained in amphibious warfare and later participated in the liberation of the Aleutian Islands of Attu and Kiska. On January 31st, 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, on February 18th, 1944. The division then moved to Oahu, T. H., remaining there until mid-September when it sailed to join the assault on the Philippines. On October 20th, 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 on October 29th, and then shifted to the west coast of Leyte on November 26th, and attacked north toward Ormoc, securing Valencia on December 25th.
An amphibious landing by the 77th Infantry Division effected the capture of Ormoc on December 11th, 1944, and the 7th joined in its occupation. Mopping up operations continued until early February 1945. The next D-day for the division was April 1st, 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. The division accepted the surrender of the Japanese Army in South Korea. After the war the division served as an occupation force in Korea and Japan. Back Order! Ship Date: March 2010.
Release Date: September 2005 |
