The 30th Infantry Division was made up of the existing National
Guard units from the States of North and South Carolina, Georgia
and Tennessee at the beginning of WWII. During WWII, The 30th Infantry
Division served in Europe with distinction, and was designated as
the #1 Infantry Division in the European Theater by Gen. Eisenhower's
Chief Historian, Col. S.L.A. Marshall.
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Introducing
Personal Views, accounts of life in the 30th Infantry
written by veterans themselves, or by their families. Click
here. |
Although the 30th Infantry Division was not involved in the actual
invasion of Normandy, the 30th served valiantly at St. LO and at
Mortain in France; it was the first infantry division to enter Belgium
and The Netherlands. The 30th was also instrumental in breaching
the Siegfried Line in October 1944, and the capture of Aachen, Germany,
the 1st large German city to be captured by the Allies in WWII.
The 30th made a rapid advance around the north side of the Ruhr
Industrial Pocket, capturing Brunswick and finally capturing Magdeburg
on the Elbe River on 17 April 1945.
Here the 30th Infantry Division met the Russians and remained in
occupation of Magdeburg throughout the month of May, when it was
turned over to the Russians for their permanent occupation, as this
was their designated occupation territory. This brought the end
of the war to the 30th Infantry Division.
After a brief occupation of an area on the Czech border, the 30th
was alerted to return to the United States for further deployment
to the Pacific. However, enroute to the U.S.A., the war in the Pacific
came to an end by the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan.
The 30th infantry Division was proudly called "Old Hickory"
after Andrew Jackson, the 7th President of the United States.
The 30th returned to Ft. Jackson, SC where it had originated, and
was deactivated on 25 November 1945.
See our updated list of available books, medals, pins and other
items, relative to the 30th Infantry Division at the Gift
Shop.
See other interesting Web sites on this and similar topics:
Click
here for our "Message Board" - The 30th Infantry Division
has set up its own Message Board, which is called "Old Hickory".
Once at the Message Board page, click on the name "Old Hickory"
in the gray box titled 'Default Category'. Then under 'Topic' click
on the name of the message that you would like to view. At the bottom
of the message is a list of functions for you to choose from. You
may choose to post a new message by clicking on "New Post"
or you may choose to reply to the message that you have read, by
clicking on "Reply"
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