Show I r Historic H ic Rainbow Di Division Is BOl darn Born ll Anew By y ELMO SCOTT WATSON Released by Western Newspaper Union HE other day veterans of THE JL the Division of World War Var I held their reunion in I Tulsa Okla OkIa Then they went to Camp Gruber near Muskogee Muskogee Muskogee Musko- Musko reactivation reactivation reactivation gee there to see the of their tradition-rich tradition outfit to pass on to the new Division of World War II their honored battle flags and to gaze proudly upon the shoulder patch adorning the un uniform orm of each man in it it- it the red yellow and blue striped quarter-circle quarter which was the sign and symbol of a First class man a member of the Rainbow Division The reactivation took place at midnight the mIdnight the Champagne hour so called because it was the hour when the last great German push of World War I the Champagne offensive began That offensive which started on July 14 1918 broke to pieces against the stubborn resistance resistance resist resist- ance of those fighting Yanks of the Rainbow division and from that day the might of the kaisers kaiser's armies ebbed until it reached low tide in a n railroad car in forest four months later Two Messages Before the veterans of the Rainbow division of a quarter century ago adjourned adjourned adjourned ad ad- their 1943 19 meeting they sent two messages to widely separated parts o of the world One was flashed to Gen Douglas MacArthur somewhere somewhere somewhere some where in the Southwest Pacific because because because be be- cause it was he who had given their division Its nickname The other was the traditional reunion greetings greetings greetings greet greet- ings to one one-arme one armed Gen Henri Joseph Eugene Gouraud who commanded the Fourth French army which Included included included in In- in- in the American division at the historic battle in the Champagne sector July 14 and 15 1918 The message was sent to Gen Dwight D D. D Eisenhower in commander of the Allied forces in the European theater of war to be transmitted to General Gouraud some somewhere in Occupied Occupied Occupied Oc Oc- Oc- Oc France In the early summer of 1917 a ayoung ayoung ayoung young colonel named Douglas MacArthur MacArthur MacArthur Mac- Mac Arthur was serving as censor licensor for news coming out of the war department department department depart depart- ment In Washington Visited by newspaper men one day he told them of the forthcoming organization tion of a new division to be composed composed composed com com- posed of units from 27 states and the District of Columbia As the journalists were leaving MacArthur remarked that the assembling of so many units from rom so many states into one division was somewhat like making up a rainbow Struck by bythe bythe bythe the aptness of the expression the newspaper men used it in their stories stories stories sto sto- sto- sto ries and the nickname stuck to the division when it was organized on August 1 I 1917 and concentrated at Camp Mills on Long Island In New York While the division was still at I Camp Mills many different kinds of rainbow designs were used as divisional divisional divi divi- insignia They were Irregular In size but nearly all were a half hall circle with the three colors of red yellow and blue in them It was not until the division was engaged ina in ina a major action in the Meuse- Meuse Argonne that the final official design design design de de- de- de sign was conceived and adopted Col William Willlam N N. N Hughes Jr who had succeeded Col Douglas MacArthur MacArthur MacArthur MacAr MacAr- thur as chief of staff of the division determined the measurements reduced reduced re rc- re- re the original design to a quarter quarter quarter ter circle and telegraphed the description description de de- de with the approval of Maj I Gen Charles T. T then division division division divi divi- sion commander to corps It is one of or the cherished traditions of the that General General General Gen Gen- eral l acting on an ani i omen of a rainbow in the sky r rte c eY a 1 ris ir y 1 I s. s 0 f c Yr I Iy y t 4 1 v w GEN CHARLES T. T 1 he saw a rainbow on cn the evo eve of battle 1 THE RAINBOW became the insignia of the division sent the division Into action In Inthe Inthe inthe the Champagne operation From the time that he told of seeing the rainbow v In the sky from his bivouac in the Baccarat sector rainbows kept showing up at decisive decisive decisive de de- hours in the divisions division's history history his his- tory torr as If to justify its selection as the talisman Before long veterans of our regular regular regular regu regu- lar army as well as os veteran French and British troops were joining in hi proclaiming the Rainbow division as one of the hardest fighting outfits in France Here is its record as given in a series of articles on Divisional Divisional Divisional Divi Divi- Insignia written several years ago 30 by Sergt Herbert E E. E Smith for the United States Recruiting Recruiting Recruiting Recruit Recruit- ing News First Ta Taste te of War It trained under veteran French soldiers in Lorraine and elements of the Rainbow division entered the front line trenches for the first time February 21 1918 This was along the sector at a point north of sur Plaine through Neuviller Neu- Neu viller viler Ancerviller the eastern edge edge 1 f. f rl SY 1 19 f 9 y Ff e T rr fy GEN HENRI GOURAUD to him each year a greeting of the Bois Banal to the eastern and northern edges of the Foret de Parroy Elements of the artillery artillery ar ar- ar- ar tillery brigade entered the Dom Dom- basle basic sector also on the night of the to receive their first taste of combat warfare affiliated with the French division From March 31 to June 21 the division occupied the Baccarat sector sector sector sec sec- tor in Lorraine moving from there thereto to sur Moselle In the Then came July with its heavy fighting in the Champagne and Marne Champagne areas The highlight highlight highlight high high- light of the divisions division's activities 1 at this time would seem to be the i battle of La Croix Rouge Farm This farm was a low widespread group of stone buildings connected by walls and ditches The Germans had made an enormous machine gun nest of this natural stronghold and had defied several earlier determined determined determined deter deter- mined efforts of Allied troops to dislodge dislodge dislodge dis dis- dis- dis lodge them from this key position The and the infantry regiments old Alabama and Iowa troops respectively struggled all allday allday all day July 26 against this nest of horrors It was practically impossible impossible impossible sible to rush this enemy stronghold across th the open endeavors to work workaround workaround around the edges were thrown back backby backby backby by flanking fire an accurate punishing punishing punishing punish punish- ing shell fire from the German artillery artillery artil lery ripped through the wet underbrush underbrush underbrush under under- brush gas made doubly dangerous by the moisture swirled about in terrible gusts At last two platoons of assembled casuals volunteers casuals volunteers all from the and led led by two lieutenants lieutenants lieu lieu- tenants squirmed their way forward forward for tor- ward Indian fashion and closed upon the farm buildings with grenades grenades grenades gre gre- nades and bayonet The raid staged at dusk was successful The possessed La Croix Rouge farm arm at nightfall but at a fearful cost in dead and wounded Less than a week later these same regiments with their sister outfits of the Rainbow were pressing forward for for- ward iVard ard toward the river Upon the fell the chief burden of the main attack It was ordered to storm the heights on both sides of Sergy and In conjunction with the French on the left to take Hill northwest of Fere en A Deadly Hail nail of or Fire The infantry crossed the stream under a deadly hail of fire to climb by slow stages to the cres crest of Hill between Sergy and Cierges The meanwhile had made its way down the Rue de la Taverne crossed the and swept on up the northern slope of the hilly country New Yorks York's fighting Irish of the infantry emerged from Villers and secured a precarious lodgment on the slopes on either side of Mercury Mercury Mercury Mer Mer- cury Farm Subjected to the same raking fire that had made this push so costly this fine regiment still carried carried carried car car- ried on plunging forward to the sunken road north and west of Sergy By the weary doughboys doughboys dough dough- boys of the division were battling battling battling bat bat- in mortal hand to combat with the Germans In the streets of Sergy The enemy troops were of the Prussian Guard grim and spirited fighters embittered by recent recent recent re re- re- re cent German setbacks veterans all and determined men Twice the Americans were rushed out of Sergy but thrice the Yanks returned and the third time the I Americans captured the entire vil I lage Again the men of the Rainbow Rainbow Rainbow Rain Rain- bow division had proved to be of heroic mould In the St. St Mihiel l drive launched in September mid-September the with the 1st and 2nd formed the spearhead spearhead spearhead spear spear- head of the attack which penetrated deepest into the enemy positions In Inthe Inthe Inthe the main attack the 2nd division captured Thiaucourt the 1st took Nonsard and the division drove through to Pannes Through the thick of the heaviest action of the Meuse-Argonne Meuse operation operation operation opera opera- tion the Rainbow carried on It penetrated the line swooped up the swept fire-swept slopes about Romange and Cote Dame Marie Marie Marie Ma Ma- I rie it seized Cote de Chatillon by skillful infiltration behind its protective protective I tive wire and early in November I on the extreme left lank flank of the American attack It began to fight through Bulson and Bazeilles Bazeilles Ba- Ba on the Meuse to gain the I cherished final objective objective Sedan i The taking of Sedan for sentimental sentimental senti senti- I mental and historic reasons however however however how how- ever was left to the French corps on the left of the Rainbow On the night of November 10 thel the l division was relieved and assembled assembled assembled as as- In the area of le Ie Vivier and Les Petites I I The Full Tide of or Victory I The thus shared in the full fulli i tide of victory on the morning of I November 11 1918 The American I Second army was even then preparing preparing i ing for a general assault in the direction di dl- of Metz in an offensive with I the famous Mangin and 20 French divisions The Meuse Mouse had been II crossed French troops In Sedan in retaliation for the terrible French defeat there in 1870 the Germans were on the run almost in utter rout Naturally the Rainbow was one of the crack divisions of the I chosen to be a part of the American Army of Occupation Concentrating I near Stenay it began the long hike into the Rhineland on November 20 On December 14 it took its station in Germany in the Kreis of Ahrweiler Training continued there on the steep hill of the Rhineland through the winter and spring of 1919 1918 until April 5 when the division began began began be be- gan entraining for Brest On April 9 the first element clement to sail for the United States the Trench Mortar Mortar Mortar Mor Mor- tar Battery boarded a transport for foran foran foran an American port By May 12 demobilization had been completely effected at Camps Upton Dix Grant and Dodge After the storm the rainbow I p pL pr r 4 L W yr b is 4 r v 4 GEN DOUGLAS MacARTHUR he named It the Rainbow division |