1st Infantry Division - US Army (2024)

The 1st Infantry Division, aka Big Red One, continued their storied history in the US Army with participation in Vietnam. In 1965, they were the first divisional unit deployed with the 2nd Brigade doing the honors in July. Their sector and command was known as III Corps and they engaged Viet Cong (VC) and regular North Vietnamese Army (NVA) forces in the jungles northwest of Saigon to the Cambodian border. Many battles occurred along the Highway 13 corridor and various spurs North-Northwest of Saigon on the road to An Loc.

During the enemy Tet Offensive of 1968, the 1st Infantry Division secured the Tan Son Nhut Airbase the primary hub for air operations within all of Vietnam. They returned to their home at Fort Riley, Kansas in 1970.

Unit Nicknames

Black Scarves

On 30 April 1966 in a sweep through the village of Lo Go, the 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment was engaged in heavy fighting and captured a large quantity of black cloth; this was used by the Viet Cong to make their “black pajama” uniforms. The battalion commander, LTC Richard Prillaman directed that this cloth be made into scarves to be worn by the battalion’s soldiers creating their nickname "Black Scarves".

Black Lions

The 2nd Battalion, 28th Regiment led by battalion commander, Lt. Colonel Terry Allen the son of Major General Terry Allen Sr. who led the 1st Division during the North African Campaign of World War II. Lt. Col. Allen was KIA in 1967 during the battle of Ong Thanh.

Composition

1st Brigade
2nd Brigade
3rd Brigade

Operations

Hump (1965)
Bushmaster I (1965)
Bushmaster II (1965)
Abilene (1966)
Marauder (1966)
Crimp II (1966)
Rolling Stone (1966)
Attleboro (1966)
Cedar Falls (1967)
Junction City (1967)
Manhattan (1967)
Billings (1967)
Shenandoah II (1967)
Quyet Thang (1968)
Operation Toan Thang (1968)
Atlas Wedge (1969)
Dong Tien (1969)

Battles

Ap Bau Bang (1965)
Ap Nha Mat (1965)
Ap Tau O (1966)
Lo Go (1966)
Srok Dong (1966)
Minh Thanh Road (1966)
Xom Bo II (1967)
Ong Thanh (1967)
Thunder Road (1969)
Lam Son II
Paul Bunyan
Bu Dop, AKA, Battle of Hill 172
An L?c
An L?c II

Campaigns

Defense 1965
Counteroffensive 1965–1966
Counteroffensive, Phase II 1966–1967
Counteroffensive, Phase III 1967–1968
Tet Counteroffensive 1968
Counteroffensive, Phase IV 1968
Counteroffensive, Phase V 1968
Counteroffensive, Phase VI 1968–1969
Tet 69/Counteroffensive 1969
Summer-Fall 1969
Winter-Spring 1970

Commanders

Major General Jonathan O. Seaman
Major General William E. DePuy
Major General John H. Hay
Major General Keith L. Ware - KIA 13 September 1968
Major General Orwin C. Talbott, CG, 1968-Aug. 1969
Major General A. E. Milloy CG, Aug 1969

1st Infantry Division

Arrived Vietnam: 2 October 1965 from Fort Riley, KS
Departed Vietnam: 15 April 1970 to Fort Riley, KS (3rd Brigade to Germany)

The 1st Infantry Division (The Big Red One) was originally formed as the First Expeditionary Division, going overseas in World War I on 22 December 1917. It was the first division to go overseas, land in France, meet the enemy (participating in the major offensives of Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne and Montidier-Noyons), and enter Germany. After its return to the United States in September 1919 its units were scattered along the Eastern Seaboard. In August 1942 the division was sent across the Atlantic again, landing at Oran in North Africa in November and securing Tunisia by May 1943. After assaulting Sicily in July 1943 the division went to England, and on D-Day, 6 June 1944 the 1st Infantry Division stormed Omaha Beach in particularly costly combat. Following the breakout at St. Lo the division drove across Northern France and laid siege to Aachen, taking the fortress-city by direct assault 21 October 1944. After combat in the Hurtgen Forest the division was rushed up to stem the German counteroffensive in the Ardennes. Next it breached the Siegfried Line and crossed the Rhine River at Remagen Bridge, closed the Ruhr Pocket, and drove across Central Europe into Czechoslovakia, where it was when World War II ended. The 1st Infantry Division then served ten years on occupation duty in Germany before returning to the U.S. at Fort Riley, the previous station of the 10th Infantry Division. The 1st Infantry Division was alerted for Vietnam in 1965 and its 2nd Brigade under Colonel James E. Simmons became the first element of an infantry division to arrive there. The 1st Infantry Division served in the III Corps Tactical Zone and by mid-1966 the division was fighting in Binh Long Province against the 9th Viet Cong Division. That fall the division invaded War Zone C of Tay Ninh Province in the largest operation to date in the Vietnam war, Operation ATTLEBORO (14 September - 24 November 1966). Despite these efforts, the division was called upon again to quash enemy strength in War Zone C in Operation JUNCTION CITY during the period February - May 1967, along with the 4th and 25th Infantry Divisions and three separate brigades. In the fall of 1967 the division operated against the enemy in Binh Duong Province and extended the scope of combat to include Loe Ninh areas of Binh Long Province after enemy attacks on the district town. During the Tet offensive of 1968 and later the division fought in the Saigon vicinity. The division then moved to Lai Khe in March 1968 and remained there to perform pacification activities. In July 1969 the Big Red One soldiers began a coordinated war effort between their division and the South Vietnamese 5th Division called “Dong Tien” (Progress Together) in an attempt to train the ARVN soldiers in combat operations. The division moved to Di An shortly before deployment back to the United States as Increment III of the withdrawal. The 1st Infantry Division served 1,656 days in Vietnam.

1st Infantry Division Order of Battle: Assigned and Attached Units

Infantry Battalions
1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry
2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry (Mechanized)
1st Battalion, 16th Infantry [Mechanized)
2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry
1st Battalion, 18th Infantry
2nd Battalion, 18th Infantry
1st Battalion, 26th Infantry
1st Battalion, 28th Infantry
2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry

Division Artillery
1st Battalion, 5th Artillery (105mm)
8th Battalion, 6th Artillery (155mm)
1st Battalion, 7th Artillery (105mm)
6th Battalion, 15th Artillery (105mm)
2nd Battalion, 33rd Artillery (105mm)
Battery D, 25th Artillery (Target Acquisition)

Division Aviation
1st Aviation Battalion (Airmobile)
162nd Aviation Company (Airmobile)
173rd Aviation Company (Airmobile)
Troop C, 16th Cavalry (Air)

Division Reconnaissance
1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry (Armored)
Company F, 52nd Infantry (Long Range Patrol)
Company I, 75th Infantry (Ranger)

Other Units on Temporary Assignment
3rd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry
5th Battalion, 60th Infantry (Mechanized)

Division Support
1st Engineer Battalion
1st Medical Battalion
1st Supply & Transport Battalion
121st Signal Battalion
1st Administration Company
701st Maintenance Battalion
1st Military Police Company
337th Army Security Agency Company
242nd Chemical Detachment
266th Chemical Platoon
1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry (Armored)
Company F, 52nd Infantry (Long Range Patrol)
Company I, 75th Infantry (Ranger)
17th Military History Detachment
1st Military Intelligence Company
43rd Public Information Detachment
44th Public Information Detachment

1st Infantry Division Elements Vietnam Service
Division Headquarters and HQ Company 2 Oct 65 - 15 Apr 70
1st Brigade Headquarters and HQ Company 6 Oct 65 - 15 Apr 70
2nd Brigade Headquarters and HQ Company 11 Jul 65 - 15 Apr 70
3rd Brigade Headquarters and HQ Company 2 Oct 65 - 15 Apr 70
Division Artillery Headquarters and HQ Battery 17 Oct 65 - 15 Apr 70
Division Support Command Headquarters and HQ Co 2 Oct 65 - 15 Apr 70

Division Headquarters Locations in Vietnam
Bien Hoa Oct 65 - Jan 66
Di An Feb 66 - Jan 67
Di An/Lai Khe Feb 67 - Sep 67
Lai Khe Oct 67 - Oct 69
Di An Nov 69 - Apr 70

1st Infantry Division Vietnam Missing in Action

There are 8 soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division Vietnam still listed as missing in action.

Private First Class Morris F. Dibble 2nd Infantry Regiment 12/05/1965

Sergeant George J.B. Eisenberger 2nd Infantry Regiment 12/05/1965

Staff Sergeant Walter Ferguson 2nd Infantry Regiment 08/23/1968

Staff Sergeant Paul L. Fitzgerald 28th Infantry Regiment 10/17/1967

Staff Sergeant Olin Hargrove 28th Infantry Regiment 10/17/1967

Staff Sergeant Earl E. Shark 28th Infantry Regiment 09/12/1968

Staff Sergeant Roger W. Swanson 2nd Infantry Regiment 10/31/1968

Staff Sergeant Edward C. Upner 2nd Infantry Regiment 12/05/1965

1st Infantry Division Vietnam Recovered Missing in Action

There are 1 soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division Vietnam that have been identified and recovered.

Sergeant First Class Edward D. Reilly 16th Infantry Regiment Missing: 04/26/1966, Recovered: 4/27/1989