43rd Infantry Division in World War II: "Winged Victory on Foot" 1949 US Army Film MISC-7553

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WINGED VICTORY ON FOOT - 43D INFANTRY DIVISION

ACTIVITIES OF THE DIVISION IN THE PACIFIC DURING WORLD WAR II AND AS OCCUPATION TROOPS IN JAPAN AFTER HOSTILITIES.

Originally a public domain film from the National Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied.

The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/43rd_Infantry_Division_(United_States)

Wikipedia license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

The 43rd Infantry Division was a formation of the United States Army from 1920 to 1963, serving in the Pacific during World War II. It was activated in 1920 as a National Guard Division in Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The 143rd Regional Support Group of the Connecticut National Guard now carries on the heritage...

The 43rd Infantry Division was constituted on 19 October 1920, with the division headquarters being organized and federally recognized in Hartford, Connecticut, on 21 March 1925. The 43rd Division consisted of two infantry brigades, the 85th in Connecticut, and the 86th in Vermont. The 85th Brigade included the 102nd and 169th Infantry Regiment, both based in Connecticut. The 86th Brigade was made up of the 172nd Infantry Regiment in Vermont and the 103rd Infantry in Maine. In addition, the 68th Field Artillery Brigade was based in Providence, Rhode Island...

The 43rd Division was mobilized for federal service on 24 February 1941. It was reorganized as a "triangular" division meaning that it had three infantry regiments, rather than four infantry regiments organized into two brigades.

The 43rd was originally sent to Camp Blanding, Florida where it was based prior to participating in the Louisiana Maneuvers of 1941 and the Carolina Maneuvers later than same year. The division relocated to Camp Shelby, Mississippi on 14 February 1942 and was officially re-designated as the 43rd Infantry Division on 19 February 1942.

The division staged for shipment overseas at Fort Ord, California on 6 September 1942 and departed San Francisco on 1 October. The division arrived in New Zealand on October 23, 1942, prior to being committed to combat in the South West Pacific Theater under the command of General Douglas MacArthur...

The 43rd Infantry Division landed in New Zealand on 23 October 1942. The 172nd Infantry Regiment arrived at Espiritu Santo, 26 October. The Division moved to Noumea, New Caledonia, in November and to Guadalcanal, 17 February 1943. The Russell Islands were occupied without opposition, 21 February, and training continued. Elements landed on Vangunu and Rendova Islands against minor resistance, 30 June. Rendova served as the major staging point for the assault on the Island of New Georgia. The assault on New Georgia was met with determined enemy resistance. The Japanese fought fiercely before relinquishing Munda and its airfield, 5 August. Vela Cela and Baanga were taken easily, but the Japanese resisted stubbornly on Arundel Island before withdrawing, 22 September. After training at Munda, the 43rd moved to Guadalcanal and thence to New Zealand for rest and rehabilitation. On 19 July 1944, the Division assumed defensive positions at Aitape, engaged in patrols and reconnaissance at Tadji and along the Drinumor River, 25 July, and took the offensive, 8 August 1944, ending organized resistance on the 25th. On 9 January 1945, the 43rd made an assault landing in the San Fabian area, Lingayen Gulf, Luzon. Under enemy fire, the Division secured the beachhead and fought into the Lingayen Plain by 12 February. The offensive was resumed against the enemy north and west of Fort Stotsenburg, 27 February. After ending Japanese resistance in the Zambales Mountains with help from the Philippine Commonwealth Army and Philippine Constabulary, the 43rd swung south against the Shimbu Line. On 6 May 1945, the attack continued in the Bulacan area. Ipo Dam was secured and enemy opposition smashed in the Ipo area, 19 May. Mopping-up activities continued until 30 June 1945. The Division left Manila, 7 September 1945, and arrived in Yokohama, Japan on 13 September for occupation duty. The division began preparations for departure for home on 27 September 1945, and officially began their departure on the 29 September. The first ship arrived in San Francisco on 8 October 1945, exactly three years and eight days after the first ship had left on 1 October 1942. The division troops were then moved to Camp Stoneman near Pittsburg, California, and arrangements were made to send each man to the Army separation center nearest his home...