2nd Infantry Division Unit Rings
2nd Infantry Division 
Nicknames:
Indian Head Division – Derived from its WWI Insignia
Warrior Division– Official nickname
Motto:
Second to None
Role:
1 Heavy, 3 Stryker, 1 Aviation brigades
Size:
17,000 soldiers
The Second Infantry Division is the only division in the history of the United States Army to be formed on foreign soil.
The 2nd Infantry Division was created in 1917 and first saw service in World War I.
Formed at Beaumont, France on October 26, 1917 it was comprised at the time of the US Army’s
9th and 23rd Infantry Regiments and the 5th and 6th Regiments United States Marine Corps. It is a
formation of the US Army and the current primary mission is the defense of South Korea in the
initial stages of an invasion from North Korea until other US Army units can arrive.
During World War II, the “Indianhead” division stormed Omaha Beach on D-Day (June 6, 1944) and broke out of Normandy before moving into Belgium. The 2nd tenaciously held its position during the Battle of the Bulge, preventing further German attempts to reconquer Belgium. In March 1945, the unit moved into the interior of Germany and captured the city of Leipzig on April 19.
When the war in Europe ended on May 8, 1945, the 2nd had advanced to Plzen (Pilsen) in the present-day Czech Republic.
As the 2nd Infantry Division marched across Germany, it uncovered several sites of Nazi crimes.
In early April 1945, the unit captured the German town of Hadamar, which housed a psychiatric clinic
where almost 15,000 men, women, and children were killed between 1941 and March 1945
in the Nazi “euthanasia” program.
On March, 28, 1946, the division moved on next to Camp Stoneman, Ca. and then to Ft. Lewis, Washington on April 15, 1946.
At the time, it was in a training mode until the summer of 1950 when it became the first division of the US Army to arrive in Pusan, Korea on July 23, 1950 directly from the United States. The division became the first US Army unit to breakout from the Pusan perimeter and led the US Eighth Armies drive to the Manchurian border. Once the Chinese entered the war and pushed back the UN forces, the division covered the rear flank of the retiring US Eighth Army. The Second Division left Korea for Ft. Lewis, Washington on August 20, 1954.
In August of 1955 the Second Division was transferred to Alaska where it remained until November 8, 1957 when the Department of the Army announced its deactivation. This time of inactivity was short lived, for in the spring of 1958 the Department of Army announced that it was re-activating the division at its new home of Ft. Benning, Ga. It stayed at Ft. Benning, Ga. until July 1965 when it was sent to the DMZ of the Korean peninsula where it remains today. The Second Infantry Division’s headquarters is at Camp Red Cloud, Korea. In 2004, the Second Brigade of the division has trained on the US Army’s new striker vehicle and was deployed to Iraq. In July 2005, the Brigade began to get relieved by units of the United States National Guard, as well as the 3d Infantry Division of the Regular Army. Six months into the deployment, the units of the 2d BCT were given word that they would not be returning to South Korea but, rather, to Fort Carson, Colorado in an effort to restructure the Army and house more soldiers on American soil. SSG Christopher B. Waiters of the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3d Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross on 23 October 2008 for his actions on 5 April 2007 when he was a Specialist.
On 17 February 2009, president Obama ordered 4,000 soldiers that are part of 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team to Afghanistan, along with 8,000 Marines. Soldiers are being sent there because of the worsening situation in the Afghan war. These soldiers will be deployed in the southeast, on the Afghan border. On July 2010, the brigade is scheduled to return to Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
Symbolism:
• The star has played an important part in our history from the days of the Colonies to the present time.
• The Native signifies the first and original American.
• These devices were originally established by the division to use as vehicle markings and to identify the vehicles as all American.
The shoulder sleeve insignia was originally authorized for the 2d Division on November 6, 1918, officially announced by The Adjutant General letter, 21 Jun 1922, amended to correct the description on November 7, 1927 and redesignated for the 2d Infantry Division on 1 Aug 1942.
Distinctive Unit Insignia
A silver color metal and enamel device 1-1/8 inches in height overall consisting of a black field an Indian tomahawk in silver color metal with point to dexter and blade charged with a blue fleur-de-lis; attached to the handle by blue bands three blue feathers displayed fanwise to sinister and contained by a silver scroll bearing the motto “SECOND TO NONE” in black letters.
The colors blue and white (silver) allude to Infantry; the tomahawk is used in lieu of the Indian head which appears on the shoulder sleeve insignia for the 2d Infantry Division.
The fleur-de-lis is for France where the unit saw its first combat experience during World War I and the feathers denote the three conflicts (World Wars I and II and Korea) in which the unit has participated.
2nd Infantry Division Unit Rings
Our unit rings are a great way to celebrate service with a particular Unit.
Each ring includes the particular unit insignia, they can also be inscribed
with the soldiers name, rank, even details of overseas deployments.
