Philippine Division

Philippine Division
12th Infantry Division

Shoulder sleeve insignia
Active 1921 – 47
Country  United States
Branch  United States Army
Type Square Division
Headquarters Fort William McKinley
Engagements

World War II

Philippine Islands
Commanders
Notable
commanders		 MG Jonathan M. Wainwright
MG William Weigel
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia None authorized

Philippine Division, or from 1944–45 the 12th Infantry Division, was the core U.S. infantry division of the United States Army's Philippine Department during World War II. On 31 July 1941, the division consisted of 10,473 troops, mostly enlisted Filipinos, known as the Philippine Scouts who formed the 45th and 57th US Infantry Regiments. All of the division's enlisted men, with the exception of the 31st Infantry Regiment, and various military police and headquarters troops, were Philippine Scouts.

In October 1941, as part of the U.S. Army Forces Far East, plans were made to "triangularize" the division. The 34th Infantry was detached from the 8th Infantry Division and moved to a port of embarkation in December 1941, along with two battalions of 105mm field artillery. The Philippine Division was to have two complete U.S. regimental combat teams in place by January 1942 to provide General Douglas MacArthur with a modern, trained mobile reaction force, while freeing up Philippine Scouts for rounding out other units. The outbreak of war in December 1941, however, isolated the Philippines and prevented implementation of the plan. It was briefly reconstituted as the 12th Infantry Division in 1944–45.

Shoulder sleeve insignia

Organization

Lineage

Combat chronicle[1]

Wartime assignments

  1. U.S. Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) – 8 December 1941 – 24 December 1941.
  2. Bataan Defense Force – 24 December 1941 – 6 January 1942.
  3. U.S. Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) – 6 January 1942 – 26 January 1942.
  4. II Philippine Corps – 26 January 1942 – 7 April 1942.
  5. I Philippine Corps – 7 April 1942 – 10 April 1942.
  6. Prisoner Of War Captivity – 10 April 1942 – 1945

Miscellaneous

The regimental colors of the 12th Quartermaster Regiment (PS) were given to an Army nurse (one of the "Angels of Bataan and Corregidor") by the regimental commander. Upon her capture she told the Japanese that they were "only a shawl" and kept them safe throughout more than three years of captivity.[2] Today, the colors are on display at the U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum, Fort Lee, Virginia.[3]

Commanders

Honors

Campaign participation credit

  1. Philippine Islands

Decorations

Unit awards

  1. Streamer embroidered LUZON 1941–1942[4]
  2. Streamer embroidered BATAAN[5]
  3. Streamer embroidered DEFENSE OF THE PHILIPPINES[6]

Personal awards

Bibliography

See also

References

  1. ↑ These combat chronicles, current as of October 1948, are reproduced from The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950, pp. 510–592.
  2. ↑ Dr. Steven E. Anders, Heritage and Values: FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE: Building Great Quartermaster Soldiers
  3. ↑ Honor Preserved at Corriegedor, The U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum, retrieved 22 May 2008
  4. ↑ (North Luzon Force, United States Army Forces in the Far East. Cited; War Department General Order # 14, 1942).
  5. ↑ (Army Troops, United States Army Forces in the Far East. Cited; War Department General Order #32, 1942.)
  6. ↑ (Military and naval forces of the United States and Philippine Governments. Cited; War Department General Order #22, 1942, as amended by Department of the Army General Order #46, 1948).
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