My condolences to you and your family.
The 32nd were some hard-charging guys. You should be proud.
Quote:
General Douglas MacArthur had repeatedly requested Washington D.C. to send him additional troops with which to initiate an offensive campaign and had been pointedly told he would have to make do with the troops on hand. MacArthur had decided as soon as he had reached Australia that the key to its defense lay not on the mainland but in New Guinea. On 13 September 1942 he ordered parts of the 32nd Division to Papua New Guinea even though they had less than two months of training. This would become part of the opening ground offensive against Japanese troops in the Southwest Pacific Area, and MacArthur expected the Americans to quickly and easily advance on and capture the Japanese forward base at Buna.
The U.S. Army typically required divisions to train as a unit for a full year before entering combat. The 32nd had arrived in Australia in April 1942, spent several weeks building its first camp, was transported to a new camp ion July, and nearly one-third of its troops had been in boot camp only five months previously. Nonetheless U.S. officers decided it was the most combat-ready unit in Australia.
The 32nd Division was among the first of all US divisions to engage in a ground assault against the enemy in World War II.
Combat Time
654 days of combat (15,696 hours) - more than any U.S. division during the war.
This represents 48% of the total time the U.S. was in World War II.
41 months overseas, over 21 of them spent in combat.
6 major engagements in 4 campaigns.
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