Reactivated

9th Infantry Division

Reactivated 1 August  1940  

Reactivated 1 August  1940, the 9th Infantry Division was comprised of the following units:
                39th, 47th and 60th infantry Regiments, 26th and 34th Field Artillery Regiments,
                15th Engineer (Combat) Battalion,    Division HQ & HQ and Military Police Company.
                9th Signal Company and 9th Reconnaissance Troop.

Added later were:
                9th Quartermaster Battalion, 26th, 34th, 60th and 84th Field Artillery Battalions and  Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, Ninth Division Artillery, Ninth Division Artillery Band and 709th Ordnance Company.

  The first 93 Regular Army men arrived at Fort Bragg by August 2nd, “building” to 1,881men in 3 weeks.   “Building” was chopping down pine trees and establishing a tent city on the sand to be shared with the current residents, insects.  Roads and sanitary facilities were “built” as well. But no hot water was to be had, the nearest hot water showers being 3 miles away at a CCC camp. That problem was resolved expeditiously, however, and by Thanksgiving they had hot water showers.

  The 15th Engineers constructed roads and clearings.  Soon there were 5000 men burning tents down at a rate of a one a day and having their enjoyable quarters blown away and drenched in lightening storms.

  The Selective Service Act was passed in the fall of 1940 to select 630,000 men for 1 year of training to augment a projected Regular Army of 500,000 men and a National Guard of 270,000 men.

  In mid November of 1940 someone reached his hand into a fishbowl and drew a number.  The lucky recipients received a notice, “... you are hereby notified that you have now been selected for training and service therein”.  The newly “selected” only shared the sand with the insects for a short while; the 9,600 man 9th Infantry marched to their new barracks on 16 December 1940.

  Dumped or Dumped on?

  The first anniversary of the 9th, 1 August 1941, was celebrated with a parade of the whole Division.  The 15th Engineers apparently were proud to display their newly acquired dump trucks.  One of the drivers pulled or pushed the wrong lever and the riding Engineers were unceremoniously dumped in front of the reviewing stand. Where were you, when this happened?

  At the convenience of the  ...

 Early December arrived and partying was in vogue on Saturday night, particularly by those over age 28, because these “Selective Service Act” gentlemen were to be discharged on Monday.  On Sunday, however,  the radios began  reporting: 

               “Ladies and Gentlemen, I have an important announcement to make,  The Japanese have just bombed Pearl Harbor!”

  Discharge orders were rescinded for those looking forward to Monday, 8 December 1941.  War time type activities were instituted.

  Mc Fayden’s Pond became one of numerous sites for practicing amphibious operations.  A spry 67 year old Marine Colonel Biddle instructed man to man bayonet drill.  5 May 1942 Corregidor fell.  Field Marshall Erwin Rommel was unleashing the Afrika Korps.  Suez, Cairo and Alexandria were subject to being overcome.  Russia had suffered tremendous losses with Stalingrad and Moscow being threatened.

  25 September 1942 the 39th, the Fighting Falcons, boarded 5 ships and sailed out of New York harbor.  6 October 1942 and about 4,000 miles later the convoy dropped anchor in Belfast Harbor.  The 39th moved  to Scotland and await the departure of the 47th and 60th Infantry Regiments from the US and their first D-Day. 

  On 14 October 1942, the Go-Devils, the 60th Regimental Combat Team, moved to Norfolk, VA and the Raiders, the 47th Combat Team, followed on 17 October 1942.  23 October 1942 found a large armada of ships starting their almost 4,000 mile voyage across submarine infested Atlantic Ocean.

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