The US 1st Infantry Division, nicknamed "the Big Red One", is the oldest infantry division in the US Army, founded in 1917 during World War I. On 14 June 1917, the division left New York City and Hoboken for France, fighting at the Battle of Cantigny, the Battle of St. Mihiel, and in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive against the Imperial German Army. During the war, the division lost 4,964 KIA, 17,201 WIA, and 1,056 MIA/DOW. The division was returned to its headquarters at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, and the division was moved to Fort Benning, Georgia in 1939 under Walter Short's command.
In November 1942, the division landed in Oran, Algeria as a part of Operation Torch during World War II, and the division pushed through French North Africa before fighting at the Battle of Kasserine Pass in February 1943. The division helped in securing Tunisia, and it had some rest before taking part in Operation Husky - the invasion of Sicily - in July 1943, with Terry Allen commanding the division. The division saw heavy fighting at Gela and Troina, and Clarence R. Huebner took command of the division, replacing the relieved Allen, in August 1943. On 5 November 1943, the division arrived in England to prepare for Operation Overlord, the invasion of France, and it was a part of the first waves to assault Omaha Beach on 6 June 1944. The division secured Formigny and Caumont in the beachhead before assaulting Marigny on 27 July 1944 during Operation Cobra, the Allied breakout. The division then drove across France in a continuous offensive, reaching the German city of Aachen on 21 October 1944. In the Battle of Aachen, the 1st Division took the city by direct assault, and it proceeded to take part in the Battle of Huertgen Forest, the Battle of the Bulge, the crossing of the Rhine at Remagen, the encirclement of the Ruhr Pocket, the capture of Paderborn, the push through the Harz Mountains, and the fighting at Kynsperk, Ohri, Sangerberg, and Mnichov in Czechoslovakia at the end of the war. During World War II, the Big Red One lost 3,616 KIA, 15,208 WIA, 499 MIA, and 1,336 POW while taking 188,382 prisoners.
Since World War II, the division served on occupation duty in West Germany, fought in the Vietnam War, fought in the Gulf War, took part in the intervention in Kosovo in 1999, and fought in Iraq and Afghanistan during the war on terror.