The 29th Infantry Division, also known as the "Blue and Gray Division", is an infantry division of the United States Army based at Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County, Virginia. The division is currently a formation of the Army National Guard and includes units from Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and West Virginia.
Matt Louis Urban was a United States Army lieutenant colonel and one of the most decorated American soldiers of World War II. Urban performed valiantly in combat on many occasions despite being wounded in action several times. He received over a dozen personal decorations for combat, including seven Purple Hearts. In 1980, he received the Medal of Honor and three other U.S. decorations and one foreign decoration for his actions in France and Belgium in 1944.
The Brécourt Manor Assault during the U.S. parachute assault of the Normandy Invasion of World War II is often cited as a classic example of small-unit tactics and leadership in overcoming a larger enemy force.
Joe Ronnie Hooper was an American who served in both the United States Navy and United States Army where he finished his career there as a captain. He earned the Medal of Honor while serving as an army staff sergeant on February 21, 1968, during the Vietnam War. He was one of the most decorated U.S. soldiers of the war and was wounded in action eight times.
The Virginia National Guard consists of the Virginia Army National Guard and the Virginia Air National Guard. It is part of the Government of Virginia though the National Guard across the United States is mostly funded by the federal government. The National Guard is the only United States military force empowered to function in a state status. Those functions range from limited actions during non-emergency situations to full scale law enforcement of martial law when local law enforcement officials can no longer maintain civil control. The National Guard may be called into federal service in response to a call by the President or Congress, in accordance with Title 10 of the United States Code.
Major Thomas Dry Howie was a United States Army infantry officer and battalion commander in the 29th Infantry Division who was killed in action during the Battle of Normandy in World War II while leading his unit in an effort to capture the strategic French town of Saint-Lô. He became immortalized as "The Major of St. Lo".
Edward Allen Carter Jr. was a United States Army sergeant first class who was wounded in action during World War II. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military decoration for valor, for his actions on March 23, 1945, near Speyer, Germany.
Earle Davis Gregory was an American soldier and World War I Medal of Honor recipient for his heroic actions in 1918 during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France.
Major General Charles Draper William Canham was the commander of the 29th Infantry Division's 116th Infantry Regiment, which landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
Robert Evan Brown Jr. was a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Crucifix Hill, near Aachen, Germany, on October 8, 1944. He left home and joined the army in 1918, lying about his age. At the start of World War II, he was the first sergeant of the Headquarters Company of the 2nd Armored Division. He received a battlefield commission to second lieutenant and was transferred to the 1st Infantry Division in 1943. Following the death of his company commander on D-Day he assumed command of his company, Company C. Brown left the army with the rank of captain in 1952.
The Virginia Army National Guard is composed of approximately 7000 soldiers and maintains 46 armories in communities throughout Virginia.
The 111th Field Artillery is currently constituted as a composite battalion consisting of two batteries of 105MM towed artillery and one battery of 155MM towed artillery (M777) unit with a general support/reinforcing mission. It is a unit within the Virginia Army National Guard based in Norfolk, Virginia.
The 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team is an infantry brigade combat team currently assigned to the Virginia Army National Guard, formerly known as the 1st Brigade, 29th Infantry Division; it is the largest command of the Virginia Army National Guard with an authorized strength of 3,400. The brigade is headquartered in Staunton, Virginia, at the Thomas Howie Memorial Armory, and is nicknamed the Stonewall Brigade in honor of its association with the 116th Infantry Regiment, tracing its lineage back to elements of an American Civil War Confederate brigade of the same name led by General Stonewall Jackson.
Leonard C. Brostrom was a United States Army infantry soldier who was killed in action near Dagami, Leyte, Philippine Islands, now the Republic of the Philippines, during the Philippines Campaign of 1944–45, in World War II. He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for his heroic actions above and beyond the call of duty. Brostrom was a member of and served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before he entered the Army.
Walter David Ehlers was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the US armed forces' highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in World War II.
Sherwood Henry Hallman was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.
Kenneth E. Gruennert was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.
First Sergeant Leonard Alfred Funk Jr. was a United States Army Medal of Honor recipient and one of the most decorated soldiers and paratroopers of World War II. While serving with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, then part of the 82nd Airborne Division, he also received the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Bronze Star Medal, and three Purple Hearts.
The 120th Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Army National Guard.
The 116th Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment in the Virginia Army National Guard.
