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.
Norman Daniel "Dutch" Cota, Sr. was a senior United States Army officer who fought during World War II. Cota was heavily involved in the planning and execution of the Allied invasion of Normandy, in June 1944, codenamed Operation Neptune, and the subsequent Battle of Normandy. He is known for rallying demoralized troops on Omaha Beach on D-Day, by engaging in combat beside them and personally leading their first successful breakout, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC).
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 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.
David Bruce Bleak was a soldier of the United States Army during the Korean War. Bleak rose to the rank of staff sergeant and was awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration of the United States, for his actions near Minari-gol, South Korea, on 14 June 1952.
The Virginia National Guard is part of the National Guard of the United States, a dual federal-state military reserve force. It consists of the Virginia Army National Guard and Virginia Air National Guard.. The National Guard may be called into federal service in response to a call by the President of the United States 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".
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.
Puerto Ricans have served as members of the United States Armed Forces and have fought in every major conflict in which the United States has been involved from World War I onward. Many Puerto Ricans, including those of Puerto Rican descent, have distinguished themselves during combat as members of the five branches of the U.S. Military, the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and the Coast Guard.
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.
Woodrow Wilson Keeble was a U.S. Army National Guard combat veteran of both World War II and the Korean War. In 2008, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroic actions during the Korean War. He was a member of the people of the Lake Traverse Reservation, a federally recognized tribe of Dakota people.
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.
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.
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 116th Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment in the Virginia Army National Guard.
