92nd Infantry Division (United States)

92nd Division
92nd Infantry Division (Colored)
Shoulder sleeve insignia
Active1917–1919
1942–1945
Country United States
Branch United States Army
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
Nickname(s)"Buffalo Soldiers"
Motto(s)"Deeds, not Words"
EngagementsWorld War I

World War II

Commanders
Notable
commanders
Maj. Gen. Edward M. Almond, Maj. Gen. James W. Anderson
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia

The 92nd Infantry Division (known as the 92nd Division during World War I) was an African American, later mixed, infantry division of the United States Army that served in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. The military was racially segregated during the World Wars. The division was organized in October 1917, after the U.S. entry into World War I, at Camp Funston, Kansas, with African American soldiers from all states. In 1918, before leaving for France, the American buffalo was selected as the divisional insignia due to the "Buffalo Soldiers" nickname, given to African American cavalrymen in the 19th century. The divisional nickname, "Buffalo Soldiers Division", was inherited from the 366th Infantry, one of the first units organized in the division.

The 92nd Infantry Division was the only African American infantry division that participated in combat in Europe during World War II. Other units were used as support. It was part of the U.S. Fifth Army, fighting in the Italian Campaign[1] from 1944 to the war's end.

  1. ^ Video: U.S. Air For Allied Bombers Strike On Two Fronts Etc (1945). Universal Newsreel. 1945. Retrieved 21 February 2012.