4ID History

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On Nov. 17, 1917, the 4th Infantry Division was formed at Camp Greene, North Carolina, to begin its long tradition of service to our country. In April 1918, the Ivy Division embarked en route to fight in France.  By the time the “Great War” ended Nov. 11, 1918, the Ivy Division served with distinction earning five battle streamers.

The 4th Infantry Division was reactivated on June 1, 1940, at Fort Benning, Georgia, and immediately began training for war. Sent to England in January 1944 for amphibious training prior to D-Day, the 4th ID was first ashore, landing at Utah Beach on June 6, 1944. After a successful landing and breakout from Normandy, the 4th Division pushed into France and liberated Paris. The division then moved to Luxembourg where Ivy Soldiers became the first U.S. Soldiers to breach the Siegfried Line and enter Germany. The 4th ID moved north to face the Germans in the bloody Hurtgen Forest and after weeks of brutal combat returned to Luxembourg for action in the Battle of the Bulge. The 4th ID halted the enemy advance in December and attacked into Germany. ​

 The Fighting Fourth was again called into action in the Fall of 1966 and was sent to Vietnam. The division was given a large area of the central highlands to control and a base camp was soon established at Pleiku. During the next four years, the 4th ID engaged the enemy in brutal combat. Fighting in dense triple canopy jungle, the heat and monsoons continually tested the division which responded with heroic determination. They eliminated enemy incursions moving from the Ho Chi Minh Trail through Cambodia and Laos. The division redeployed on Dec. 7, 1970.​

 Ivy Soldiers returned to combat in 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and would deploy multiple times during the next 16 years. After arriving in April 2003, the division established Task Force Iron Horse in Tikrit and in December 2003 the 4th ID along with special operations forces captured Saddam Hussein.  4th ID HQ’s returned in both 2005 and 2007 to command MND-Baghdad and the four brigade combat teams made multiple deployments in support of the war.  4th ID deployed to Iraq again in 2010 and served as command for MND-North.  During this deployment Ivy Soldiers witnessed the remarkable turnaround of Iraq and its people while executing “Operation New Dawn.” ​

 In May 2009, Soldiers of the 4th BCT deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and became the first Ivy Soldiers to enter the war in Afghanistan since it began in 2001. Since then, Soldiers from every brigade in the Ivy Division have deployed in support of the war in Afghanistan. Ivy Soldiers have served with distinction and include three Medal of Honor winners.  The 4th Infantry Division deployed for Operation Freedom’s Sentinel from 2018-2019, and the Division Headquarters recently deployed in Europe in support of Operation Assure, Deter, Reinforce, adding yet another chapter to the legacy and heroic history of the mighty 4th Infantry Division – America’s Best. ​