In February 1941, as the world edged toward global war, the 43d Infantry Division was called into federal service. Drawn from National Guard units from Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont, the division was made up largely of young citizen-soldiers who expected weekend drills—not a one-way ticket to war. They were clerks, students, mechanics, and factory workers. Yet within months, they would be in the Pacific, half a world away. After intense training, these men found themselves in unfamiliar jungles and island chains. The 43d Infantry Division took part in four major campaigns—Guadalcanal, the Northern Solomons, New Guinea, and Luzon in the Philippines—where combat was often close, brutal, and personal. Hand-to-hand fighting against a determined enemy was not an exception; it was the reality. In total, the division spent 370 days in active combat.
Beyond the front lines, the 43d also played a critical role in securing New Zealand against possible Japanese invasion, helping safeguard a vital Allied stronghold in the Pacific. The 43rd Division’s service did not end with World War II. In 1950, it was once again federalized during the Korean War and deployed to Germany as part of America’s Cold War defense. This presentation offers a look at the history of the 43d Infantry Division – one of the Army’s most tested and decorated citizen-soldier units of the Second World War, honoring the men whose courage and sacrifice carried them from New England towns to the farthest reaches of the Pacific.
David Thiede is a U.S. Navy veteran and a longtime member of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. His father served with the 169th Infantry during World War II—though, like many men of that generation, he spoke little of his wartime experiences.
Seeking to better understand his father’s service, David began researching in 2009 and discovered the 43rd Infantry Division Veterans Association, founded by returning WWII veterans themselves. David and his wife soon began attending reunions, where they had the rare privilege of getting to know and learn directly from several World War II veterans and their families. In time, David assumed the role of director of the association, which remains active today, preserving the legacy of the division and the men who served in it.