3rd Infantry Division "Blue and White Devils"

ABOUT US: The 3rd Infantry Division has one of the most successful combat records of any U.S. Army division. It has paid a high price for this distinction, suffering nearly 35,000 wartime casualties.

Fifty-one members of the 3rd Infantry Division have been awarded the Medal of Honor while serving our nation.

History (Blue and White Devils)

The Third Division was born at Camp Green, North Carolina on November 21, 1917. The U.S. had been at war with Imperial Germany and allies since April 6, 1917. The 3rd Division was composed of the 4th, 7th, 30th, and 38th Infantry Regiments, the 10th, 18th, and 76th Field Artilleries, and the 6th Engineers, with a total of 28,000 men. The Division arrived in France in April 1918 at the beginning of the last series of German offensives designed to end the war. By May of 1918 the French had been pushed back to within 50 miles of Paris. The 7th Machine Gun Battalion of the 3rd Division rushed to Chateau-Thierry amid retreating French troops and held the Germans back at the Marne River. The rest of the division was absorbed by the French Command until brought back together under the Command of Gen. Joseph Dickman and by July 15, 1918 they took the brunt of what was to be the last German offensive of the war. As units on either side of the division were driven back, men of the 30th and 38th Infantry Regiments held their positions at the Marne River, defeating the German bid for Paris. For this the division earned the nickname, "Rock of the Marne."