32^nd Infantry Division

The 32nd Infantry Division entered combat in Papua in late 1942. The 126th Infantry Regiment and 128th Infantry Regiment moved to Port Moresby in September and October 1942 to attack the Buna-Sanananda beachhead. The 128th Infantry was flown to Vanigela on October 14 and advanced by motor launch to Pongani, while a battalion made a cross-country march over the Owen Stanley Mountains to Jaure. The 127th Infantry Regiment arrived at Port Moresby on November 27 and seized Buna Village on December 14 after heavy combat in the plantation and Simemi Creek bunker areas. The Battle for Buna Mission was fought from December 24 to January 1, 1943, with the division attacking fortified Japanese positions in swamp and jungle while suffering heavy losses from both combat and disease. The campaign continued into early 1943 before the beachhead was reduced.

The division later took part in additional New Guinea operations, including the assault on Saidor in January 1944, before returning to major combat in the Philippines.

On Luzon in 1945, the Red Arrow was committed to the battle for the Villa Verde Trail, where the 127th and 126th Infantry Regiments fought uphill against strongly fortified Japanese positions built along successive ridges with interlocking fields of fire. Progress was slow and costly, with gains measured in small advances over weeks of sustained combat. By late May the trail was secured, opening the route into northern Luzon. The division's wartime record extended from the hardships of Buna to one of the final demanding ground campaigns in the Philippines.