314^th Infantry Regiment

The 314th Infantry Regiment was organized at Camp Pickett on June 15, 1942, assigned to the 79th Infantry Division, and trained in Florida, Tennessee, California, Kansas, and Massachusetts before sailing from Boston on April 7, 1944. It reached England on April 16 and landed in France on June 14. During the assault on Cherbourg, the regiment moved into the division line after the first advance and captured Fort du Roule on June 26, helping break the fortress-city's commanding defenses. It then fought with the division on the Ollonde line, at La Haye-du-Puits, and across the Cotentin pursuit.

In August, the regiment crossed the Seine at Mantes-Gassicourt at daybreak on August 20 while engineers built the treadway bridge. In Lorraine the 314th made one of the division's first deep moves, advancing by motor toward Charmes on September 11, attacking the town the next day, and fording the Moselle after German demolitions destroyed the bridges. It then crossed the Moselle again for the renewed advance and fought through Moncel, the Meurthe River line, and the Foret de Mondon. The 3rd Battalion's role in that forest battle was later recognized with a Distinguished Unit Citation.

The regiment continued through the Foret de Parroy, Embermenil, the high ground east of the town, Fremonville, Haguenau, and the Lauter-Wissembourg defenses. During the January 1945 Alsace fighting it served briefly with the 45th Infantry Division; later German attacks and the Drusenheim battle checked its attempts to regain ground near the Rhine. Detached to XVI Corps in late February, it held forward Roer positions as a diversion for Operation Grenade. In March it was division reserve during the Rhine assault, then completed the drive to the Emser Canal and fought through the canal and Ruhr security operations in Germany.