409^th Infantry Regiment

The 409th Infantry Regiment was organized at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, on November 15, 1942, with the 103rd Infantry Division. After Louisiana maneuvers, Camp Howze, and Camp Shanks, it sailed from New York on October 6, 1944, and landed at Marseille on October 20. The regiment entered combat as the division relieved elements of the 3rd Infantry Division near St. Die in November. With the 411th Infantry, it cleared the wooded hill mass between St. Die and the Taintrux valley from November 16 to 18, giving the division its first offensive experience in the Vosges.

During the Meurthe operation, the regiment crossed through 3rd Division bridge sites on November 20-21 and pushed into the high ground north and northeast of St. Die. Elements of the 409th entered St. Die on November 22, while Task Force Haines, built around its 2nd Battalion, secured much of the road from St. Die toward Provencheres-sur-Fave. Provencheres fell on November 24 under pressure from the task force, the 409th, and nearby 3rd Division units. The regiment then moved with the division through Ville toward the Alsatian plain. In December it advanced with the 411th through Woerth and linked with the 14th Armored Division near Soultz-sous-Forets before the division reached the Lauter and German border.

After the January defensive fighting on the Moder, the 409th was attached briefly to the 45th Infantry Division. In March it helped break through the German frontier defenses; a task force based on the 2nd Battalion and tanks entered Reisdorf. In the final drive it cleared Schongau, advanced with the 10th Armored Division toward Partenkirchen, crossed into Austria, reached Seefeld, Telfs, and Zirl, and sent a reinforced battalion east along the Inn to Worgl. By the cease-fire, its war had moved from hard mountain infantry work in the Vosges to fast pursuit through Bavaria and the Tyrol.