8^th Infantry Regiment

The 8th Infantry Regiment served with the 4th Infantry Division from mobilization through the end of the European war. After training at Fort Moultrie, Fort Benning, Camp Gordon, Fort Dix, Camp Gordon Johnston, and Fort Jackson, it staged at Camp Kilmer, sailed from New York on January 18, 1944, and reached England on January 29. On June 6, 1944, the regiment led the 4th Division ashore at Utah Beach. It pushed inland through light initial resistance, reached the Les Forges and Turqueville areas, and made early contact with airborne troops near Pouppeville and Sainte-Mere-Eglise.

The regiment remained central to the Cotentin campaign. It fought through Magneville, Ecausseville, and the Montebourg-Valognes approaches, then attacked the Cherbourg defenses east of La Glacerie while the division closed on the port. In July, the 8th Infantry fought in the Carentan-Periers isthmus, where mud, marsh, hedgerows, and German resistance limited gains. During Operation COBRA it attacked with tank support, passed through La Chapelle-en-Juger, and helped open the movement south. It later entered Belgium on September 6 and Germany on September 11.

In the Rhineland fighting, the 8th Infantry took part in the Schnee Eifel and West Wall attacks, then fought through the Huertgen Forest, where the regiment reached the forest edge before relief. During the Ardennes fighting it held the center of the division line in Luxembourg while elements reinforced the threatened Echternach-Osweiler sector. In 1945 the regiment crossed the Pruem, stormed Pruem, and drove rapidly toward Honerath. After crossing the Rhine and Main with the division, it advanced through Franconia and Bavaria, reaching Ansbach and then establishing a bridgehead across the Lech at Schwabstadl on April 27. It returned to the United States in July 1945 and was later inactivated at Camp Butner.