Insignia

[Excerpt from Wyllie, Col. Robert E. "The Romance of Military Insignia."
 The National Geographic Magazine, Vol. XXXVI, No. 6. December, 1919. ]

The bovine skull on the insignia is a conventionalization of the Mexican water flask, and with the name, Sandstorm Division, is strongly suggestive of the State where the division was organized and trained.

Nickname

"Sandstorm" Division.

Background

On 15 July 1917, the National Guard of Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota are called into Federal Service, and on 18 July 1917 are designated as the 34th Division.  Concentration began at Camp Cody, NM, on 3 August 1917.  Movement overseas commenced on 20 August 1918 and was completed by 24 October 1918.  On 17 October 1918, the War Department directed that the division be skeletonized, and many units were stripped of soldiers as they arrived in France. 

Primary Units

67th Infantry Brigade:
133d Infantry Regiment
134th Infantry Regiment
126th Machine Gun Battalion

68th Infantry Brigade:
135th Infantry Regiment
136th Infantry Regiment
127th Machine Gun Battalion

59th Field Artillery Brigade:
125th Field Artillery Regiment *
126th Field Artillery Regiment (75mm)
127th Field Artillery Regiment (155mm)
109th Trench Mortar Battery

Divisional Troops:
125th Machine Gun Battalion
109th Engineer Regiment
109th Field Signal Battalion
109th Train Headquarters and MP
109th Ammunition Train
109th Supply Train
109th Engineer Train
109th Sanitary Train (Ambulance Companies & Field Hospitals 133, 134, 135, 136)

* Originally organized as 3" (horse), changed to 6" (motorized), changed to 155.

Product Flyers

DB PA-3: Camp Dix in the World War

Copyright © 2001-2007
The Digital Bookshelf