In February 1941 the 43rd entered federal service for one year, a tour that was extended after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. A year later, the 43rd Division was reorganized into a triangular division, with each brigade headquarters abolished and artillery regiments reduced to battalions. At the same time, the 102nd Infantry Regiment was detached from the Division and deployed to the Pacific theater as a separate unit. The 43rd Division trained at Camp Blanding, Florida, Camp Shelby, Mississippi and Fort Ord, California, then embarked for the South Pacific. The division, minus the 172nd Regimental Combat Team, arrived in New Zealand in October 1942. The 172nd RCT met with misfortune at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides on October 26 when its troop transport, the liner President Coolidge, struck two US mines in the harbor. Captain Elwood Euart of the 103rd Field Artillery died while rescuing some of his troops, an act which earned him a posthumous Distinguished Service Cross.
In November 1942 the division, minus the 172nd Regimental Combat Team, went on to New Caledonia for training, then deployed to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands in February 1943. From there the 43rd moved to the Russell Islands, also in the Solomons chain. The Russells proved to be unoccupied, so the division engaged in realistic training to prepare for eventual combat. In June and early July 1943 the Division landed on Rendova and New Georgia. After being augmented by units of the 25th and 37th Divisions, in August the 43rd secured its objective, the Munda airfield.
In December 1943 the 43rd Division returned to New Zealand. After a period of rest and relaxation the Division received and integrated replacement soldiers sent to take the place of those killed in action. After intensive training, in July 1944 the 43rd became part of the force driving the Japanese from New Guinea. Landing at Aitape the 43rd successfully prevented Japanese troops from reinforcing along the Drinimour River.
In January 1945 the 43rd Infantry Division participated in the amphibious landing at Lingayen Gulf on Luzon in the Philippines. In September 1945, a month after the Japanese surrender, the 43rd Division became one of the first divisions to occupy Japan. In October the Winged Victory Division returned to the United States and was deactivated at Camp Stoneman, California.
In 1946 the Division was reorganized again, and was now made up of units from Connecticut, Vermont and Rhode Island. The 172nd Infantry with the 206th Field Artillery Battalion were based in Vermont. The division headquarters, 102nd and 169th Infantry Regiments, and 963rd Field Artillery and 192nd Field Artillery were organized in Connecticut. In addition, Connecticut was also home to the 143rd Tank Battalion. Rhode Island was home to the 43rd Division Artillery Headquarters, the 103rd Field Artillery Battalion, the 118th Engineer Battalion and the 43rd Signal Company. Combat Support units were based throughout all three states.
In September 1950 the Division once again answered the President’s call when North Korea invaded South Korea. After intensive training at Camp Pickett, Virginia, the 43rd deployed to Germany to join NATO forces containing the Warsaw Pact nations in western Europe. Training and extensive field maneuvers in anticipation of a Soviet invasion of West Germany were the Division's lot for almost three years. In 1953 the 43rd was deactivated, and the division colors were returned to Hartford, Connecticut to be furled with appropriate ceremonies.
Many prominent Vermonters served in the 43rd Infantry Division. To name but a few, the previously mentioned Major General Leonard Wing, commander of the 43rd during most of World War II, was a well known Republican political figure in Vermont and would likely have been elected governor in 1946 if a heart attack hadn’t cut his life short. Decorated Winged Victory veteran Ernest Gibson Jr., son of U.S. Senator Ernest Gibson Sr., went on to be elected governor and later served as a federal judge. Oreste Valsangiacomo Sr. of Barre, also a 43rd Division veteran, served for many years as a member of the state House of Representatives, and was the long time chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. In 1953 the 43rd Division was reconstituted and took its place with the other National Guard Divisions on the Army's rolls, but in 1963 downsizing of the armed forces resulted in the colors being furled again. Today, the 43rd Infantry Division Veterans Association’s 1600 members continue to remind us of “Winged Victory’s” achievements. Their web site can be viewed at http://www.oocities.org/Pentagon/Quarters/9543/.
