Ordered into active military service: 15 July 1942; Initially, soldiers reported to Camp Forrest, Tennessee, named for General Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate Cavalry commander in the Civil War. The Division later moved for training at Camp Phillips, near Salina, Kansas and at Camp Iron Mountain and Camp Laguna at the Desert Training Center in the California - Arizona Maneuver Area (DTC / C-AMA). The 80th Division, as part of MG Alexander M. Patch Jr.'s IV Corps, were stationed at Camp Laguna, AZ about 25 miles North of Yuma AZ. The 80th remained at the DTC / C-AMA from December 1943 to March 1944. Overseas: 1 July 1944 Campaigns: Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe Days of combat: 239 Distinguished Unit Citations: 6 Awards: Medal of Honor-4; Distinguished Service Cross (United States)-34; Distinguished Service Medal (United States)-1; Silver Star-771; LM-12; DFC-5; SM-35; BSM-3,869, AM-123. Commanders: Maj. Gen. Joseph D. Patch (July 1942 – March 1943), Maj. Gen. Horace L. McBride (March 1943 – October 1945), Maj. Gen. Walter E. Lauer (October 1945 – December 1945). Returned to U.S.: 3 January 1946. Inactivated: 5 January 1946. Order of battle Headquarters, 80th Infantry Division 317th Infantry Regiment 318th Infantry Regiment 319th Infantry Regiment Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 80th Infantry Division Artillery 313th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm) 314th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm) 315th Field Artillery Battalion (155 mm) 905th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm) 305th Engineer Combat Battalion 305th Medical Battalion 80th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized) Headquarters, Special Troops, 80th Infantry Division Headquarters Company, 80th Infantry Division 780th Ordnance Light Maintenance Company 80th Quartermaster Company 80th Signal Company Military Police Platoon Band 80th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment Combat chronicle On 5 August 1944, the 80th landed at Utah Beach. The division was destined to become the "work horse" of General Patton's Third Army and to play a key role in the breakthrough at Avranches. The Division then attacked Argentan, taking it, 20 August, and creating the Falaise Pocket. After mopping up in the area, the 80th took part in the Third Army dash across France, cutting through Saint-Mihiel, Châlons, and Commercy in pursuit of the retreating Germans until stopped by the lack of gasoline and other supplies at the river Seille. From 25 September to 7 November, the division maintained an aggressive defense of positions west of the Seille, and prepared for the Third Army sweep into the industrially vital Saar Basin.