1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Duty First Act . 2. Findings The congress finds the following: (1) The 1st Infantry Division was constituted on May 24, 1917, and is the first and oldest permanently established combat division of the United States Army. 2017 is the centennial of the Division. (2) The 1st Infantry Division has been in continuous service since its organization. (3) The 1st Infantry Division has fought with distinction in every major conflict since 1917 except the Korean War, when it was on occupation duty in Germany. (4) In World War I, the then-First Division was the first United States division to arrive in France. It fired the first American shots of the war, suffered the first casualties and secured the first American victory at the Battle of Cantigny in May, 1918. This was also the first modern, combined arms battle in American history. It fought with distinction in all subsequent campaigns and, after occupation duty in Germany, was the last combat division to return home in 1919. (5) Five division soldiers received the Medal of Honor in World War I. (6) In World War II, the 1 ID was the first to deploy to Europe. It fought in North Africa and Sicily in 1942 and 1943. General George S. Patton, Jr., commander of the United States 7th Army in the Mediterranean, stated that he would not invade Sicily without the 1 ID as the assault division. (7) The 1 ID was the lead assault division on Omaha beach in Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Against frightful odds and despite multiple challenges, it secured a beach head on a day when failure could have altered the outcome of the war. (8) The 1 ID played pivotal roles in the liberation of France and Belgium; the Battle of the Bulge; the crossing of the Rhine River