Philippine Division


Philippine Division, or from 1946–1947 the 12th Infantry Division, was the core U.S. infantry division of the United States Army's Philippine Department during World War II. On 31 July 1941, the division consisted of 10,473 troops, mostly enlisted Filipinos, known as the Philippine Scouts who formed the 45th and 57th US Infantry Regiments. All of the division's enlisted men, with the exception of the 31st Infantry Regiment, and various military police and headquarters troops, were Philippine Scouts.
In October 1941, as part of the U.S. Army Forces Far East, plans were made to "triangularize" the division. The 34th Infantry was detached from the 8th Infantry Division and moved to a port of embarkation in December 1941, along with two battalions of 105mm field artillery. The Philippine Division was to have two complete U.S. regimental combat teams in place by January 1942 to provide General Douglas MacArthur with a modern, trained mobile reaction force, while freeing up Philippine Scouts for rounding out other units. The outbreak of war in December 1941, however, isolated the Philippines and prevented implementation of the plan. It was briefly reconstituted as the 12th Infantry Division in 1944–45.

Shoulder sleeve insignia

  1. U.S. Army Forces in the Far East – 8 December 1941 – 24 December 1941.
  2. Bataan Defense Force – 24 December 1941 – 6 January 1942.
  3. U.S. Army Forces in the Far East – 6 January 1942 – 26 January 1942.
  4. II Philippine Corps – 26 January 1942 – 7 April 1942.
  5. I Philippine Corps – 7 April 1942 – 10 April 1942.
  6. Prisoner of War Captivity – 10 April 1942 – 1945

    Miscellaneous

The regimental colors of the 12th Quartermaster Regiment were given to an Army nurse by the regimental commander. Upon her capture she told the Japanese that they were "only a shawl" and kept them safe throughout more than three years of captivity. Today, the colors are on display at the U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum, Fort Lee, Virginia.

Commanders

Campaign participation credit

Decorations

Unit awards

RibbonAwardEmbroidered
Presidential Unit CitationLUZON 1941–1942
Presidential Unit CitationBATAAN
Presidential Unit CitationDEFENSE OF THE PHILIPPINES
Philippine Presidential Unit Citation7 DECEMBER 1941 TO 10 MAY 1942

Personal awards