The 75th IC was activated as the 75th Infantry Division in
World War II. Inactivated in 1945, it was reactivated in 1952 at Houston, Texas, from the assets of the disbanded 22nd Armored Division of the United States Army
Organized Reserves. It was active as an Infantry Division from 1952 to 1957, when it was reorganized and redesignated as the 75th Maneuver Area Command (MAC), and given responsibility for planning and conducting Field Training Exercises (FTX) and Command Post Exercises (CPX) for all Reserve Component units west of the Mississippi River. In 1993, the 75th MAC was redesignated as the 75th Division (Training Support) in the
Army Reserve, which in later years became designated the 75th Training Command. In January 2003, numerous units of the 75th were mobilized to train other
Army Reserve and
Army National Guard units deploying overseas in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom/
Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF). In January 2018, the 75th was reorganized into the 75th Innovation Command with its training divisions reassigned to the
84th Training Command.[2]
Lineage
Constituted 24 December 1942, in the
Army of the United States as Headquarters, 75th Infantry Division.
Further assigned 17 February 1945 to the
Ninth Army, 12th Army Group, but attached to the
British Second Army for operations and the
British VIII Corps for administration. Entered Belgium.
Withdrew to the Netherlands on 18 February 1945.
Finally assigned 1 March 1945 to the XVI Corps, Ninth Army, 12th Army Group.
Entered Germany on 10 March 1945.
Was located at
Werdohl, Germany, on 14 August 1945
Returned to Continental US at
Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation on 14 November 1945, and proceeded to
Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia.
Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 75th Infantry Division Artillery
730th Field Artillery Battalion (155 mm)
897th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
898th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
899th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
275th Engineer Combat Battalion
375th Medical Battalion
75th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)
Headquarters, Special Troops, 75th Infantry Division
Headquarters Company, 75th Infantry Division
775th Ordnance Light Maintenance Company
75th Quartermaster Company
575th Signal Company
Military Police Platoon
Band
75th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment
Combat chronicle
These combat chronicles, current as of October 1948, are drawn from The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States.[4]
The 75th Infantry Division arrived in Britain, 22 November 1944; headquarters having arrived on 2 November 1944. After a brief training program, the division landed at
Le Havre and
Rouen, 13 December, and bivouacked at
Yvetot on the 14th. When the
Von Rundstedt offensive broke in the
Ardennes, the 75th was rushed to the front and entered defensive combat, 23 December 1944, alongside the
Ourthe River, advanced to the
Aisne River, and entered Grandmenil, 5 January 1945. The division relieved the
82d Airborne Division along the
Salm River, 8 January, and strengthened its defensive positions until 17 January when it attacked, taking
Vielsalm and other towns in the area.
Shifting to the Seventh Army area in
Alsace—
Lorraine, the 75th crossed the
Colmar Canal, 1 February, and took part in the liberation of
Colmar and in the fighting between the
Rhine River and the
Vosges Mountains. It crossed the
Marne-Rhine Canal and reached the
Rhine, 7 February. After a brief rest at
Lunéville, it returned to combat, relieving the
6th British Airborne Division on a 24-mile (39 km) defensive front along the
Meuse (Maas), near
Roermond, in the Netherlands, on 21 February. From 13 to 23 March, the 75th patrolled a sector along the west bank of the Rhine from
Wesel to
Homburg, and probed enemy defenses at night.
On 24 March, elements crossed the Rhine in the wake of the 30th and
79th Divisions. Pursuit of the enemy continued as the 75th cleared the Haard Forest, 1 April, crossed the
Dortmund-Ems Canal on the 4th, and cleared the approaches to
Dortmund, which fell to the
95th Division, 13 April. Around the same time, troops of the division liberated Stalag VI-A, a POW camp where thousands of Soviet and Polish prisoners of war had died of malnutrition and disease. After taking
Herdecke, 13 April, the division moved to Braumbauer for rest and rehabilitation, then took over security and military government duties in
Westphalia. The father of
Randy Pausch was wounded and received a
Bronze Star during this time, as related in
The Last Lecture.
CSM Wilfred H. Mathis, Jr. (April 1973 to July 1982)
CSM Obie B. Johnson (July 1982 to January 1987)
CSM Richard J. Danielson (January 1987 to April 1993)
CSM Richard J. Danielson (April 1993 to June 1993)
CSM Lawrence W. Holland (June 1993 to May 1996)
CSM Phillip R. Kraus (May 1996 to September 1999)
CSM John Proffit (October 1999 to August 2001)
CSM Jerry A. Blair (December 2001 to December 2005)
CSM Thomas Boyce (December 2005 to November 2007)
CSM Thomas Boyce (November 2007 to August 2008)
CSM Paul Belanger (August 2008 to August 2011)
CSM Luther Thomas (August 2011 to September 2011)
CSM Luther Thomas (October 2011 to November 2012)
CSM Ronnie Farmer (November 2012 to October 2016)
CSM Richard T. Schoenberger (October 2016 to April 2019)
CSM Krystal Florquist (April 2019 - Present)
Current units
Also now known as the U.S. Army Reserve Innovation Command (USARIC),[7] as of January 2018, this unit was designated as the 75th Innovation Command and all previously subordinate units outside of headquarters and headquarters company were assigned to the 84th Training Command.
Current Mission: "The 75th Innovation Command drives operational innovation, concepts, and capabilities to enhance the readiness and lethality of the Future Force by leveraging the unique skills, agility, and private sector connectivity of America's
Army Reserve."[8] USARIC is designed to be in direct support of
Army Futures Command. With a requirement for senior officers and NCOs to research and publish thought leadership, there are several publications across disciplines by its members.[9][10][11][12]
Current Commander and Command Sergeant Major are MG
Martin F. Klein and CSM Kristal Florquist.[13] Current Deputy Commander is BG Robert E. Guidry.[14]
J. W. Milam – Small businessman in
Mississippi, known for confessing to lynching black teenager
Emmett Till in a magazine interview after acquittal by a local all-white jury[16]