Q. What sets the 1st Infantry Division apart from other
divisions of the US Army?
A. The 1st Infantry Division is the oldest and continuously active division
in the US Army today.
Q. What is a division?
A. The division is the smallest unit in the US Army that is capable of
sustained, independent action in the field.
Q. Does the division have a nickname?
A. The 1st Infantry Division has two nicknames. It has been called the
Fighting First, but the more common nickname is the Big Red One.
Q. Why is it called the Big Red One?
A. The nickname is based on the Division’s shoulder patch insignia. The
shoulder patch is composed of a red numeral one centered on a green shield
and was adopted in 1918.
Q. Does the 1st Infantry have a memorable saying embodying its spirit?
A. Yes. The motto of the Big Red One is “No Mission Too Difficult. No
Sacrifice Too Great. Duty First!”
Q. In what major conflicts has the division participated?
A. WWI, WWII, the Vietnam War, Desert Storm, Bosnia/Kosovo, and Operation
Iraqi Freedom.
Q. Please explain why there is no mention of the Korean War in the
division’s history or the museum?
A. The 1st Infantry Division did not participate in the Korean War. The
division was stationed in Germany from 1945 to 1955. There, it was the main
American military unit holding the line against any potential Soviet
invasion against Western Europe.
Q. Where is the 1st Infantry Division?
A. The Big Red One is headquartered at Fort Riley, Kansas.
Q. Why is there a museum about the division located in the suburbs outside
Chicago?
A. Col. Robert R. McCormick, the late editor and publisher of the Chicago
Tribune, owned this estate. His service with the Fighting First during WWI
had so impressed him that he renamed his estate Cantigny in honor of the
Division’s first battle in France. When Col. McCormick passed away, his will
set up a trust to open and maintain his estate as a public park. The
trustees honored the Colonel’s love of the division by establishing a First
Division Museum on the estate.