7th Infantry Division Metal Emblem

The Division was first activated in December 1917 in World War I as part of the American Expeditionary Force. Although elements of the division saw brief active service in World War I, it is best known for its participation in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II. The 7th reclaimed American Soil on the Attu Atoll from the Imperial Japanese Army and pressed West to Kwajalein, Leyte, and Okinawa. Following the Japanese surrender in 1945, the Division stationed at Japan and Korea, the ideal staging ground for the impending Korean War. In 1950, the 7th was one of the first units in action. It took part in the Inchon Landings where Douglass MacArthur coined the 7th his “BAYONET DIVISION” since they would stab into the heart of Korea. The Bayonet Division fought through the 1953 and transitioned to occupation operations along the newly established Demilitarized Zone.

The Division was reactivated on 21 October 1974 at Fort Ord, California and in October 1985, the division was redesignated as the first “Light Infantry Division”. The 7th Infantry Division Metal Emblem (Light) took on a rapid reaction mission. The lightfighters of the Bayonet Division were called to Honduras in 1988 for "Operation Golden Pheasant" and deployed elements to Panama in 1989-90 in Operation Just Cause. For the latter the unit was awarded a campaign streamer for its colors.