Original Item: Only One Available. This is an excellent example of an 82nd Division wool tunic. The best feature of the tunic is the accented 82nd patch located on the left shoulder. It is a square patch with stylized letter A’s in the national colors, red, white, and blue. Activated in 1918 during World War I, as an infantry division, it was nicknamed the All American, because it was composed of soldiers from all 48 states.

The wool uniform itself is in wonderful condition and exhibits minor wear and scattered moth nips. This was more than likely a uniform that was worn during the Occupation or on the way home. The left shoulder features a lovely AA “All Americans” insignia. The insignia itself is beautiful and still completely attached. The chevrons present are a single red discharge stripe on the left sleeve and two inverted overseas chevrons on the lower left cuff denoting 12 months of overseas service, both sets still completely attached and in wonderful condition.

A lovely uniform ready for further research and display.

The 82nd Division was first constituted as an infantry division on 5 August 1917 during World War I in the National Army. It was organized and formally activated on 25 August 1917 at Camp Gordon, Georgia. The division consisted entirely of newly conscripted soldiers. The citizens of Atlanta held a contest to give a nickname to the new division. Major General Eben Swift, the commanding general, chose "All American" to reflect the unique composition of the 82nd—it had soldiers from all 48 states. The bulk of the division was two infantry brigades, each commanding two regiments. The 163rd Infantry Brigade commanded the 325th Infantry Regiment and the 326th Infantry Regiment. The 164th Infantry Brigade commanded the 327th Infantry Regiment and the 328th Infantry Regiment. Also in the division were the 157th Field Artillery Brigade, composed of the 319th, 320th and 321st Field Artillery Regiments and the 307th Trench Mortar Battery; a divisional troops contingent, and a division train. It sailed to Europe to join the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), commanded by General John Pershing, on the Western Front.

William P. Burnham, who had previously commanded the 164th Brigade, led the division during most of its training and its movement to Europe. In early April, the division embarked from the ports in Boston, New York and Brooklyn to Liverpool, England, where the division fully assembled by mid-May 1918. From there, the division moved to mainland Europe, leaving Southampton and arriving at Le Havre, France, and then moved to the British-held region of Somme on the front lines, where it began sending small numbers of troops and officers to the front lines to gain combat experience. On 16 June it moved by rail to Toul, France to take a position on the front lines in the French sector. Its soldiers were issued French weapons and equipment to simplify resupply. The division was briefly assigned to I Corps before falling under the command of IV Corps until late August. It was then moved to the Woëvre front, in the Lagney sector, where it operated with the French 154th Infantry Division.

St. Mihiel
The division relieved the 26th Division on 25 June. Though Lagney was considered a defensive sector, the 82nd Division actively patrolled and raided in the region for several weeks, before being relieved by the 89th Division. From there it moved to the Marbache sector in mid-August, where it relieved the 2nd Division under the command of the newly formed US First Army. There it trained until 12 September, when the division joined the St. Mihiel offensive.

Once the First Army jumped off on the offensive, the 82nd Division engaged in a holding mission to prevent German forces from attacking the right flank of the First Army. On 13 September, the 163rd Infantry Brigade and 327th Infantry Regiment raided and patrolled to the northeast of Port-sur-Seille, toward Eply, in the Bois de Cheminot, Bois de la Voivrotte, Bois de la Tête-d'Or, and Bois Fréhaut. Meanwhile, the 328th Infantry Regiment, in connection with the attack of the 90th Division against the Bois-le-Prêtre, advanced on the west of the Moselle River, and, in contact with the 90th Division, entered Norroy, advancing to the heights just north of that town where it consolidated its position. On 15 September, the 328th Infantry, in order to protect the 90th Division's flank, resumed the advance, and reached Vandières, but withdrew on the following day to the high ground north of Norroy.

On 17 September, the St-Mihiel Operation stabilized, and the 90th Division relieved the 82nd's troops west of the Moselle River. On 20 September, the 82nd was relieved by the French 69th Infantry Division, and moved to the vicinity of Marbache and Belleville, then to stations near Triaucourt and Rarécourt in the area of the First Army. During this operation, the division suffered heavy casualties from enemy artillery. The operation cost the division over 800 men. Among them was Colonel Emory Jenison Pike of the 321st Machine Gun Battalion, the first member of the 82nd to be awarded the Medal of Honor. The division was then moved into reserve until 3 October, when it assembled near Varennes-en-Argonne prior to returning to the line. During this time, the division trained and prepared for the war's final major offensive at Meuse-Argonne.

Meuse-Argonne
The division was next moved to the Clermont area, located west of Verdun on 24 September. They were stationed there to act as a reserve for the US First Army. George B. Duncan, former commander of the 77th Division, relieved Burnham on 3 October, and Burnham subsequently served as military attaché in Athens, Greece. On the night of 6/7 October 1918, the 164th Infantry Brigade relieved troops of the 28th Division, which were holding the front line from south of Fléville to La Forge, along the eastern bank of the Aire River. The 163rd Infantry Brigade remained in reserve. On 7 October the division, minus the 163rd Infantry Brigade, attacked the northeastern edge of the Argonne Forest, making some progress toward Cornay, and occupied Hill 180 and Hill 223. The next day it resumed the attack. Elements of the division's right flank entered Cornay but later withdrew to the east and south. The division's left flank reached the southeastern slope of the high ground northwest of Châtel-Chéhéry. On 9 October, the division continued its attack, and advanced its left flank to a line from south of Pylône to the Rau de la Louvière.

For the rest of the month, the division turned to the north and advanced astride the Aire River to the region east of St-Juvin. On 10 October, it relieved troops of 1st Division on the right, north of Fléville, as far as a new boundary extending north and south through Sommerance. It then attacked and captured Cornay and Marcq, and established the front just to their south. On 11 October, the right flank of the division occupied Sommerance and the high ground north of la Rance Rau while the left advanced to the railroad south of the Aire. The next day, the 42nd relieved the 82nd's troops in and near Sommerance, allowing it to resume the attack. The 82nd passed through part of the Hindenburg defensive position and reached a line just north of the road from St-Georges to St-Juvin.

On 18 October, the division relieved elements of the 78th as far to the left as Marcq and Champigneulle. Three days later it advanced to the Ravin aux Pierres. On 31 October, the 82nd, except the artillery, was relieved by the 77th Division and the 80th Division, and assembled in the Argonne Forest near Champ-Mahaut. On 2 November, the division concentrated near La Chalade and Les Islettes, and, on 4 November, moved to training areas in Vaucouleurs. On 10 November, it moved again to training areas in Bourmont, where it remained until the 11 November armistice. During this campaign the division suffered another 7,000 killed and wounded. A second 82nd soldier, Alvin C. York, received the Medal of Honor for his actions during this campaign. Which involved rushing a German machine gun nest capturing over a hundred German soldiers and killing 23 soldiers.

During the Spanish-American War, several volunteer units were sent for tropical duty wearing lightweight cotton rather than the Army’s standard blue wool uniforms. Following experiences in the Spanish-American War, the U.S. Army formally adopted khaki-colored uniforms. It would only be a few years until it had all but abandoned the blue wool it had worn for more than a century.

As early as 1898, regulations specified a field service blouse for all commissioned officers and enlisted men to be made of “cotton drilling or khaki, light-brown in color…” This departure from the blue uniform, however, was only for the service uniform. While “on marches, fatigue duty, and ordinary wear,” troops were instructed to wear the blue wool surge, 5-button field blouse with rolled collar.

In 1902, the Army introduced a new set of uniform regulations that marked the beginning of a new era for all branches of its service. It abandoned helmets with horsehair plumes, dress coats with distinctive facings and fatigue uniforms made of blue wool. It adopted more practical headwear and drab earth tones for both uniforms and equipment. Like many of the armies of its European counterparts, the U.S. Army was entering the century with a new look more suitable for camouflage than for parade ground pomp (it did, however, retain a dress blue uniform for formal occasions).

The new service blouse for enlisted men had a rollover collar and pointed cuffs. The regulations described it as, “A single-breasted sack coat of olive drab woolen material or khaki-colored cotton material, made with two outside breast choked-bellows pockets and two outside pockets of the same pattern below the waist; pockets to be without plaits and covered by flaps, rounded at edges, buttoned by a small regulation button.” The last portion of this description alludes to another important change in the Army’s appearance: The regulation button.

The Army had worn bright brass or silver-colored buttons on its service uniforms from the beginning. This changed in 1902, however, with the adoption of a subdued, dull bronze button. The 1902 pattern General Service button featured the nation’s Great Seal with no rim around the circumference. It was produced in three sizes: Cuff, blouse and overcoat. The two smaller sizes were also produced in gilt for use on the dress uniform. The 1902 button would remain the standard pattern used on all of the Army’s dress and service uniforms until the adoption of a rimmed variant in 1912.

Over the following nine years, the khaki blouse would undergo no fewer than 10 specifications. Initially, the cotton khaki blouse was to be worn at tropical posts and coastal artillery emplacements within the United States. In 1907, the regulations were changed permitting wear of the cotton blouse during the summer months at all Army posts.

Limited production of a woolen blouse began in 1903 with most troops receiving their first issue after 1904. Production continued with very few modifications until 1906 when Specification No. 815 replaced the rolled-over with a “Standing/Falling”. Later that year, the pattern was slightly altered to include collar lining. In 1907, the regulations were changed permitting wear of the cotton blouse during the summer months at all Army posts.

In 1909, a significant change to the soldier’s appearance occurred. Specification No. 1038 required all woolen blouses to be made in olive drab green. Remaining stocks of khaki were to be issued as the change was implemented.

Finally, in August 1911, the Quartermaster General approved the discontinuation of the stand-and-fall collar, replacing it with simple standing version. This is the style of blouse that Pershing’s Army Expeditionary Force would wear to Europe in 1917.