"The war in Italy was tough. The land and the weather were both against us. It rained and it rained. Vehicles bogged down and bridges washed out. The country was shockingly beautiful, and just as shockingly hard to capture from the enemy."

- Ernie Pyle in "Brave Men", 1944

CUSTER DIVISION

Organization

Camp Shelby Monument

Sons and Daughters of the Polar Bears of World War II

Custer Links

Custermen of the 339th Infantry near Formia, Italy, May 1944
(National Archives & Records Administration)

Welcome to the unofficial web site of
The Polar Bear Association of World War II
Veterans of the 339th Infantry, 910th Field Artillery Battalion, Co. C, 310th Engineers, and Co. C, 310th Medical Battalion of the 85th Infantry Division, Fifth Army.

The 85th Infantry Division was the second all-draftee infantry division to see combat in World War II. The division was named after George Armstrong Custer, a native of Michigan where the division was activated in 1917 for service during World War I. Re-activated at Camp Shelby, Mississippi in May 1942 the division trained at Camp Shelby, in nearby DeSoto National Forest, in the swamps of Louisiana, and at Camps Coxcomb and Pilot Knob at the Desert Training Area in California. In December 1943 and January 1944 the Custer Division was shipped overseas and landed in North Africa where the division went into further training in the Atlas Mountains of Algeria and then at the Invasion Training Center on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. In March 1944, the division's forward elements arrived in Italy and went into the line near Minturno. The division was officially in action as a complete unit on April 14, 1944. From that point on, the 85th Infantry Division was one of Fifth Army's premier fighting divisions and contributed directly to the capture of Rome, the destruction of the German "Gothic Line" in the North Apennines, and the closure of the Brenner Pass in the Italian Alps. At the close of hostilities, the Custer Division performed redeployment duties in Italy until ordered to return to the United States where it was deactivated on August 26, 1945.

Latest Updates:

August 2009: The Polar Bear Association of World War II held their final reunion in September 2008, at which time the assoication disbanded after fifty two years of comradeship and reunions. Among the guests attending the last reunion was a high interest in forming a new organization, the "Sons and Daughters of the Polar Bears of World War II". The groundwork was laid for this new association to continue to meet to honor the veterans who served in Combat Team 9, with the next meeting to be held in the fall of 2010. To find out more, read the first Sons and Daughters of the Polar Bears of World War II Newsletter for August 2009.

Crankshaft by Tom Batiuk & Chuck Ayers copyright 2005 King Features Syndicate, All Rights Reserved

Polar Bear Association of World War II

The unofficial webpages of the Polar Bear Association of World War II, the veterans of the 339th Infantry, C Co., 310th Engineers, 910th Field Artillery Bn, and C Co., 310th Medical Bn. Content of this site is the sole responsibility of the webmaster. Author: John Heiser. Copyright 2002-2008. All rights reserved. No material or photos maybe copied or reproduced without permission of the author. This site is not affiliated with the US Department of Defense or the United States Armed Forces. If you have questions or comments on this site, drop me a line at Custer Division Home.

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The Author's Corner

This webpage is just a beginning and trust me, there is a lot more to come! Future plans are for an expanded number of pages on the history of all three infantry regiments of the 85th Infantry Division, and brief histories of the division artillery, engineers, medical, and other support units. Additions will be added as time permits the author who is dealing with a heavy work load in the real world... Check back in the future and watch us grow. This home page is the sole responsibility of John Heiser and all rights are reserved. No material or photos maybe reproduced without permission of the author. (And that's that!)

Like hundreds of other grateful sons, I'm proud that my dad was a serviceman in the Army of the United States during World War II. Pfc. Wilford C. "Bill" Heiser served in A Company, 399th Infantry, 100th Infantry Division and overseas in F Company, 339th Infantry, 85th Infantry Division.