Also known as the “Sunset Division” because of its West Coast location, during WW II it was composed of National Guard regiments from  Idaho. Oregon, Montana (163rd Infantry Regiment), Washington, and Wyoming. The Division was composed of mostly young men from the Pacific Northwest from farms and ranches, small towns  and larger cities. A common motivation for joining  for most recruits was to earn extra income to help support their families during the difficult economic times of the pre-war Depression. The regiments of the 41st were called up for advanced training at Fort Lewis near Tacoma, Washington in 1941. Great Britain  and France were already at war with Germany raising fears that the United States might soon be involved,
as well. These fears were soon confirmed when  Japan attacked U.S. forces at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 with German and Italy declaring war within days. The 41st Division was initially  assigned guard duty along the coasts of Washington and Oregon to respond to public fear of an invasion by Japanese forces. Japan also attacked U.S. forces in the Philippines, as well as British forces in Singapore Malaya and the Dutch colonies in the East Indies. The Japanese also attacked Darwin, Australia in February 1942 with repeated air raids in the region which killed and wounded over 600. The 41 st became one of the first U.S. Army units to engage in offensive ground combat operations overseas during World We II when troops were sent to Australia in April, 1942 to help oppose the Japanese invasion of New Guinea. The division fought for over three years in horrendous swamps and steaming jungles against very tough Japanese opponents, earning them their nickname, “The Jungleers.” The division suffered its heaviest casualties in the 1944 Battle of Biak at the conclusion of the New Guinea campaign. In the final months of the war, the division had a major role i the liberation of the Southern Philippines. The Divisio1 fought 380 days in combat and suffered 4,260 total casualties. The division ended its Pacific theater service with occupation duty in Japan after its surrender in September 1945.