The 77th was deactivated in May 1919 and reactivated for W.W.II in the spring of 1942. "The old bastards" as they were nicknamed were part of the Organized Reserves Corps and began training at Fort Jackson S.C. in March of 1942.

Assembled in less than 40 days the 77th trained for more than a year before being deployed to liberate the islands of the South Pacific. They were the oldest Infantry unit in the Army and made their initial landing on the island of Guam, the first populated island captured by the Japanese.

The 77th spent May and June of 1945 on the front lines in Okinawa, often fighting hand-to-hand. On the island of Ie Shima, three miles west of Okinawa, the 77th saw some of its worst fighting. The capture of Ie Shima was crucial to the Pacific war effort. Among the 239 soldiers who died was one civilian, famed war correspondent Ernie Pyle.

Soldiers of the Liberty Division erected a crude wooden monument to the beloved Pulitzer Prize winner who was slain by a Japanese sniper.

Information obtained from:

https://www.stripes.com/news/special-reports/world-war-ii-the-final-chapter/features/the-bloody-battle-for-okinawa-veterans-recall-the-luck-grit-that-got-them-through-1.360127#.WcE9d_m-0yo