Shortly after its activation in 1967, the 77th Army Reserve Command (ARCOM) inherited the lineage of the 77th Infantry Division. The fame of the 77th, the "Statue of Liberty" Division, began during World War I and continued in the Pacific during World War II.

The 77th Division, National Army, was organized at Camp Upton, Yaphank, N.Y. on August 25, 1917. It called itself the "Metropolitan Division" because its personnel came almost entirely from New York City. A unit of twenty three thousand men it included Manhattan taxi drivers, Bronx tailors, Brooklyn factory hands, Wall Street executives and first generation emigrants wearing the icon of freedom.

On April 30, 1918 the 77th went ashore in France -- they were first Army division to reach France. The 77th attained its greatest fame in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. During this campaign soldiers of the "Lost Battalion", which consisted of elements of the 306th 307th and 308th Infantry Battalions made their historic stand.

For three days, the unit repulsed repeated German attacks. The Germans sent a note urging surrender. Major Charles S. Whittlesey, commander of the unit, replied "Come and get us." An act for which he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Carrier pigeons were used by the Allies to communicate positions of units and to relay messages to headquarters. The Lost Battalion was down to one pigeon, "Cher Ami". The unit attached a note with its location to Cher Ami's leg and the pigeon flew into the smoke of the battle. Despite losing a wing and a leg, Cher Ami made it to headquarters resulting in allied troops rescuing the battalion. Of the 679 men in the battalion, only 252 survived. They are honored today by the Lost Battalion Building in Rego Park, Queens NY.

The pigeon was credited with saving the unit. Cher Ami is now on display in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. During its 68 days in combat, the division fought in four campaigns -- Baccarat, Oise Aisne, Aisne-Marne, and Meuse-Argonne. Official records show no other American Division advanced closer to the German frontier than the front line of the 77th. At the end of the campaign, the division counted 2,375 men killed or reported missing and 7, 302 wounded.

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 Orginized 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.

After the Japanese surrender in August 1945, the division was assigned to the occupation of Hakodate, Hokkaido. On March 15, 1946, the Liberty Division was deactivated in Japan. During its five operations in three campaigns, the 77th spent 200 days in actual combat and lost more than 2,000 soldiers. The 77th never fought in a losing campaign.

During the postwar period, from 1947 to 1965, the 77th Infantry Division was one of the six combat divisions in the Army Reserve.The 77th Army Reserve Command (ARCOM) was formed in December 1967 as a part of the reorganization of the command structure of the Army Reserve. Six units of the 77th ARCOM were called to active duty as a result of the Pueblo Crisis in 1968. Five of these served in Vietnam and many unit members received decorations and awards for outstanding service.

Liberty Patchers were center stage during America's Statue of Liberty Centennial Celebration on July 4, 1986. The 77th ARCOM's band entertained at Lincoln Center, Gracie Mansion and on Liberty Island. The ARCOM's artillery fired a thunderous salute to the 50 states during the International Naval Review. The 77th ARCOM faced another challenge in August 1990 when the Iraqi Army invaded Kuwait. Some 3,500 soldiers from 28 ARCOM units -- about one-quarter of the ARCOM's strength -- were mobilized. Citizen-soldiers supplemented their active component counterparts not only in the Persian Gulf, but also in Germany and in the United States.

During Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Liberty Patchers controlled the loading of thousands of tons of shipboard cargo. The 77th's engineering units constructed buildings, roads, and water pipelines in support of the allied effort. They ran enemy prisoner of war camps; air evacuated patients and provided expert medical care.

Units of the 301st Area Support Group, 77th RSC were essential command and control elements providing transportation and equipment to all areas of the battlefield. They also provided military intelligence units and direct logistics support to combat units and combat service support operations. The 77th ARCOM was reorganized into the 77th Regional Support Command on October 1, 1995. The term "regional support" represents the command's mission in peacetime to support the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in case of natural or manmade disasters. It is headquartered in Bayside, Queens, New York at historic Fort Totten, where the Reserve Command has been since 1968.

In December 1995, the 77th received orders to support Operation Joint Endeavor, the United Nations peace keeping mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Since then, members of the command have provided vital Combat Service support, Military Police, Medical and Public Affairs resources while serving 270-day tours in the region.

The 77th Regional Support Command stands ready to provide the nation with trained and ready soldiers.