The 96th Infantry Division was activated on October 20, 1918 at Camp Wadsworth South Carolina and was one of the last three Divisions activated for service in World War One. After the armistice was signed in November of 1918, the Division was deactivated on January 7, 1919. On June 24, 1921, the 96th was reactivated in the Organized Reserve in Portland Oregon.

On August 15, 1942, the 96th was called into active service. During their training, the division had such a high number of expert marksmen, they earned the nickname "Deadeye." Over the next two years, the Deadeyes conducted numerous training operations all around the United States in preparation for transferring to the Pacific Theater of Operations.

In mid 1944, the 96th was assigned to the XXIV Corps under general Douglas MacAurthur and shipped out for Australia. The 96th got its baptism of fire in October, 1944. On the 20th of October, the 96th stormed ashore at Leyte, Philippines. After securing their beachhead, the 383rd Infantry moved inland for its primary objective, Tabontabon, a key town at the entrance to the Leyte Valley. In addition, the 184th Infantry captured the Dulag Airfield.

The assault on Leyte was extremely difficult. The Japanese had place sharpened cocnut tree logs all along Blue Beach 1 and Blue Beach 2. They had also dug a large anti-tank ditch that was pre-sighted with mortars and machine guns. The defenders however did not plan on the determination of the Deadeyes and were quickly overrun. After taking all of their objectives, the 96th was relieved in place by fresh troops from the Corps Reserve. The 96th fell back into defensive positions along the beachheads.

After Leyte, the Division was called upon again to lead the assault; this time the objective was the Japanese Island of Okinawa. On Easter Sunday 1945, the 96th hit the beach. Upon landing, the 96th encountered very little resistance as the Japanese had pulled back to defend the island from caves and tunnels. As they moved inland, the 96th met stiff resistance but soon overpowered the defenders and captured several airfields and key road junctions. The 96th was later relived in place by a fresh Divisions and moved into Corps Reserve.

In October of 1946, the 96th Infantry Division was deactivated and returned to Reserve status in December 1946 at Fort Missoula, Montana and was renamed the 96th Army Reserve Command. In 1967 the 96th ARCOM transferred its headquarters to Fort Douglas Utah and consisted of Reserve units in Utah, Montana and Idaho.

In 1968, the 259th Quartermaster Battalion of the 96th was activated for service in Vietnam. the 259th QM BN was one of only 35 Reserve units called up for Vietnam and distinguished themselves by providing transportation and distribution of petroleum products throughout the I Corps area of operations.

During the 70s and 80s, the 96th ARCOM went through several reorganizations. Its area was expanded to inlcude Wyoming, Colorado, North and South Dakota, and New Mexico.

Deadeye units were again called to active duty in the Fall of 1990 for Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. A total of 20 units were sent to Southwest Asia and provided engineering and logistical support, military police operations, and medical evacuations. The only Reserve Infantry unit to be activated, the 3rd Battalion of the 87th Infantry came from the 96th ARCOM.

Since Operation Desert Storm, the 96th ARCOM has provided troops for Operation Joint Endeavor and sent troops to support the Bosnian Peace mission. In 1996, the 96th ARCOM was reorganized to align with FEMA's 8th region. Since then, the 96th ARCOM has sent troops to provide purified water to victims of North DAkota flooding, and members of the 358th Public Affairs Detachment were sent to Honduras during the reliefe efforts after Hurricane Mitch.

5 Deadeye Veterans have been awarded the Medal of Honor. They are:


Cpt Seymour W. Terry

Tech Sgt Beauford T. Anderson

Pfc Clarence B. Craft

Pfc Edward J. Moskala(Posthumous)

Pvt Ova A. Kelly(Posthumous)