Honored Division Week #7: Black Knights head to Tulsa, honor 1st Infantry Division with gameday patch
The Army West Point Football team (4-2) heads back on the road to face Tulsa in another American Conference matchup at 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 23 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, following a 56-24 Homecoming victory over Florida Atlantic.
As the Black Knights take the field this week against the Hurricane, they will honor the 1st Infantry Division with division patches on the back of their helmets. The recognition highlights the history, accomplishments and continued service of Army divisions as part of the Honored Division theme featured throughout the 2026 football season.
The 1st Infantry Division represents Soldiers and units stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas.
History of the 1st Infantry Division
The 1st Infantry Division, “The Big Red One,” is the oldest continuously serving field division in the Regular United States Army, having served in nearly every major American conflict since its formation more than 100 years ago.
Though the U.S. Army had temporarily formed divisions throughout its history, World War I saw its first adoption of permanent divisions, the first of which was the Big Red One. The division was officially organized on June 8, 1917, at Fort Jay on Governor’s Island in New York Harbor.
Originally designated as the “First Expeditionary Division,” the division was the first of many American units formed to answer the urgent call for Allied reinforcements in Europe. Arriving in France on June 26, 1917, under the command of Brig. Gen. William L. Sibert, the division soon adopted its iconic red numeral "1" patch. The Big Red One became the first American division to launch a major offensive against German forces in World War I, successfully capturing enemy positions at Cantigny in May 1918.
Fighting with distinction at Soissons and Saint-Mihiel, the division played a decisive and costly role in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Having been the first American unit to engage the enemy and having suffered the highest casualties of any U.S. division in World War I, the Big Red One was also the last to leave France, finally returning home from occupation duty in September 1919.
Duringtheinterwaryears,thedivisioncontinuedtrainingandadaptingtomaintaincombatreadiness.FollowingtheattackonPearlHarborinDecember1941,theBigRedOnepreparedforoverseasdeployment,adoptingamphibiouswarfaretechniquesaheadofOperationTorch,theAlliedinvasionofNorthAfricainNovember1942.
Under the command of Maj. Gen. Terry Allen, the division raced hundreds of miles to the east into Tunisia where it encountered Rommel’s vaunted Afrika Korps in the vicinity of Kasserine Pass, learning costly lessons that would ultimately harden its Soldiers for the years of fighting ahead.
The Big Red One continued pushing back Axis forces across North Africa, contributing to their eventual surrender in Tunisia in May 1943. Two months later, the division crossed the Mediterranean to invade Sicily, landing at Gela as part of Gen. George Patton's Seventh Army. Its Soldiers fought through rugged terrain and fierce resistance, including repeated enemy counterattacks at the contested hilltop town of Troina.
Following the Sicily campaign, the division relocated to England to prepare for the Allied invasion of France. On June 6, 1944, the division played a decisive role in the D-Day landings at Omaha Beach, one of the most heavily defended sectors of the Normandy invasion. Despite suffering heavy casualties, its Soldiers overcame German defenses, scaled the bluffs and helped establish a foothold for Allied forces in France.
Following weeks of fighting through Normandy's hedgerow country, the division advanced across France and into Germany. In October 1944, the Big Red One helped capture Aachen, the first German city to fall to Allied forces during World War II. The division continued fighting through fierce resistance in the Hürtgen Forest and the Ardennes before advancing into Czechoslovakia, where it was stationed when German forces surrendered in May 1945.
Following the war, the Big Red One remained in Germany as part of the American occupation force, including providing security for the Nuremberg trials. The division continued serving in Europe during the early Cold War before returning to the United States in 1955 and establishing its home at Fort Riley, Kansas.
A decade later, the division once again deployed overseas, this time to Southeast Asia. Accustomed to large-scale conventional operations in Europe, the Big Red One adapted to the challenging terrain, airmobile warfare and counterinsurgency operations that characterized its five years in Vietnam.
Operating primarily north of Saigon, the division participated in major air-ground operations, including efforts to counter the Tet Offensive. Its Soldiers continued conducting combat operations until the division redeployed to Fort Riley in 1970 as part of the Vietnamization of the conflict.
The division faced new challenges in the post-Cold War era. In late 1990, the Big Red One deployed to Saudi Arabia as part of Operation Desert Shield in response to Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait. During Operation Desert Storm in early 1991, the division led an assault through Iraqi defensive positions, engaging enemy armored formations during the 100-hour ground war. Later in the decade, elements of the division deployed as peacekeepers to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo.
Following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the division supported repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Supporting Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, its brigade combat teams conducted counterinsurgency operations and worked alongside local security forces throughout the region.
Today, the Big Red One remains an integral component of the Army's armored forces, fielding brigade combat teams and supporting formations essential to combined arms and large-scale combat operations. With a continued focus on Central and Eastern Europe in support of NATO allies, the division remains ready to answer the nation’s call.
From the 1st Infantry Division to West Point
Maj. Thomas Hoyt, a 2016 U.S. Military Academy graduate and instructor in the Department of Systems Engineering, teaches production operations management to first-class cadets.
After commissioning as an Engineer officer and completing the Engineer Basic Officer Leader Course, Hoyt joined the 1st Infantry Division's 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team in December 2016. He served in several leadership positions with the division until May 2019, including as an Armored Sapper platoon leader and Engineer company executive officer.
Wearing the Big Red One patch on his shoulder, Hoyt described it as an “incredibly proud” experience. “I arrived at Fort Riley just as the division was beginning the celebration of its 100th anniversary,” Hoyt recalled. “It’s hard to describe how connected to history you feel serving in a unit with such a rich heritage.”
His time with the division included rotations to South Korea and Europe, where he gained valuable experience and developed lasting friendships with fellow Soldiers.
“As soon as I arrived at 1st ID, I was sent to join the unit on its rotation to South Korea,” Hoyt stated. “The friends I made during that time are some of the closest I have ever had.”
One of his fondest memories at the division was participating in the 2018 Best Sapper Competition where he partnered with Sgt. Gary Coggins.
“We were probably 36 hours into the experience and droning,” Hoyt remembered. “All of sudden, Sgt. Coggins started singing the Big Red One song. I joined in, and we burst out of the wood line, more screaming than singing at that point. It fully rejuvenated my spirit, and I still look back at that as one of my best memories there.”
He also took part in Operation Atlantic Resolve, as the unit was spread across Poland, Germany, Bulgaria and Romania.
More than any single event, Hoyt explained that he grew as a leader through his interaction with Soldiers and other officers.
He credited several mentors from his time with the division with challenging him to grow professionally, including his battalion executive officer, Maj. Paul Steltzer, and his first company commander, Capt. Mike Ecklund.
“Steltzer was one of the best officers I ever served under,” Hoyt declared. “He was demanding, but he challenged us to develop and did it in a way that progressively forced us to engage with both how the unit operated and how doctrine said we should function. More importantly, he was always willing to take time to provide guidance and give genuinely insightful critique.”
Ecklund was also an inspiration who not only challenged his unit to better themselves as leaders, but “he also modeled it in everything he did.”
“He was the type of officer who made you want to be the best version of yourself,” Hoyt said.
Capt. John Andon, a junior rotational instructor in West Point's Department of History and War Studies, teaches HI302, History of Military Art, 1900-Present, to junior and senior cadets.
Commissioned through Villanova University in 2016 as a Field Artillery officer who later transitioned to Military Intelligence, Andon served with the 1st Infantry Division from December 2016 to July 2021. During his five years with the division, he held six different positions, ranging from company fire support officer to division artillery assistant intelligence officer.
Having spent half of his military career at Fort Riley, Andon is proud to have operated in the oldest battalion, brigade and division in the U.S. Army.
“Donning the Big Red One on my left shoulder, I knew that I would forever be a part of the division’s long and storied legacy, stretching from the first American battle of World War I all the way through the present day,” Andon said. “The Big Red One has always been the first to fight and the last to come home – when all else fails, the Army can always count on its First Division.”
Andon is particularly proud of his service with the 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery, the oldest continuously serving unit in the U.S. Army, dating back to January 1776.
“After the Revolution, the entire Continental Army was disbanded with the exception of one battery-sized unit to guard the weapons and ordnance stores at West Point – this was my first unit,” Andon confirmed. “And the present-day 1-5 FA has been with the Big Red One since its formation in 1917.”
While proud of the division's history, Andon said some of his most meaningful connections came during rotational deployments to Europe, where he had opportunities to experience the places associated with the division's past campaigns.
“I tread the same battlefields that my battalion and division had fought over 75 years prior in Europe,” Andon stated. “Stretching from the Hurtgen Forest to Czechoslovakia.”
Andon also credited his time with the Big Red One with helping him develop as an officer, particularly when he transitioned from field artillery to military intelligence responsibilities shortly before a deployment in 2019.
"Learning on the job in a deployed environment, I gained invaluable experience as a tactical staff officer that would influence the reminder of my career through the present day," Andon said.
More than a Patch on Gameday
When the Army Football team takes the field in Tulsa, seeing the Big Red One patch on the back of the players' helmets will hold particular significance for Hoyt.
“First, it’s a look into the future for many of the cadets in the stands and on the field,” Hoyt said. “Some of them will be wearing that patch in just a few years, leading Soldiers as platoon leaders at Fort Riley, just like I did. Seeing it on gameday is a reminder that everything the cadets do here, in the classroom, in training and on the field is preparing them for that moment.”
For Andon, the 1st Infantry Division patch represents a legacy spanning generations of Soldiers, one he believes all cadets should understand and appreciate.
“If the Army were to only keep one of its divisions on active duty, I sincerely believe it would be the Big Red One, the core formation of the Army’s long lineage,” Andon said. “For over a century, the 1st Infantry Division has stood ready to answer the nation’s call, fighting two world wars in Europe as the first to fight the enemy and the last to come home.”
“Accordingly, cadets should take this legacy to heart, both to take pride in their heritage and elevate their sense of responsibility,” he concluded, “both to our national defense as well as to the memory and sacrifices of their professional ancestors in both peace and war.”
Beyond looking toward the future, Hoyt said the recognition serves as a reminder “that none of us would be here without the sacrifice of those who came before us.”
“The Big Red One embodies the oldest of Army traditions – to fight and win our nation’s wars,” Hoyt said. “From being the first American division to arrive in France in 1917, to the beaches of Normandy, to Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, the division has proven it on every battlefield for more than a century.”
“When the team takes the field wearing that patch, they carry that legacy with them,” he added. “It’s a chance for the Corps to recognize that they are joining something bigger than themselves, and to remember the motto that has carried the division through every fight: ‘No Mission Too Difficult. No Sacrifice Too Great. Duty First!’”
(Editor’s note: 1st Infantry Division historical knowledge was provided by Capt. John Andon, who served as a unit historian while in the division.)
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