The oldest continuously serving division in the U.S. Army, the 1st Infantry Division, called the "Big Red One" because of the red numeral "1" on the uniform shoulder patch, was the first regular army division organized in June 1917 to fight in France with the Allied armies. Since then, 1st Infantry Division's battle honors are Tunisia, Sicily, Normandy, the Bulge, Germany. Postwar, the division served in Europe, Vietnam, Desert Shield, Desert Storm and Bosnia.

“No mission too difficult, no sacrifice too great—Duty First!” For a century, from the Western Front of World War I to the wars of the 21st century, this motto has spurred the soldiers who wear the shoulder patch bearing the Big Red One. In this comprehensive history of America’s 1st Infantry Division, James Scott Wheeler chronicles its major combat engagements and peacetime duties during its legendary service to the nation. The Centennial Edition adds new chapters on peacekeeping missions in the Balkans (1995 – 2004) and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (2001 – 2017), along with a new introduction and conclusion. The oldest continuously serving division in the U.S. Army, the “Fighting First” has consistently played a crucial role in America’s foreign wars. It was the first American division to see combat and achieve victory in World War I. One of the few intact divisions between the wars, it was the first army unit to train for amphibious warfare. During World War II, the First Division spearheaded the invasions of North Africa and Sicily before leading the Normandy invasion at Omaha Beach and fighting on deep into Germany. By war’s end, it had developed successful combined-arms, regimental combat teams and made advances in night operations. Wheeler describes the First Division’s critical role in postwar Germany and as the only combat division in Europe during the early Cold War. The division fought valiantly in Vietnam for five trying years while pioneering “air-mobile” operations. It led the liberation of Kuwait in Desert Storm. Along the way, Wheeler illuminates the division’s organizational evolution, its consistently remarkable commanders and leaders, and its equally remarkable soldiers. Meticulously detailed and engagingly written, The Big Red One nimbly combines historical narrative with astute analysis of the unit’s successes and failures, so that its story reflects the larger chronicle of America’s military experience over the past century. Published in collaboration with the Cantigny First Division Foundation and the Cantigny Military History Series, edited by Paul H. Herbert.

The Fighting First tells the untold story of the 1st Infantry Division's part in the D-Day invasion of France at Normandy. Using a variety of primary sources, official records, interviews, and unpublished memoirs by the veterans themselves, author Flint Whitlock has crafted a riveting, gut-wrenching, personal story of courage under fire. Operation Overlord - the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944 - was arguably the most important battle of World War II, and Omaha Beach was the hottest spot in the entire operation. Leading the amphibious assault on the "Easy Red" and "Fox Green" sectors of Omaha Beach was the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division - "The Big Red One" - a tough, swaggering outfit with a fine battle record. The saga of the Big Red One, however, did not end with the storming of the beachhead. The author concludes with an account of the 1st in their fight across France, Belgium, and into Germany itself, playing pivotal roles in the bloody battles for Aachen, the Huertgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. The Fighting First is an inspiring, graphic, and often heartbreaking story of young American soldiers performing their D-Day missions with spirit, humor, and determination.

Provides a detailed, harrowing account of the D-Day assault on Omaha Beach from the perspective of the soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division as well as from the Gap Assault Team engineers who dealt with mines and other dangerous obstacles.

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "Big Red" by Jim Kjelgaard. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.

A twenty-fifth anniversary edition of the World War II tale, published to coincide with the film version's restoration and its DVD release, traces the friendship of five soldiers whose tour of duty takes them to Vichy French Africa, Europe, D-Day Normandy, and Germany. Original.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series Everything in Texas is bigger . . . even murder. Meet Tres Navarre—tequila drinker, Tai Chi master, and unlicensed P.I., with a penchant for Texas-size trouble. Jackson “Tres” Navarre and his enchilada-eating cat, Robert Johnson, pull into San Antonio and find nothing waiting but trouble. Ten years ago Navarre left town and the memory of his father’s murder behind him. Now he’s back, looking for answers. Yet the more Tres digs, trying to put his suspicions to rest, the fresher the decade-old crime looks: Mafia connections, construction site payoffs, and slick politicians’ games all conspire to ruin his homecoming. It’s obvious Tres has stirred up a hornet’s nest of trouble. He gets attacked, shot at, run over by a big blue Thunderbird—and his old girlfriend, the one he wants back, is missing. Tres has to rescue the woman, nail his father’s murderer, and get the hell out of Dodge before mob-style Texas justice catches up to him. The chances of staying alive looked better for the defenders of the Alamo. “Riordan writes so well about the people and topography of his Texas hometown that he quickly marks the territory as his own.”—Chicago Tribune Don’t miss any of these hotter-than-Texas-chili Tres Navarre novels: BIG RED TEQUILA • THE WIDOWER’S TWO-STEP • THE LAST KING OF TEXAS • THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO AUSTIN • SOUTHTOWN • MISSION ROAD • REBEL ISLAND