@tirkentube

1 year ago

OK SO I FINALLY FIGURED OUT THE JOKE! The key to the joke is, it's NOT ABOUT the 2nd DIVISION. The "army draftee asks an old Regular Army Sargeant" the Regular Army is what the Army was called before WW1, before the Army was put into "Divisions." These new divisions include Regiments. so, WAY BACK in 1784, the 1st Infantry Regiment was created. This regiment, however, with no enemies, was primarily a sort of "national guard" force, patrolling around the new country. Then, the Northwest Indian War happened in 1790ish.... So, "On 3 March 1791, Congress added to the Army "The Second Regiment of Infantry" from which today's First Infantry draws its heritage. In September of that year, elements of it and the original 1st Infantry Regiment (today's 3rd United States Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard)), with sizable militia complements, all under command of General Arthur St. Clair, were sent against the Native American nations of the Ohio country." This "Second Regiment" Became the 1st Infantry Regiment, later renamed 3rd Infantry Regiment. Here's more: "Although the original 2nd Infantry Regiment was constituted in March 1791 and fought in the Northwest Indian War and the War of 1812 at Fort Bowyer in Alabama its history and lineage is not a part of the present regiment. That regiment became part of the 1st Infantry through the consolidations of 1815."

So, in 1917, when the 2nd Infantry Division was created, mere months after the 1st Infantry Division, They were both sent over to France and trained in Verdun essentially together, along with other divisions from the new Marine Corps. and National Guard, and were all colloquially part of the I Corps. There was a II Corps, but that's not important here.

While i truly DO NOT know what Raegan meant by his joke, i do believe he mispoke, which makes it harder to understand the joke. I believe he was indeed referring to the 2nd Regiment, which is why he questioned himself even telling the joke to begin with, since it didn't apply, but he did tie it in with their motto, which likely comes from that old 2nd regiment re-naming thing.

Also, in 1917, the 1st Infantry Regiment was known as the 1st Expeditionary Division. So, it's also possible that a few months later when the 2nd Infantry Division was created, it indeed was technically the first infantry division, although i cannot find evidence of this anywhere, and cannot find the exact date of when the 1st Expeditionary Division was re-named 1st Infantry Division, although it did happen during WW1, it seems. So, it is indeed possible that they got their motto "2nd to none" because at the time of creation, they were indeed the 1st Infantry Division, even though they were the 2nd Expeditionary Division in the A.E.D. which the 1st was also a part of. Very confusing, i know.

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