Description

47th INF DIV PATCH KOREAN WAR PATCH.

47th Infantry Division — History and Background
The 47th Infantry Division, nicknamed the “Viking Division” and bearing the motto Furor Vikingorum (“Fury of the Vikings”), was a United States Army National Guard formation active from 1946 to 1991.

Creation and Early Years
The division was created on 10 June 1946 under the leadership of Minnesota’s Adjutant General Ellard A. Walsh. It was built from scratch using veteran transfers and new recruits, primarily from Minnesota and North Dakota. The first commander was Major General Norman E. Hendrickson, a decorated officer who had served as Chief-of-Staff for the 34th Division in the North African and Italian campaigns in 1943 and for the IX Corps in occupied Japan.

Structure and Composition
Initially, units were allotted to both the Minnesota National Guard and the North Dakota National Guard. The division never saw combat, but its elements were federalized on 15 September 1946 and sent to Camp Rucker, Alabama from 1951 to 1954 during the Korean War.

Korean War Role
During the Korean War, the 47th served as a replacement division, with its personnel and units transferred to Regular Army units. It returned to state control in 1953, with active Army personnel from Camp Rucker returning to Minnesota via a convoy from Fort Benning, Georgia, in 1954.

Domestic Service and Training
The division was deployed stateside multiple times for disaster relief and civil disturbances, such as responding to Red River Valley flooding in April–May 1950 Wikipedia. It participated in exercises like Operation Longhorn in Texas and an atomic bomb test in Nevada.

Reorganizations
1959: North Dakota elements were removed during the U.S. Army’s shift to the Pentomic structure, making the division entirely Minnesotan.

1963: Reorganized under the Reorganization Objective Army Division (ROAD) structure, dropping battle group designations in favor of flexible battalion assignments.

1968: Expanded to include Iowa’s 34th Infantry Brigade and Illinois’ 66th Infantry Brigade due to Pentagon-mandated Guard cutbacks.

1965–1968: Designated as part of the Selected Reserve Force for rapid deployment, a status later removed.
Deactivation
The 47th Infantry Division was deactivated in 1991. Its former units were reactivated as the 34th Infantry Division, though the Army does not recognize continuity for lineage purposes.

Notable Fact
The 47th holds the distinction of being the longest-serving National Guard division without combat service in U.S. history, remaining on the rolls for 45 years.

In summary, the 47th Infantry Division was a Minnesota-based National Guard formation that evolved through multiple reorganizations, served in a support and training role during the Korean War, and maintained a strong domestic presence for decades before its inactivation.

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