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AN INTERLUDE OF PEACE

Guard. Redesignation of the 52d coincided with California's centennial celebration. The division's home area covered the region where gold had been discovered in 1849, and the state requested the name change to honor the "Forty-Niners" of that era. The 13th replaced the 19th Armored Division, also at California's bidding, because of the former unit's association with the state; the 13th had served there during and after World War II.

The War Department tentatively planned to organize the 106th Infantry Division in Puerto Rico using units from all three components. The Regular Army and the National Guard were to furnish the regimental combat teams and the Organized Reserve Corps the combat support units. By early 1948 the combat elements had been organized, and the formation of most other units had been authorized, including the headquarters company of the division. The War Department determined, however, that the 106th Infantry Division was not needed and never added it to the reserve troop list. The division headquarters company was inactivated in 1950, but most other units remained active as nondivisional organizations.

Manning reserve units proved to be a difficult task. Initially the Army planned that the rank and file of the units would be men who had undergone universal military training in centers operated by Regular Army divisions. With public sentiment opposed to universal military training, Congress declined to