Wounded in Action (WIA)

The various units that comprised the 103rd Infantry Division were immediately sent to the front lines once they arrived in Europe in late 1944, and stayed on the front lines for the majority of the remainder of the war. This almost constant deployment and work on the front meant that the men of the 103rd Infantry Division were under constant threat of enemy fire or fighting through what would become some of the deadliest battlefields of Western Europe during World War II. Due to the constant danger and battling an increasingly desperate German enemy, the 103rd sustained a stunningly high casualty rate, with approximately 6,762 casualties during their time in combat through France and Germany.

Depending on the severity of the wound that an individual received, their treatment and their lives after being wounded varied drastically. If a soldier was Lightly Wounded in Action (LWA) on official records, they might be sent back to the rear for treatment, or if their wound was very minor a soldier might even just be treated by the medics attached to their platoons and remain in the field. While there was no definitive terminology of what constituted a minor or light wound, this might be something as small as a minor flesh wound from shrapnel or some other munition that did not pose as a serious threat to the survival of the individual soldier.

In combat however, there were many soldiers in the 103rd who were listed as Seriously Wounded in Action (SWA) or simply listed as Wounded in Action (WIA). This might indicate a soldier who either had a life threatening wound or someone who became immobile or unable to carry out their duties as a soldier as a result of their wounds. For those who were listed as SWA or WIA, common practice was to evacuate them from the battlefield as quickly as possible and get them to the nearest field hospital for immediate treatment. At the field hospitals, doctors and nurses would triage the wounded and perform lifesaving operations as well as stabilize the wounded before they were sent further back behind the lines or to England and the United States for more comprehensive treatments. In some cases however, the seriously wounded could not be saved, and their status was changed to Died of Wounds (DIA).

During the six months of combat, the 103rd Infantry Division was engaged in some fierce battles with a determined enemy. There were some particularly bloody days for the Cactus Division. The worst days were (in order):

March 15, 1945- 66 Deaths, 283 Total Casualties

November 16, 1944-42 Deaths, 263 Total Casualties

March 21, 1945- 22 Deaths, 216 Total Casualties

December 1, 1944- 27 Deaths, 213 Total Casualties

March 16, 1945- 28 Deaths, 174 Total Casualties

January 25, 1945- 33 Deaths, 137 Total Casualties

January 19, 1945- 9 Deaths, 131 Total Casualties

December 15, 1944- 25 Deaths, 130 Total Casualties

December 19, 1944- 31 Deaths, 129 Total Casualties

March 20, 1945-14 Deaths, 127 Total Casualties