25th Infantry Division Association

The 25th Infantry Division Association was officially chartered in 1950 as a result of initial groundwork done by Col. William Dick and other former Division leaders during the previous year. The first annual reunion took place in July of that year, and was attended by 253 members and their guests. The first issue of Tropic Lightning FLASHES, the A... ssociation newsletter, was published in October 1950 and was distributed to 2,300 former members of the Division; later editions were only circulated to Association members. In that first year, membership stood at 442, though membership drives in future years would bring that number to its current level of 4,100. The earliest recorded chapter of the Association is the Cacti Chapter (35th Infantry Regiment), formed in Korea on April 18, 1953. Other chapters were formed in Division Artillery, Special Troops and other commands, as well as Ft. Knox, Ft. Ord, Ft. Meade, Ft. Benning and other posts where large contingents of 25th members were located. These early active duty chapters existed for varying periods of time, and then disappeared. The only current active duty chapter is the Schofield Barracks Chapter, which was formed December 7, 1973, when the Division returned from Vietnam. In the ensuing decades the Association would face challenges in keeping alive such programs as scholarships, FLASHES, and the annual reunion, due to deficiencies in membership levels and funds. Early attempts to gain tax-exempt status for the Association failed, adding to the financial problems. Steps were taken to correct these problems, including raising membership dues, reducing newsletter costs by temporarily cutting back on the number of issues, and setting goals for attracting new members. A change in Association leadership in 1978 brought about consistent, forceful action to deal with these long-standing issues. Membership dues were adjusted again to a level that could sustain the Association's programs. Tax-exempt status was finally achieved in 1982, after 20 years of effort. And a ...Read More