The division's nickname, "Trailblazers," originated from the pioneers moving west into Oregon and "blazing" trails through the thick evergreen forests of the Pacific Northwest.

The enlisted fillers represented all forty-eight states, the District of Columbia, the territories, and forty foreign countries, including every Axis power.

Task Force Herren took over defensive positions along the west bank of the Rhine, 28 December 1944, in the vicinity of Bischwiller, south of Haguenau Forest.

In mid-January 1945, the task force moved to an area directly south of Saarbrücken, where it carried out reconnaissance and combat patrols, and improved its defensive positions.

In April it took part in the reduction of the Saar Basin, and after VE-day was engaged in occupational duties, with command posts at Otterberg, Bad Kreuznach, Frankfurt, and Oranienstein in Germany.