The units of the 70th Infantry Division Special Troops were activated 15 July 1943 at Camp Adair, Oregon. They trained there for their combat missions for the next 12 months. During that period, the division was tasked to provide replacements for U.S. Army losses in Europe and the Far East. This required new replacements and retraining of some of the Special Troops units. In late July 1944 the division entrained for transfer to Fort Leonard Wood, MO, and resumed training there. The last of the replacements arrived in early October 1944. After the three infantry regiments embarked for Europe during the first week of December, an advance party from the Special Troops units sailed for Europe on 13 December 1944, landing in Marseilles on 23 December, and moved to the Task Force Herren operational area in Northeastern France.

The main body of Special Troops sailed for Europe on 8 January 1945, disembarked at Marseilles 18 January 1945 and moved by road and rail to Northeastern France; they joined the division elements already in place and on  17 February 1945, began combat operations as a division.

70th Infantry Division Band
Provided entertainment for division troops and assisted in security of division Hq.

The 70th Infantry Division Band, Germany 1945

Getting slicked up at CP-2 at Marseilles was no simple task. All those rocks in the foreground suggest that these 70th band members didn't have a soft bed!