William R. Jecelin was a soldier in the United States Army who posthumously received the United States military's highest decoration for bravery, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the Korean War. He was born in and joined the Army from Baltimore, Maryland and was sent as a Sergeant to fight in the Korean War. While there he was fighting with Company C, 35th Infantry Regiment during the Pusan Perimeter Offensive when a grenade was thrown at them Jecelin sacrificed himself to save the other soldiers in his unit. He covered the grenade with his body and was killed. His body was returned to the US and buried in his hometown of Baltimore.

The 25th Infantry Division is a United States Army division based at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. The division, which was activated on 1 October 1941 in Hawaii, conducts military operations primarily in the Asia-Pacific region. Its present deployment is composed of light infantry and aviation units. Tropic Lightning soldiers regularly train with other U.S. military branches to practice and maintain joint operations capabilities. The climate and terrain of the Pacific region demands Tropic Lightning soldiers be able to operate in physically demanding and harsh environments. In 2014, the division opened the Jungle Operations Training Center—the first such school in the Army since the closing of the old Jungle Warfare School at Fort Sherman, Panama Canal Zone. Joint operations and training with partner states herald a new chapter in the history of Tropic Lightning—America's Pacific Division.