The US Army 31st Division was activated in 1940 and it comprised of National Guard units from Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and Florida. In 1942, the Louisiana regiment was detached and sent to Oran as part of Operation Torch. In 1944, the 31st Division was sent to New Guinea, it later fought in the southern Philippines.
The first Army units sent to the South Pacific were the 32nd Division, the Michigan National Guard and the 41st Division, which was formed from the Washington and Idaho National Guard. Other Guard units that came from colder climates, but fought in the South Pacific before the 31st Division, include the 27th (New York) 37th (Ohio) and the 43rd (Northern New England) divisions. Florida is currently the third most populous state, but in 1940, it barely cracked the top thirty, on a list of states ranked by population.
Eventually, a unit that was comprised of natives from the Florida Panhandle and the Gulf Coast of Alabama was sent to the South Pacific, but six other Army divisions saw combat in that area, earlier than the 31st Division did.