Rainbow Elementary School is located in Bavaria, Germany.  Construction of the original post nearby was began in 1936.  The post was used by the German Army during WWII.  After the war, the post was taken over by US Forces.  Since 1992, it has been the home of the 235th Base Support Battalion.  The school building was built in 1986 designed to house 500 students.

Why "Rainbow Elementary"?

The Rainbow Division originated  in 1917, when National Guard units from 26 states and the District of Columbia united to form the 42nd Division of the United States Army.  Douglas MacArthur, then Chief of Staff for the Division, said that it "...would stretch over the whole country like a rainbow."

After the Japanese attacked the U.S. Naval base at Pearl Harbor on 7 December, 1941, the Rainbow Division (consisting of three infantry regiments) became active again.  The Division incorporated artillery, combat, and medical battalions, reconnaissance troops, signal and ordnance companies, and military police platoons.  As part of the 7th Army, the Rainbow Division assisted in attacks on German defensive positions in France, penetrated the Siegfried Line, and captured the cities of Wurzburg, Schweinfurt, Furth, and Donauworth.  On 29 April, 1945, while heading towards Munich with the 7th Army, the Rainbow Division assisted in the liberation of the Dachau Concentration Camp.  The troops liberated more than thirty thousand survivors. In December 1989, the 42nd Division headquarters was moved from New York City to Troy, New York, where it remains today.

The name, Rainbow Elementary School, was chosen to honor the Rainbow Division.