164th Infantry Regiment (United States)
Encyclopedia
North Dakota National Guard
The North Dakota National Guard consists of the:*North Dakota Army National Guard*North Dakota Air National GuardIt is part of the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services.-External links:* compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History...
, was the first United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
unit on Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal campaign
The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II...
.
World War I and interwar years
The 164th Infantry Regiment began its history on 8 December 1906 in the North Dakota Army National Guard as Company E, First Infantry Regiment, Williston, North DakotaWilliston, North Dakota
-Demographics:Preliminary data from a 2010 housing study indicates that population has grown by nearly 22 percent over the past decade; the actual increase might be much higher. Williston is in western North Dakota's booming oil patch, and adequate, affordable housing has become a concern. The...
. It was activated in Federal service on 18 June 1916 for service on the Mexican border. On 14 February 1917, Company E was inactivated at Ft. Snelling, Minnesota.
Company E was later re-activated on 25 March 1917 and drafted into federal service on 5 August 1917. The company was reorganized and redesignated 4 October 1917 as Company E, 164th Infantry, an element of the 41st Infantry Division. The company was inactivated 28 February 1919 at camp Dix, New Jersey.
The company was later reorganized and Federally recognized 22 January 1921 as Company E, 1st Infantry , Williston, North Dakota. It was reorganized and redesignated 21 October 1921 as Company E, 164th Infantry, an element of the 34th Infantry Division.
World War II
The 164th Infantry, by 1940 a National Guard Regiment, was activated to Federal Service 10 February 1941 at Williston. Before deployment overseas, the 164th was relieved from assignment to the 34th Infantry Division on 8 December 1941.Commanded by Colonel Earle Sarles, the 164th transited the South Pacific ferry route in January 1942 to New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
. There they joined the 182nd Infantry Regiment
182nd Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 182nd Infantry Regiment shares the distinction of being the oldest regiment in the United States Army. The regiment traces its history more than 370 years, when it was a colonial regiment of foot of the British Crown in Massachusetts...
and the 132nd Infantry Regiment
132nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The 132nd Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry is an infantry regiment that first served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was among scores of regiments that were raised in the summer of 1864 as Hundred Days Men, an effort to augment existing manpower for an all-out push to end...
, in addition to artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
, engineer and other support units to form a new division on 24 May 1942, designated the Americal Division
Americal Division
The 23rd Infantry Division, more commonly known as the Americal Division of the United States Army was formed in May 1942 on the island of New Caledonia. In the immediate emergency following Pearl Harbor, the United States had hurriedly sent three individual regiments to defend New Caledonia...
. The name Americal was derived from a combination of the words America and New Caledonia. The regiment spent nearly five months in combat training. In September, Colonel Sarles, a National Guard officer, was replaced as commander of the regiment by Colonel Bryant E. Moore, a West Point graduate. Moore would subsequently be promoted to command an infantry division in Europe, and the regiment would serve under other commanders, almost of whom advanced to general's stars.
Arriving at Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
on October 13, 1942 ahead of its brother regiments as emergency reinforcement for the 1st Marine Division, the Regiment was the first U.S. Army unit to engage in offensive action during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in the Battle of Guadalcanal. Between October 24 and October 27, elements of the regiment withstood repeated assaults from Japanese battalions and inflicted some two thousand enemy casualties. The First Marine commander, Major General A. A. Vandegrift, was so impressed by the soldiers' stand that he issued a unit commendation to the regiment for having demonstrated "an overwhelming superiority over the enemy." In addition, the marines took the unusual step of awarding Lt. Colonel Robert Hall, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 164th, with the Navy Cross for his role in these battles.
Until the Americal division commander, Major General Alexander M. Patch
Alexander Patch
General Alexander McCarrell "Sandy" Patch was an officer in the United States Army, best known for his service in World War II. He commanded Army and Marine forces during the invasion of Guadalcanal, and the U.S...
, and other units of the division arrived, the 164th fought alongside the Marines in a series of encounters with Japanese units in the Point Cruz area, where they successfully dislodged enemy troops from two hilltop strongpoints. The action earned them the nickname "The 164th Marines." Members of the 164th were also known as "jungle fighters" within the U.S. media because of the terrain on which they fought.
Later, the 164th participated in extensive jungle patrols as well as organized offensive sweeps of the island to eliminate remaining Japanese resistance. This experience gained the regiment valuable combat experience in jungle travel and navigation, ambush and counter-ambush, and small-unit tactics using small arms and light support weapons. After the Battle of Guadalcanal, the regiment returned to Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
with the rest of the Americal Division to refit and replenish losses. At this point, many veteran officers and men of the 164th volunteered to join the 5307th Composite Unit, better known as Merrill's Marauders
Merrill's Marauders
Merrill’s Marauders or Unit Galahad, officially named the 5307th Composite Unit , was a United States Army long range penetration special operations unit in the South-East Asian Theater of World War II which fought in the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations, or CBI...
, for service in Burma. With the rest of the Americal, the Regiment later participated in the Bougainville campaign, then fought to secure the islands of Leyte, Cebu, Negros, and Bohol, in the Philippines. The regiment was slated to be part of the invasion of Japan when the war ended in August.
Woodrow W. Keeble
Woodrow W. Keeble
Master Sergeant Woodrow Wilson Keeble was a U.S. Army National Guard veteran of both World War II and the Korean War...
, the first Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
awardee, served with the 164th throughout the war. He was wounded several times and awarded the Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
and multiple awards for valor during World War II. His Medal of Honor, officially recognized in 2008, came for his actions in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
.
Korean War Service
The 164th was inactivated 24 November 1945 at Fort Lawton, WashingtonFort Lawton
Fort Lawton is a United States Army fort located in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. The fort was included in the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure list.-History:...
. On 10 June 1946, the 164th Infantry was relieved from assignment to the Americal Division and assigned to the 47th Infantry Division
47th Infantry Division (United States)
The 47th Infantry Division was a formation of the Army National Guard active from 1946 to 1991. The Division was created on 10 June 1946 as a National Guard infantry division from the efforts of Minnesota's Adjutant General Ellard Walsh...
.
On 1 May 1947, the 164th was reorganized and federally recognized 1 May 1947 as Company E of the 164th Infantry at Williston. It was ordered to Federal Service 16 January 1951 at Williston. Company C of the 164th Infantry (NGUS) organized and Federally recognized 16 January 1953 at Williston while the 164th Infantry was on Federal Service.
The 164th was inactivated from active Federal Service 2 December 1954 and reverted to state control and redesignated as Company C, 164th Infantry; Federal Recognition was concurrently withdrawn from Company C, 164th Infantry (NGUS).
Distinctive Unit Insignia
- Description
A gold color metal and enamel device 1 1/8 inches (2.86cm) in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Azure, a Spanish castle Gules door of the first and fimbriated Or between three six-pointed mullets one and two and debruised in base by a demi-sun issuing from base of the last. Attached below the shield is a blue scroll inscribed "JE SUIS PRET" in gold.
- Symbolism
The service of the former organization, 142d Engineer Battalion, is indicated by the blue shield for Infantry, with the Spanish castle taken from the Spanish Campaign medal representing Spanish War service. The Philippine Insurrection service is indicated by the three mullets from the Philippine Island flag. The sun in base, from the 41st Division shoulder sleeve insignia, denotes World War I service with that division.
- Background
The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 164th Regiment Infantry on 11 an 1933. It was redesignated for the 142d Engineer Battalion on 8 May 1956. On 26 Dec 1974 the insignia was rescinded (cancelled). The insignia was approved for the 164th Regiment, with description and symbolism revised, on 6 Nov 1997.
Blazon
- Shield
Azure, a Spanish castle Gules door of the first and fimbriated Or between three six-pointed mullets one and two and debruised in base by a demi-sun issuing from base of the last.
- Crest
That for the regiments and separate battalions of the North Dakota Army National Guard: From a wreath Or and Azure, a sheaf of three arrows Argent armed and flighted Gules behind a string bow fesswise Or with a grip of the second.
Motto JE SUIS PRET (I Am Ready).
- Symbolism
- Shield
The service of the former organization, 142d Engineer Battalion, is indicated by the blue shield for Infantry, with the Spanish castle taken from the Spanish Campaign medal representing Spanish War service. The Philippine Insurrection service is indicated by the three mullets from the Philippine Island flag. The sun in base, from the 41st Division shoulder sleeve insignia, denotes World War I service with that division.
- Crest
The crest is that of the North Dakota Army National Guard.
- Background
The coat of arms was originally approved for the 164th Regiment Infantry on 11 an 1933. It was redesignated for the 142d Engineer Battalion on 8 May 1956. On 26 Dec 1974 the coat of arms was rescinded (cancelled). The coat of arms was approved for the 164th Regiment, with description and symbolism revised, on 6 Nov 1997.
External links
- 164th Infantry web site
- 164th Infantry Association Records
- History Highlights - North Dakota National Guard