Fort Lewis, Washington

Although the 33rd Infantry Division, parent organization of the 123rd Infantry Regiment, dates its entry into the war as a component part of the United States Army back to March 5th, 1941, the 123rd Infantry did not come into being until the Division was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington. The Division, at that time, was depleted by having entire regiments transferred to other commands and an additional regiment was needed to triangularize it.

The 123rd Infantry Regiment was activated on September 28th, 1942. One battalion of the 129th Infantry, a Regiment of the Division which had been transferred to the 37th Division, was retained to form the nucleus of the newly-formed regiment. To fill out the other two battalions, cadres from the other remaining regiments of the Division, the 130th and 136th Infantries, and a goodly number of new inductees from the Middle West were received.

Lt. Colonel W. M. Spann (later promoted to full colonel) became the first commander of the 123rd Infantry but he remained in that capacity only a few months. Other members of the original staff included Major Thomas Spencer, 1st Lt. Norman Knapp and 1st Lt. John F. Costello. Spencer, the first executive officer of the regiment was later promoted to Lt. Col. and given command of the 2nd Battalion. Promoted to Captain, Knapp became adjutant of the 3rd Battalion. Costello, later promoted to Captain, was placed in command of Company K and led that unit through all of its combat campaigns.

Once organization was under way, the new Regiment began an intensive program of training. During the months that followed the men of the Regiment received such a diversified diet of training that they were amply equipped for combat in any theatre of war and in any section of the globe. Further specialized training received later made the Regiment one that compared favorably with any in the U. S. Army.

Soon after the Regiment took form as an integrated organization, many special schools were held to provide qualified men for all specialized assignments. In October of 1942 schools for motor workers, cooks, radiomen, buglers and messengers were held. The motor schools, separate sections for tune up, maintenance and lubrication, were conducted by IX Corps. Cooks and bakers schools were also under the supervision of the Corps. The radio school was conducted by the Division and the buglers and messengers classes scheduled by the Regiment. In November the Regiment held special classes for supply sergeants and in December, Division conducted a wire school.

In January of 1943, the training of the men was formulated to employ them as members of units. Previously, they had gone through a thirteen weeks' schedule of basic Infantry training. The month of January, 1943 was devoted to platoon and company problems. During that month each battalion also trained and maintained a motorized patrol platoon and a drivers school was held to provide skilled vehicle operators.

Also in January, IX Corps gave physical proficiency tests. One platoon of each company (with the exception of battalion headquarters and the Medical detachment) was tested and a very satisfactory showing was made.

The month of February was devoted to combat firing problems employing Battalion Combat Teams and Regimental Combat Teams. During the period when the Regiment was stationed at Fort Lewis an extensive firing range program was carried out and during that period 90% of the enlisted personnel qualified with individual weapons and crew served pieces.

In March; the training was broadened to encompass tactical operations on a Divisional scale. These were field exercises for the most part. To round out the training that the Regiment received prior to its departure for the Mojave Desert, special schools in demolition, chemical warfare, intelligence, and anti-tank weapons were held. Many demonstrations were put on by Division; including employment of battalions in defense and attack.

In January of 1943, Colonel Paul C. Serff had taken over the command of the 123rd Infantry Regiment. A regular army officer who had graduated from West Point in 1923, Colonel Serff came to the Regiment with an excellent background in all aspects of Infantry operations. He remained with the Regiment for the balance of the war and with the Occupation Forces in Japan' until the Regiment, along with the other elements of the Division, was demobilized in February, 1946. Colonel Serff led the Regiment through two rugged campaigns (New Guinea and Luzon and the excellent performances in combat of each unit was a tribute to his training supervision and his sound tactics.

Fort Lewis, with its mud and rain, prepared the men of the 123rd for its future duty in the dank jungles of New Guinea; and the rugged Washington terrain provided a preview of later mountain fighting in the hills of Luzon. Early in April of 1943 the Regiment, along with the rest of the Division, pulled stakes and moved to the Mojave Desert.

MOJAVE DESERT...

As part of the 33rd Infantry Division the 123rd Infantry Regiment arrived on the Mojave Desert on April 4, 1943. The Regimental camp was set up near Goffs and Fenner at the California edge of the desert and the camp was named Camp Clipper, derived from the fact that the organization was bivouaced at the foothills of Clipper Mountain.

The 123rd, along with other components of the 33rd, gained the distinction of becoming the first Infantry troops to train on the desert without becoming motorized. Other Infantry divisions which had preceded the 33rd on desert training (including the 6th and 7th Divisions) had been converted to motorized Infantry with the personnel being transported on-half track vehicles to the spot of combat and then fighting on foot. Thus, the 33rd Division was the pioneer in foot soldiering on desert terrain.

The units training on the desert were being groomed for combat in North Africa. At the time, War Department planners believed that the African Campaign would be a drawn out affair and many units were trained for action on the burning sands. With the exception of the armored forces, almost all of the desert trained troops ended up in the island-hopping campaigns of the Pacific.

All of the units of the Regiment took part in individual and small unit training while on the desert. Emphasis was placed on special situations imposed by desert terrain, its torrid heat, lack of cover, and scarcity. of water. The men underwent physical hardening training. They became adept at the construction and use of hasty entrenchments, including foxholes designed to protect from rampaging tanks. Dispersion was stressed in all of the training and water discipline was rigidly enforced. It took a lot of ingenuity to wash clothes and still have enough water to drink from the meager portions meted out.

The major part of the special training on the desert was designed to indoctrinate the men for combat in areas where enemy tanks were used in abundance. Also included in the training were action against armored vehicles, exercises in tank hunting and practice in the laying, detection, disarming and removal of mine fields and booby traps.

The desert, hot as blazes in the daytime and often quite chilly after nightfall, was not a place to charm the average person. True, the sunsets were often radiant and the clear nights, with an amazingly brilliant canopy of stars overhead, had a certain appeal but all such things were offset by the non-tactical ten-mile hikes across country. Each company held a ten-mile hike each week for a period of a month Overnight bivouacs were conducted as part of the march training. Light and sound discipline, so necessary in barren terrain, were emphasized.

Along with the general training that was given to all men, a good deal of specialized training was conducted. Anti-Tank Company engaged in gun drills and received instruction in the demolition of abandoned ordnance equipment. They also constructed gun emplacements and were schooled in the art of camouflage.

A realistic touch was added to the training in the form of platoon leadership tests. Every platoon in the Regiment covered a pre-determined advancement course laid out to cover both desert terrain and adjacent mountain country, a maneuver which extended for five days. The Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon of the Regiment acted as the enemy force in these problems and they harassed the platoons each night. Supply problems had to be solved as part of these maneuvers. Camouflage schools and dead reckoning navigation courses supplemented the special training.

Target ranges were constructed and special firing courses were added to the regular range firing. All units of the Regiment participated in the firing of transition, infiltration, and close combat courses. Regular range firing was scheduled in order to complete qualifications in the carbine and rifle.

The Regiment spent less than three months on the Mojave Desert. When the scope of training that was crammed into the schedule during that brief period is considered, the men really had a busy time. Thus, when orders to move to Camp Stoneman arrived, the news was welcomed as the best to come in quite a while. Here at last seemed to be an end to training and a beginning of action.

Leaving the desert, the Regiment joined other components of the 33rd Division and arrived at Camp Stoneman, located on the fringe of San Francisco, on June 22, 1943. Between the date of arrival at that post and July 7th, when the troops boarded ship bound for the Hawaiian Islands, further polishing up training was accomplished. The men ran obstacle courses, fired on the known range and participated in deck debarkation drills. Battalions and separate units took twelve-mile hikes, and orientation of the Pacific Theatre rounded out the final training in the states. The 123rd felt it was ready for duty overseas.

CAMP STONEMAN, CALIFORNIA PORT OF EMBARKATION

The sojourn on the Mohave Desert was comparatively short for the 123rd Infantry. After spending a little more than 10 weeks on the burning sands, the Regiment pulled stakes and moved to Camp Stoneman, just outside of San Francisco. Arriving at Camp Stoneman, the Port of Embarkation for Pacific-bound troops, on June 21st, 1943, the Regiment began final preparations for the move overseas. Necessary equipment was secured, final inspections were held, inoculations were given the men, and the ships were loaded. "We are moving one step closer to the enemy," was the term used with great frequency by the Commanding General of the Division during this period.

During the stay at Camp Stoneman the men were put through all of the various orientation courses designed for overseas-bound troops and were given last-minute specialized training to fit them for fighting service in the South Pacific.

An advance detail left by air a week in advance of the troops in order that proper billeting and other arrangements might be complete by the time the troops arrived. The Regiment boarded the Brazil, a former South American tourist cruiser which had been converted for use as a troop carrier, on July 7th and six days later the ship arrived in the Hawaiian Islands. After a brief stop at Honolulu, the Regiment moved on to Kauai, another island in the Hawaiian group located 90 miles from Oahu, to take up island defense duty and further combat training.

One of the traditions growing up around the first ocean trip of the Regiment centers around Mr. Galloway. The unfortunate Mr. Galloway, a Navy Lieutenant, will never realize the lasting memory he achieved during the trip, ending when he tied the Brazil to the docks in Honolulu one bright Sunday morning. "Mr. Galloway dammit, Mr. Galloway, pull up your slack! Pul-11-eeease, Mr. Galloway," were the often heard words of the captain which came to be echoed and re-echoed all through the war.

Just as the Statue of Liberty is the symbol of America to those who left the country from the East Coast, Golden Gate Bridge, with its backdrop of the San Francisco skyline, will be remembered as the symbol of democracy for those who watched the impressive span slowly recede from view - the last time for some.

KAUAI ... HAWAIIAN ISLANDS

Arriving in the Hawaiian Islands, the 33rd Division was split up. The 123rd Infantry was assigned to the Island of Kauai, called the "Garden Island." It was a beautiful and picturesque spot, with high hills, long stretches of sand dunes, and a canyon that rivals the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. The Regiment arrived at Kauai on July 13th, 1943 and was destined for a nine month tour of duty on the island.

One of the missions of the Regiment was to provide security for Kauai. More than a hundred concrete pillboxes dotted the long shore line and these were manned by units of the 123rd. Along with the tactical mission, training again became the bane of existence for the men.

The move to the Pacific, where tactics, different than in any other place in the world were necessary, made it imperative that further training in amphibious warfare and jungle fighting be given.

The men of the Regiment had felt a certain elation when they left for overseas. They were sure that intensive training was now a thing of the past and that a taste of action was in the offing. They were doomed to disappointment. In fact, at one stage of the duty tour on Kauai the principle employment of the troops was pineapple harvesting, a necessary task but hardly one to challenge the talents of men who had trained hard and long for combat duty.

Many problems were worked into the schedule. Night exercises were stressed and five-day platoon and three-day squad problems were put on the roster. There were also many schools for special training including courses in map reading, radio, chemical warfare, demolitions, flame throwing and intelligence. Special instruction was given to all men to prepare them for living in the jungle and to educate them in malaria control.

The highlight of the early training on Kauai came with the "Priggy Trail" operation, a tactical exercise conducted in the rugged sections of the island. This proved to be excellent training for future jungle warfare and especially for mountain campaigning on Luzon.

The 123rd Infantry had relieved the 40th Division as Kauai's defense force and the Battalions rotated in assignment to the various sectors of the Island. Camps were set up at Barking Sands and at Wialiu with one Battalion usually engaged in training activities.

Ranger training was important for Pacific combat so a number of men were selected to attend the widely heralded jungle School conducted by the Hawaiian Department on Oahu. When these men returned after successfully completing the grueling course, they were used to train the other men of the Regiment. A Ranger school was set up and all men received a month of diversified training in commando tactics and jungle warfare.

Climaxing the tour of duty on Kauai, the men were put through their paces on the ship nets used for embarkation and debarkation. Practice in boarding landing craft and debarkation for assault drills, using small landing craft, followed. To culminate a week of intensive training in all phases of amphibious operations, each battalion carried out a realistic landing exercise. Preceded by commando units which landed two hours before the first wave of assault troops, the battalions made beach landings, blew up barb wire beach defenses with bangalore torpedoes and then reorganized and advanced inland.

Also included in the training on Kauai were practice in assaulting fortified positions, the establishment of beachheads, the movement of equipment and supplies (vital to the success of any landing) and operations of a battalion over rugged terrain using limited transportation.

Following the period of amphibious training, a two-week period was spent in combined tank and infantry tactics. Using a company of tanks, each battalion received training in the methods of supporting tanks, how to advance with the assistance of tanks and how to best employ the tank-infantry team in combined operations. Due to the nature of Pacific island warfare, where tanks could be used only in limited degree, this was one phase of the training that was not put to any extensive use later.

The Regiment's tour of duty on Kauai, which was United States territory and which was quite close to American civilization and its many conveniences, was a pleasant one. The men had ample free time to visit the towns and scenic spots on the island and some men were privileged to spend a week on Niahau, the forbidden island a short distance from Kauai. Some of the more fortunate individuals were granted passes for a week in Honolulu.

Trained to the point of near perfection, the Regiment was on the edge of going stale. Other Divisions and Regiments were committed to action but the 123rd, along with the rest of the Division, seemed doomed for duties of an occupational nature. One cannot say that any soldier in World War II was really itching for battle but the general feeling was that as long as we were in the army we ought to get into the fray and help to finish it in a hurry. The long-awaited day-orders to sail farther west finally arrived and the Division was assembled to move to New Guinea, which was then the outermost fringe of America's combat forces. The Regiment embarked on the Matsonia at Pearl Harbor, joined the Division convoy and set sail for New Guinea on April 25th, 1944.

MEMORIES OF KAUAI

Aloha-the land of flowers ... duty on Kauai, the Garden Island ... pineapple picking duty . . . tall fields of sugar cane . . . outpost duty in the concrete pillboxes . . . Wiamea Canyon, a beauty spot rivaling our west . . . groves of coconuts . . . native music . . . Priggee Trail - a glimpse of things to come . . . parades with unceasing frequency . . . the ranger school and intensive combat training . . . Buckslip Inn-for Officers . . . Wialua, the second wettest area in the world . . . Amphibious training at Port Allen . . . night problems . . . hikes and more hikes . . . plantation everywhere . . . wild goats in the mountains , . . grass skirts-but not worn by the natives ... Barking Sands and the airport ... the historic site of Russian landings many years ago ... Honolulu, a modern city-the mecca for men on pass ... long sandy beaches and booming surf ... Anniversary celebration of the Division . . . bananas, fresh from the tree-also papayas . . . Niihau, the forbidden island, where Hawaiians live under the old traditions ... Poi ... Honey Carroll, Queen of the Island ... extensive irrigation systems-a modern engineering marvel ... hot afternoons on the rifle range ... the ice cream bar at Wiamea . . . modern movie houses in all the towns . . . the U.S.O. in Lihui . . . Salvation Army lassies bringing doughnuts and coffee to the men on outpost duty . . : sports tournaments baseball and basketball . . sunset, with the sun dipping into the Pacific -bringing yearnings for the Golden Gate and home . . . Mail Call, best time of the day ... then embarking-and closer to the rising sun.

BRIEF HISTORY OF KAUAI

Kauai, called the "Garden Island" of the Hawaiian group is of historical importance because it is the first of the group to have been discovered by the outside world. One morning in January of 1778, Captain James Cook, the famed British navigator and explorer found himself gazing at Kauai's lovely shoreline. Cook named the group the Sandwich Islands in honor of his patron, the Earl of Sandwich, First Lord Admiral of the British Admiralty.

One of Cook's captains, Captain Bligh, master of the Resolution, later gained lasting fame following the historic mutiny aboard his ship the Bounty. Captain Cook was well received on the island and he later met the great chief of the islands, King Kamehameha I, a great leader who became known as "Napoleon of the Pacific." This great leader, who unified the islands, died in 1818 and was succeeded by his son Liholiho.

The first explorers to reach Kauai and the Hawaiian Islands brought tales of the charm and hospitality of the islands to the ports of Europe and America. Soon the islands became the center of a brisk trade that extended from India and Europe to the Americas and Alaska. One Spaniard, Don Francisco Marin, called Marini by the islanders, was an agriculturist and with the assistance of visiting skippers who brought seeds and cuttings, he introduced many new plants.

In 1819, the Russians arrived in the Hawaiian Islands and, supported by a battery of guns, the flag of Imperial Russia 'flew over Honolulu. The Russians also invaded Kauai and the spot where they landed and set up their blockhouse fort can still be seen.

The dynasty of the islands, set up by Kamehameha in 1790 continued until the line of descent became extinct in 1873. Christianity was introduced in 1820. After the deposition of Queen Liliuokalani in 1893, a provisional government was set up. After an unsuccessful attempt to become annexed to the United States a Republic was established with Sanford B. Dole as president. The islands were finally annexed in 1898 and in 1900, Hawaii was made a territory.

Kauai, the most beautiful island in the Hawaiian group, is the fourth largest. It covers 547. square miles in area and has a population of 35,806. Memorable places include the mountain mass of Waileale (where the second heaviest rainfall area in the world is found, Waimea Canyon, which is a miniature Grand Canyon in splendor and beauty, and Barking Sands, where legend says you can hear the sands bark at the proper season. Principal towns of Kauai are Lihue and Waimea-the former is the county seat and the latter the old capital and the first place visited by Captain Cook. Fields of sugar, rice and pineapples cover the island.

The island of Niihau, forbidden to most outsiders, contains the remnants of the pure Hawaiian race. Niihau is just off Kauai, covers 97 square miles and has a population of 136. Many of the men in the 123rd had the rare privilege of spending a week on this secluded place.

Kauai and Niihau, as part of the Hawaiian Islands, are now being considered as a possible 49th state of the union.

CROSSING THE EQUATOR

En route to New Guinea, troops of the Regiment observed the crossing of the Equator with appropriate ceremonies during which the men were officially inducted into the Mystic Order of the Deep. Troops aboard the Matsonia observed the ceremonies on April 28th, 1944.

Major Ralph Pate, a veteran of Equator crossings, served as King Neptune with Lieutenant John Atkinson holding court as his queen. The role of the royal baby was filled by Lieutenant Hartwell Blake. The court was complete with court jesters, court magician, an array of attendants and a host of pirates-all of them in gala costumes.

Shown on this page are a series of typical sequences in the initiation, beginning with the impromptu hair clip and ending with a crawl through an impror vised tunnel into which a powerful stream of water from the ship's fire hose was played. All rebellious subjects were taken before Neptune and after being quickly tried were given further rigorous treatment.

King Neptune and his entire court are shown in the picture in the center of the right column. Most of the men aboard were crossing the earth's center for the first time so the King and his staff had a busy afternoon. Following the initiations, all men were issued cards to signify their membership in the Mystic Order of the Deep.

As the warm tropical sun dipped into the ocean and slowly faded to denote the end of day, King Neptune could number a few thousand more subjects to swell the rolls of the world's largest fraternity.

NEW GUINEA CAMPAIGN...

The 33rd Division landed at Finschaven, Australian New Guinea, on May 11th, 1944 and the units were spread out in bivouac areas. The 123rd set up camp about twelve miles up the coast. New Guinea, with its almost year round rains, provided a camp location with plenty of water and plenty of mud. The pattern of earlier duty continued to dog the footsteps of 'the Regiment and the principle duty for a time was the unloading of cargo ships. There was a backlog of more than 50 ships for unloading at Finschaven and with service troops in the area almost negligible, manpower was necessary. Bringing cargo ashore wasn't the kind of a task the men relished but they set up an impressive record in clearing the ship holds. Polishing up continued in tactics and added emphasis was placed on landing team training.

On August 20th, 1944, the 123rd Infantry was detached from the rest of the Division and was sent up the coast to Dutch New Guinea for employment against the Japanese forces in the Toem-Sarmi sector of Maffin Bay. Arriving at Maffin Bay on September 1st, the Regiment relieved an entire division (the 31st) for operations as Tornado Task Force. General Meyers, Assistant Division Commander, was put in command of the area.

The mission of the 123rd was to insure full operation of Wakde airdrome, recently captured by American forces, and to maintain security in the area, which had many supply and ammunition dumps. The Regiment had to maintain a lengthy strip of perimeter pillboxes and had to patrol aggressively to prevent the movement in numbers of Japanese troops which were located four miles up the coast. Due to the small number of men available for duty, as compared to the preceding task force of a full division, the perimeter had to be pulled in.

One battalion was assigned to Rocky Point and one battalion was located in the Toem area. The perimeter was cut into two segments with a several mile space of scantily protected area between them. This made possible a maximum of protection with a minimum of troops.

During the stay at Maffin Bay, the Regiment had another important mission, that of loading two task forces for operations farther west. Many commendations were received for making these forces ready in record time.

Every rifle company went out on at least one five-day patrol and in addition there were smaller one and two-day patrols in constant operation. Under Tornado Task Force, 88 one-day patrols and 8 two-day patrols were sent out. When the Regiment reverted to its status as a Regimental Combat Team, 258 one-day patrols and 29 patrols of two-day duration were conducted, these in addition to the score or more of five-day patrols.

Resistance from the Japanese was encountered on many occasions and on each of these the Japs were rendered ineffective. By the use of these patrols, the Japs were prevented from closing in on the perimeter and their guns were kept out of range. The troops, tasting their first combat, showed the results of excellent training and they acquitted themselves credibly on every occasion.

At the time the 123rd took over the Toem-Sarmi area there were an estimated 2,000 Japanese in the area with 1,400 of them designated as combat troops. When the Regiment left the area for combat on Luzon, the total number of Japs killed in that sector, including those accounted for by preceding troops, had been swelled to 4,005.

The most bitter battle of the Sarmi area took place when Company C, led by Captain Marchant, ran into strong resistance at Sawar Drome. When this patrol started out many of the men remarked, "Won't it be hell if we don't run into anything." They didn't have to wait long. On the second morning of their five-day patrol they were greeted by a burst of enemy shells, some of them dropping within 15 yards of the spot where the patrol was concentrated. The next day the patrol ran into machine gun fire after a day spent in slogging through the deep mud of the Sago palm swamps. Four Nip patrols were surprised and five of the enemy killed. That, however, was just a warmup for the real battle which took place the next day.

Three enemy tanks had infiltrated behind Company C's lines and Jap mortar and machine gun fire backed up the tanks. In the battle that followed, an all day long skirmish, three enemy tanks were knocked out, one of them by a well-aimed bazooka shot fired by Captain Marchant, and 25 Japs were strewn around the brush to bring the total bag of the patrol to 31 verified enemy dead. Only one member of the patrol was killed by an aerial bomb booby trap on the first day.

Accompanying the activities of the Regiment at Maffin Bay were several historical sidelights. Sergeant Victor Highsmith became the first man in the Regiment to be awarded a combat medal, the Bronze Star. Sergeant Winfield Green, later commissioned, was the first winner of a Silver Star Medal. Lt. Walter Roper, gallantly leading a patrol deep in enemy territory was the first man in the Regiment (and the first in the Division) to lose his life in combat. Corporal Roy Adams of the Regimental Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon was credited with being the first member of the Regiment to kill a Jap. First men in the Division to receive Purple Hearts were with the Maffin Bay force.

Its mission fulfilled, the 123rd Infantry was relieved by elements of the 93rd Division. As the area was to be eventually abandoned all strategic materials and constructions were destroyed. The Regiment left Maffin Bay on January 26th, 1945, joined other elements of the Division en route, and departed for Luzon in the Philippines.

MEMORIES OF NEW GUINEA

Mud and rain . . . the first sight of natives . . . women, many of them bare from the waist up . . . dock duty with long hours of unloading ships . . Aussie soldiers with rakish-angled hats ... everyone making rings from Australian coins . . . "C" rations ... Jack Benny and Carole Landis giving a show in a downpour of rain . . . old battlegrounds with signs marking the places where the Aussies routed the Japs ... Sarmi, silhouetted in the sunset-a picture of tranquility . . . but death lurking in the jungle trails leading to the point . . . groups of A-20's raining bombs on Nip installations . . . parrots in the trees . . . good fishing and Fisherman's Wharf . . . cat's eyes, the semi-precious gems . . the false German surrender report ... with sighs and cheering everywhere ... native villages and wild pigs ... huge snakes ... patrols and more patrols ... quaint native "Prahoe" canoes . . . swimming in the heavy surf . . . jungle movies . . . warm beer . . the sign along the beach, "Eleanor Slept Here" . . and another, "Jap Souvenirs-5 Miles"-with the arrow pointing towards the Jap camp . . . Japanese invasion money . . . deep-dug caves on Rocky Point-where the Nips had to be blasted out ... Jap trucks and staff cars ... some of them wrecked, some used by our troops . . . beautiful birds of Paradise . ... huge tree pigeons as large as turkeys ... inspections every Saturday ... mahogany -used for everything ... a pillbox with a $5,000 mahogany roof ... New Guinea-but without the tropical allure as depicted in the movies.

BRIEF HISTORY OF NEW GUINEA

With the single exception of Australia, which ranks as a continent, New Guinea is the largest island in the Pacific. Among the islands of the world, it ranks second being surpassed in size only by Greenland. In spite of its potential wealth in minerals and products of cultivation, New Guinea was almost completely outside the domain of civilization until comparatively recent times.

The Portuguese explorer, Jorge de Menzes, is credited with the discovery of New Guinea. He traversed that area in 1526 or 1527. It was not until 1606, however, that the insularity of the island was discovered by the Spanish pilot Torres. This discovery was carefully concealed as a state secret of Spain, being tucked away in the archives at Manila to be finally forgotten by the Spanish themselves.

A century and a half later the territory was discovered all over again by the British. Captain Cook's expedition opened an era of modern exploration of New Guinea participated in by the British, Dutch and French. The Dutch were the first to attempt occupation and in 1828 that government officially proclaimed possession of the western part of the island-as far east as longitude 141. No other attempts at occupation were made until comparatively recent times. After Fiji had been ceded to the British crown in 1874, agitation began in Australia with proposals that control of eastern New Guinea be secured.

Nothing further was done until the close of the year 1877, when the reported discovery of gold in New Guinea attracted a great many Australian gold diggers to the island. By 1883, the Queensland government's agent at Port Moresby had assumed the role as an administrator, and on April 4th of that year, the Queensland government formally took possession of New Guinea. Three years later an agreement on boundaries between eastern and western New Guinea was reached with Germany. In 1906, the British territory was renamed Papua and at the close of the First World War, all of New Guinea held by Germany was mandated to Australia. Australian soldiers had occupied King Wilhelmsland, the German portion of the island in 1914.

Early in 1942, the Japanese invaded both the Dutch and Australian portions of New Guinea. The Nips intended to use that island as a possible jumping-off-place for an invasion of Australia. All areas of New Guinea that were suitable for air strips were quickly taken over. By July, American and Australian troops had launched counter offensives and at the time the 123rd Infantry landed at Maffin Bay, the New Guinea Japs had been cut off from all outside reinforcements.

In area, New Guinea is equal to one and a half times that of France. From its northwestern to its southeastern extremities it stretches for nearly 1500 miles. The territory of New Guinea (including the Bismarck Archipelago and the former German Solomon Islands) has a native population of 6,498. In the island itself, Papua has an estimated population of natives totaling 338,822 and the other two seconds have populations almost as high. New Guinea is rich in the products of trade--crude rubber, coconuts, sisal hemp, gold and silver. In cultivated areas, rice, tea, coffee, spices, corn and tobacco are grown. The swamps that dominate New Guinea make it the most unhealthy place in the world for white men.

LUZON CAMPAIGN...

The 123rd Infantry Regiment landed at Lingayan Gulf on Luzon in the Philippines on February 10th, 1945. A temporary camp was set up in the rice paddies near San Fabian. Three days later the units of the 123rd moved forward to take over front lines occupied by troops of the 158th Regimental Combat Team. At 11 A.M. of February 13th, all three battalions had taken over their frontal sectors. The Command Post was set up at Damortis.

First shots fired by the 33rd Division on Luzon were by Cannon Company of the 123rd. In the operations which immediately followed the M-Ts on Cannon Company inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese.

The first company to send out a patrol was Company B. This patrol started out on February 18th and returned on the 24th. Strong enemy positions were encountered, making it necessary for the patrol to by-pass the area to reach its objective.

The first man to kill a Jap on Luzon was Pfc. Fay "Tex" Hough, a medical aid man who was attached to Company C. He was attending a wounded man on the front when a Nip popped up a short distance away. Hough finished off the Nip and then completed his aid work.

The First Battalion moved to Rosario and from there advanced up the highway to the foothills of Twin Peaks on the Kennon Road. Given the task of capturing the rugged peaks, two companies advanced up the slopes. Nearing their objectives, heavy opposition was encountered from well-concealed Jap emplacements and the companies had to hold their positions. The Japanese were making a valiant defense of this area as it controlled the last water points on the routes leading to Baguio. The companies were later relieved by a substantially larger force and the Japs pulled out over the mountains. Intelligence reports later disclosed that an entire Japanese battalion had been operating against Company A.

Moving by night, the First Battalion arrived at San Luis near Pugo. Company B had previously sent a patrol to secure the town. An interesting incident occurred at this time. Lt. Merle Fleenor was given the task of laying telephone wire as soon as the town had been secured. He and his crew arrived at the place and found nobody there. He thought that the patrol had gone through the village and was advancing beyond. He installed his phones and was calling back to headquarters when the patrol arrived. Fleenor and his two wire section men had arrived ahead of the patrol and had taken over.

From San Luis the Battalion made a night advance through the valley and started up the slopes of three peaks. The first peak was captured 50 minutes after the ascent began'and by noon the other two had been taken and occupied. Not a single man was wounded or killed. The Battalion Commander then directed his supporting tanks to advance up the valley to take two villages farther along.

The Second Battalion worked up the other flank of Pugo to take the high ground between Damortis and Rosario. The day that the First Battalion took the three peaks, the Second Battalion took strategic high ground just beyond Pugo. The Regimental Command Post was moved to Pugo and troops of the Regiment went into bivouac in that area. The Third Battalion operated along the coast towards San Fernando.

After a short reorganization period, the push through the mountains towards Baguio began. The second Battalion took up the front, pushing towards Mount Calugong and Mount Santo Tomas. The going was rough and roads had to be constructed to move supplies. The bulldozers worked right behind the advancing troops and were never more than 500 yards behind the fighting front. Hills 3,000 and 4,980 were captured by steady and rugged pushing. In thirty days of campaigning, the front advanced 13 miles with Baguio, the ultimate objective still 7 miles away.

The Third Battalion took over the front and pushed over the highest point on the route, almost 5,000 feet above sea level. During the advance up the mountains, units of the Second Battalion had executed a brilliant night operation to capture strategic points on the route of advance. This night attack was so well carried out that the Japs were unaware of the fact that their strongly entrenched emplacements had been occupied and at daybreak the Nips were mowed down in great numbers as they emerged from their caves on the reverse side of the hill to man their positions.

In the fight to the highest point of terrain, Company K executed a well-coordinated attack after first having an artillery barrage laid down less than a hundred yards to the front. Timed to perfection, the assault which immediately followed the lifting of the barrage, caught the Nips in their foxholes and the victory was achieved without casualties.

The first Battalion had gone into reserve for I Corps with a camp at Sison. They returned to the campaign with a drive near Galiano. Here the Japs offered stubborn resistance as they sought to defend the highway approaches to the Nagilian Road, the mountain highway leading directly into Baguio. Jap mountain artillery shelled this battalion constantly for several days. Several attempts to take high ground were repulsed. Finally the enemy's hump was broken and the final dash toward Baguio begun.

During the rugged mountain campaign from Pugo towards Baguio, two companies of the Regiment performed in such an outstanding manner that they were awarded unit citations. Companies F. and G received the special awards.

The final race for Baguio was staged by the 37th and 33rd Divisions. The 37th Division, supporting the 33rd on the left flank, reached the cemetery at the edge of Baguio's city limits and a bitter struggle took place. In the meantime, the 33rd was striking from other tangents. The 123rd switched its strategy by discontinuing the advance over the mountains and advancing down the valley towards Tuba, on the route to Baguio.

Company G was sent off towards Mount Santo Tomas to protect that flank. During the campaign this company distinguished itself by wiping out entire Japanese companies on two occasions. Nearing Baguio, the Third Battalion reached the brushy country near Baguio and cleared the way in that sector. The boys named the area Times Square as there was a good bit of traffic through the area including Japanese tanks.

In the race for Baguio, it was rumored that the 33rd and the 37th Divisions erected road blocks to slow up the progress of the other: A patrol of Company C of the 123rd Infantry was the first to enter Baguio but the final glory of taking the Summer Capital of the Philippines was divided between the two divisions.

Baguio was heavily bombed before 'the troops moved in. The Regiment approached from the vicinity of Monastery Hill and Observatory Hill and the once beautiful city was a mass of rubble. The remaining Japs, including their commander General Yamoshita, had fled northward to the vicinity of Bontoc.

In Baguio, the Regiment set up camp and some of the units moved farther to the North. The Third Battalion advanced to Trinidad and set up its headquarters there. Later, the First Battalion moved up the coast to the vicinity of Camp Spencer where they provided security for Guerilla forces advancing towards Bontoc.

Prior to the final dash towards Baguio, Company A was designated as a special task force and sent to Dingalen Bay on the far side of Luzon to act as a security force for the installations there. This force was commanded by Major Connolly and was called the "Connolly Task Force" A member of this force, Pfc. John McKinney, staged a one man war and killed 39 Japs in a half hour battle. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

The 123rd also shares the glory for the capture of Aparri, the northernmost town on Luzon. The force which journeyed up the coast by motor caravan to capture that city was commanded by Major Connolly with Captain Whiteside as the executive, both members of the Regiment.

The Luzon Campaign was a tribute to the men of the Regiment. At one time the front extended for 64 miles and the entire campaign was fought over the most difficult terrain that troops anywhere ever fought over. The record of low casualties suffered by the Regiment is also a tribute to the leadership and the training of the men.

Heroes during this campaign were too numerous to cite individually. A great many men were awarded medals and many commendations were received. The supporting troops, including medical units, engineers and artillery all effectively combined into a smooth working organization which utilized its every weapon to achieve a brilliant campaign record.

The medics, especially, deserve the highest praise. They were always much in evidence in the spots of greatest danger, caring for the wounded and aiding the sick. Many of them received medal awards but many more deserve high tribute.

With the end of the Luzon Campaign, quotas for return to the states were increasing and with the cessation of hostilities the Regiment rapidly began to lose its veterans.

MEMORIES OF THE PHILIPPINES

A dry landing-nobody got wet more than waist deep . . . Filipinos, barefooted, on the beach-selling peanuts and trading Jap invasion money for American cigarettes . . rice paddies everywhere.. . . native children holding up their fingers in the "V-for-Victory" symbol ... carabao grazing on every patch of green ... native villages and the larger towns=mostly in ruins . . . Jap dugout caves and entrenchments honeycombing the landscape . . . woven-thatched covered two-wheel carts-drawn by small horses. cement highways to delight army drivers . . . hibiscus trees with their bright red blossoms ... natives carrying game cocks or chickens . . . women pounding rice from sheaves of grain ... colorful feminine attire and broad-brimmed hats . . . bundles toted on the head with a balance which would draw the envy of a Conover model . . , warm sunny days and cool nights ... stores of Jap supplies-left behind in the rapid flight of the Nips to the hills . . . streams of clear water-in contrast to the muddy rivers of New Guinea . . . monkeys in the trees . . . the blue, blue waters of the mighty Pacific ... the booming of artillery at night . . . crickets chirping and the tangy new-mown hay smell of the dewy fields ... vivid sunsets in gorgeous pastel hues . . . native outrigger boats, very seaworthy-and powered by the wind ... highway markers-like good old U.S.A. . . . fish traps in the streams ... natives digging clams ... women doing laundry-pounding the dirt out with sticks . . . giant eagles, like American planes, soaring overhead . . . beautiful Baguio in ruins . . . gold mines . . . the Japanese surrender-best news of the whole war.

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES

The Philippine Islands were known to the Chinese as early as the 10th Century. Before that time migratory peoples from the Malay Peninsula, Java, and other lands to the southwest had reached the islands in considerable numbers. The modern history of the islands dates back to March 16th, 1521, when Ferdinand Magellan stopped at Samar during his epoch-making trip around the world. He was killed a month later on the island of Mactan, near Cebu.

In 1565, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi led a colonizing expedition from Mexico and by 1571, Manila had been taken and a Spanish government set up. The islands were named Islas Filipinos in honor of King Philip II of Spain. Conquest of the northern islands was rapid but the Moros in the south fought spasmodically well on into the middle of the 19th Century. Francis Drake, the English navigator, touched at the Philippines in 1577 and 20 years later the Dutch attempted to establish footholds on the islands. The Spaniards defeated a Dutch fleet near Manila in 1610. On October 5th, 1762, a British expedition captured Manila but under the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the city was restored to Spain. During the years 1809 to 1814 foreign trading depots were established.

On August 26th, 1846, under the leadership of Emilio Aguinaldo, the Filipinos launched an insurrection. The revolt was subdued only to flare up anew and the natives were at war with Spain when the Spanish-American War broke out.

Commodore George Dewey, with a small squadron of U. S. warcraft, defeated a Spanish squadron in Manila Bay on May 1st, 1898. On December 10th of the same year the islands were ceded to the United States. On February 4th, 1899, the Filipinos launched a war on American forces and it was not until April 16th, 1902, that the last stronghold on Samar surrendered. Further time was needed to quell the southern Moros.

Under American control the islands prospered and greater degrees of independence were progressively established. In 1913, free trade between the U.S. and the Philippines was established. In 1934, President Roosevelt signed the Tydings-McDuffie Independence Act under the terms of which the Philippines were to receive full independence in 1945. In 1935, Manual Quezon became the first President of the islands and he served until his death, late in the present war. On July 4th of 1946, the Philippines became completely independent. Manual Roxas was elected president to succeed Osmana, who had assumed office on the death of Quezon.

Since 1913, English has been the official language but many native dialects as well as Spanish are still in common use. A few years ago Tagalog was adopted as the national tongue.

The total number of islands in the Philippines is 7,083, eleven of them having an area of more than 1,000 square miles. The total area of the islands is 114,400 square miles. In 1940, the population was 16,003,303.

The area through which the 123rd fought in the present war, Lingayen to Baguio, is the area commanded by General Wainwright during the grim defense of the Philippines at the outbreak of World War II.

OCCUPATION OF JAPAN

With the long hoped for announcement of the surrender of Japan in August, 1945, troops of the Regiment were hastily given altered plans in preparation for occupation duty on Japan's home island of Honshu. An intensive orientation program on Japan was added to the tactical training.

On September 20th, the Regiment embarked for Japan with main elements making the move in APA ships. The George Clymer carried Regimental Headquarters, the Ballinger carried the First Battalion, the Lander carried the Second Battalion and the Griggs carried the Third Battalion.

The Regiment's Cannon Company made the trip on an LST due to the special needs for transporting their tanks, and Service Company boarded the AKA Dulpin for the journey. One liberty ship, the Charles Piez, accompanied the troop ships as a cargo vessel.

A rear eschelon group was left behind at Bauang to convoy vehicles and supplies not urgently needed by the main body of troops. This group left the Philippines from Aringay Beach on Luzon on October 17th and arrived at Wakayama, Honshu, Japan, on the 23rd of October.

The tactical units of the Regiment landed at Wakayama, Honshu, on September 25th and immediately boarded trains bound for Takarazuka where the Regimental Headquarters were set up. Wakayama, the landing site, was the prewar lacquer wear center of Japan but the town had been completely leveled by a two-hour fire-bomb raid by American B-29's. Takarazuka, the Regiment's headquarters, was world famed as an opera center. A portion of the occupation troops were moved by motor trucks.

The First Battalion was quartered in buildings of the opera house, adjoining the main buildings used for Regimental Headquarters. The Second Battalion was stationed at Isoshi and the Third Battalion established its headquarters at Nishinomiya. Special units were garrisoned in buildings three blocks away from the Regimental Command Post.

Prior to the arrival of the Regiment at Takarazuka, Lt. Col. James Hilton, the Regiment's Executive Officer, who had arrived with the advance detail of the 33rd Division, found 200 Japanese Naval personnel in the town and had dispatched them to their homes.

The move into Takarazuka was made in orderly fashion. There were no demonstrations by the native civilians except for the hordes of children which lined the highways to shout Hello's to the soldiers. Civil and military authorities gave full cooperation and there were no apparent attempts to evade or violate the terms of surrender.

Upon assuming its sector of occupation, the Regiment's main duties were to patrol the area, to make tactical reconnaissances to confiscate weapons and to perform interior and exterior guard duty.

Airfields, manufacturing plants, factories and military installations were systematically inspected. At the Yokaichi Airfield, 101 planes were found, 30 of them damaged beyond use. These planes included 37 Zero fighters, 18 Raider fighters and 8 Suisei Carrier bombers. There were also 28 training planes, 24 of them damaged.

The Sasayama Army barracks, a permanent base capable of accommodating 1600 men was found to be garrisoned by 20 men under command of Major Noguchi. The post had originally been garrisoned by a thousand men but these had been demobilized prior to the arrival of the Regiment. Large stocks of firearms and other weapons were found in these barracks and turned over to the Chief of Police.

At the Amagasaki school, a guard detachment numbering 98 men was found. They were unarmed and were performing duty as guards of the school which was currently being used as a clothing and equipment warehouse.

At Kansai College, Nigawa, a detachment of 62 Marines from the Osaka Marine Corps were found to be located. They also were unarmed and willing to cooperate in every way. A large brewery located in the 3rd Battalion area was taken over by that portion of the Regiment and put into operation to provide beer for all units.

The patrol area covered by the Regiment was an extensive one, covering the area to the north and east of Kyoto, the Shrine City of Japan. This city had not been bombed because of the many religious edifices there.

After settling down to the new duties of occupation, the men of the Regiment had more leisure time than during any previous period since going into combat. Extensive athletic programs were put into operation. A large well-kept stadium in the 3rd Battalion sector was used for baseball games and the stage of the Takarazuka Opera House was utilized for basketball.

A broad educational program was also launched. In the educational classes established at the Regiment's Serffside College, 567 men were enrolled during the first week and after the program was in working order the total enrollments reached 1,224, an amazing percentage of 93 percent of the Regiment's strength. The 3rd Battalion, being somewhat isolated, set up its own school.

In addition to the sports and educational programs, the Regiment planned sightseeing tours and a well-rounded program of entertainment. Movies were shown regularly at the Opera House and in the Battalion areas. Danny Kaye of Hollywood and Leo Durocher of the Brooklyn Dodgers made a personal appearance and the famed Cherry Blossom Girls gave several command performances of Japanese operas.

In keeping with the War Department's policy of demobilizing men with a high number of points and those with extended periods of duty overseas, the Regiment began rapidly to lose its original identity. Small quotas had left for home from the Philippines but a mass exodus began once the troops were established in Japan.

The demobilization quotas in Japan were heavy. On arrival at Takarazuka, the Regiment had a strength of 140 officers and 3311 enlisted men. About a thousand of the men were replacements who had joined the Regiment on Luzon. On October 23rd, 1945, a large quota reduced the strength to 112 officers and 2378 enlisted men. By November 2nd, the strength had been further whittled down to include only 44 officers and 1675 enlisted men. Officer personnel, including Colonel Paul C. Serff, Commander of the Regiment, consisted of one colonel, one lieutenant colonel, no majors and one captain in addition to 41 lieutenants, most of them replacements.

On February 6th, 1946, the Regiment, along with other units of the 33rd Division, was inactivated.

MEMORIES OF JAPAN

An impressive landing fleet-complete with battleships . . . the long ride to Takarazuka ... narrow streets in all the towns ... ruins and rubble everywhere-grim reminder of heavy B-29 bombings . . . Japanese beer in imperial quarts ... M.P. duty ... the world-famed Opera House ... with command performances of Japanese operas . . . the Third Battalion sign "Back Alive in '45" . . . baseball at the stadium and basketball on the opera house stage ... kimona-clad women ... horse-drawn "honey wagons" . . . terraced rice paddies on the mountain hillsides . . . blue-coated Jap policemen ... electric trains and subways-and crude ox carts ... a blending of the old and the new ... Kyoto, city of shrines ... shrines everywhere ... the zoo and gardens of Takarazuka . . . hordes of children at every corner, shouting welcomes ... plenty of souvenirs ... the river in flood-with many bridges washed out . . . the men all dressed in army clothes-but without insignia ... wooden clog shoes beating a tattoo on the pavement . . . small fish drying in front of almost every home . . . partially sunken Jap vessels in the harbors ... best quarters since Hawaii . . . G.I.'s trying to converse with the natives-using the Japanese handbook . . . only one parade-with medal awards . . . emaciated tots pleading for gum or chocolate . . . the utter poverty of the peasants . . . Danny Kaye and Leo Durocher putting on a grand two-man show . . . charcoal burning buses . . . paper window panes in all the houses ... cool weather-with the issues of woolen clothes ... big quotas for return home-with everyone waiting for orders ... the last ride to Nagoya-then the long-awaited boat ride home.

BRIEF HISTORY OF JAPAN

The earliest recorded history of Japan dates back to the seventh century A.D. but the mythical origin of the empire dates much farther back. Popular belief among the Japanese people is that Japan was founded by Jimmu, a grandson of the Sun Goddess. Hirohito, the present ruler, claims to be the 124th direct descendant of this first ruler.

Around the year 600, the Japs, divided up into loosely connected clans, were occupying the islands. Forty-five years later they were unified into a central government. For the next several hundred years the history of Japan was a series of minor battlings between the various factions striving for power. Kublai Khan invaded Japan but was driven back into the sea. Later, the Eniperor became a puppet with a shogun actually in power.

Modern history of Japan dates from 1853 when Commodore Perry steamed into Yedo Bay with a powerful American fleet and demanded that Japanese ports be opened to foreign trade. A treaty was signed but feeling against foreigners was so strong that Prince Ii, who signed the treaty, was assassinated.

Following Perry's arrival in Japan, the islands began a new era known as the Restoration period. Under this regime the Emperor again held the power but the actual rulers were still in the background. Once it was inoculated with Western civilization, Japan became a land of imitative genius. The Nips copied steam engines, trains and almost every new invention and scientific device. They copied and improved battleships and guns and in 1904, they launched a Pearl-Harbor type of offensive against the Russian garrison at Port Arthur. This was a short war and the Japanese came out on top. In the First World War, the Japanese were on the side of the Allies and the empire profited greatly from the mandates obtained at the end of that war.

On July 7th, 1937, the Japs used an incident at the Marco Polo Bridge to plunge into a war with China. This was really the beginning of Japan's operations in World War II. Prior to Pearl Harbor and America's entry into the war, the Japanese had tangled with the Russians on the Siberian border.

The Japanese empire consists of four home islands, Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, and more than 4,000 smaller islands. The Empire covers 263,000 square miles with 149,000 square miles of this area making up the four main islands. The coastline of Japan is deeply indented, measuring 17,150 miles in extent. Few places in Japan are far removed from the mountains or any great distance from the sea.

Japan is the center of the world's earthquake belt. There are four or five slight quakes every day in the islands and every six or seven years there are serious quakes. In a single month, December, 1938, more than 600 quakes (all of them minor) were recorded in Japan. In the mountain regions of the islands, the snowfall is the heaviest in the world, often exceeding a hundred inches a month.

Takarazuka, where the 123rd was stationed, is world famed for its opera activities and nearby Kyoto, where the 33rd Division maintained headquarters, is equally renowned for its hundreds of shrines.

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