164th Infantry Association Records

The 164th Infantry was operational from 1885 to 1955. During that time it's title changed several times. It began in 1885 as the First Regiment, Dakota National Guard. It was redesignated the First Infantry Regiment, North Dakota National Guard on November 2, 1889, when North Dakota became a state. On May 20, 1898, it entered federal service as the First North Dakota Volunteer Infantry for the Spanish American War and the Philippine Insurrection. After being dismissed from federal service on September 25, 1899, it reverted to state control. It was called into federal service on June 18, 1916, for the Mexican Border Conflict. On Saint Valentine's day, 1917, the regiment returned to state control. Later that year, the regiment entered federal service for World War I. It was redesignated on October 4, 1917, as the 164th Infantry Regiment and was assigned to the 41st Division. The regiment was demobilized on February 28, 1919. The regiment entered federal service on February 10, 1941, for World War II. It was sent to Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, for training, where it took part in the "Louisiana Maneuvers", a major series of training exercises in August and September 1941 that evaluated the readiness of the Army for the coming war. The regiment was assigned to the Americal Division on May 24, 1942. It was returned to state control June 10, 1946.  The regiment was called into service January 16, 1951, for the Korean War. The 164th Infantry Regiment was disbanded April 15, 1955, and converted into engineering battalions. The 164th is most remembered for its service in World War II. At Guadalcanal in October 1942, it became the first U.S. Army unit to engage in offensive action against the enemy. It was involved in the heaviest fighting of this campaign and was congratulated by the Marine unit it reinforced. For its efforts, the Americal Division was awarded the Navy's Presidential Unit Citation. After Guadalcanal, the Regiment participated in the Bougainville Campaign (December 1943-November 1944), the liberation of the Philippines (January-August 1945), and assisted with occupation duty in Japan (September 1945-June 1946).  During its existence the unit and its members saw almost 600 days of combat, earned 199 Bronze Stars, 89 Silver Stars, six Legions of Merit, ten Soldiers Medals, six Distinguished Service Crosses, one Navy Cross and about 2,000 Purple Hearts.

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