Cpl John Gray
John On His Way To Ft. Sam Houston For Redeployment
To The European Theater, Met This Patriotic Little Boy.
Fortunately For John, V.e. Day Came In May 1945
And John Was Not Sent To Europe.
Cpl John Gray
John, In The Center, Stateside Shortly Before The War Ended In 1945.
The 164th Infantry Regiment Joined the Philippine Islands Campaign
On January 21, 1945, Company K and the rest of the 164th Infantry Regiment arrived at Leyte in the Philippine Islands. By March 26th they had engaged the enemy. By the time the 164th left Leyte, the 164th's actions had resulted in 2,010 Japanese dead while having 86 KIA on the American side.
On April 10, 1945, one month after landing at Leyte, the 1st and 2nd battalions of the 164th arrived at Cebu in the Philippine Islands where they spent about two weeks engaging the enemy and suffering 19 KIA’s. Also on April 10th, the 3rd battalion landed on Bohol in the Philippines Islands and spent two weeks there where 7 of their members were KIA. They then returned to Cebu on April 29, 1945.
On April 25 and 26, 1945, the First and Third Battalions of the 164th landed on the Negros Islands in the Philippines where they secured Dumaguete, the provincial capital. This was the first beachhead to be taken by the men of the two battalions and was the beginning of their last campaign. The two battalions were responsible for the deaths of 527 Japanese soldiers while losing 33 KIA of their own. In May, they returned to Cebu where plans were being made to invade Japan.
The Atomic Bomb Is Dropped!
On August 6, 1945, the world’s first atomic bomb was dropped by the U.S. on the Japanese City of Hiroshima.
Another Japanese city, Nagasaki, would receive the same fate two days later.
World War II Ends!
On August 15, 1945 Japan Surrenders.
The Americal Division, including Company K of the 164th Regiment, left Cebu in the Philippine Islands for occupation duty at Yokohama, Japan.
On November 25, 1945
The Americal Division was officially disbanded and Company K and the rest of the 164th Regiment was designated as inactive.
The Regiment spent nearly 600 days in combat and suffered 325 KIA’s and 1193 wounded in action. The War was over and most of the North Dakotans made it home for Christmas of 1945.