105^th Infantry Regiment

The 105th Infantry Regiment was a New York National Guard regiment inducted at Troy on October 15, 1940 and assigned to the 27th Infantry Division. After training in Alabama and California, it departed San Francisco on March 10, 1942 and reached Hawaii on March 17. Its first combat came through the 3d Battalion, which sailed with the Makin task force in November 1943. Landing on Butaritari Island on November 20 with the 165th Regimental Combat Team, the battalion helped secure Makin Atoll before returning to Hawaii on December 2.

The regiment left Hawaii on May 31, 1944 and landed on Saipan on June 16-17. Its early employment was divided among support missions as the 165th Infantry fought for Aslito Airfield and the division turned toward Nafutan Point. The 105th then became the principal force left to reduce Nafutan while other 27th Division elements entered the central island battle. After rejoining the northward drive, the regiment moved into the Tanapag area. On July 7, a major Japanese counterattack struck the 105th with particular force, overrunning forward positions and isolating groups near the coast. Those elements were eventually pulled out by water while the division cleared Harakiri Gulch and secured Saipan.

After rehabilitation at Espiritu Santo, the 105th departed for the Ryukyus in March 1945. Its 3d Battalion assaulted Tsugen Shima on April 10 and helped finish the island's clearance before the regiment rejoined the 27th Division on Okinawa. In the April attack against the outer Shuri defenses, the 105th advanced from the Kakazu area toward Urasoe-Mura Escarpment. Its battalions were checked by fire from Kakazu Ridge, the Pinnacles, and adjacent cave positions, and the regiment suffered heavily while bypassed Japanese resistance opened a gap with the 96th Infantry Division. By late April the 105th had regrouped after the Kakazu and Pinnacles fighting. It remained on Okinawa through the campaign and moved to Japan in September 1945.