123^rd Infantry Regiment

The 123rd Infantry Regiment was activated at Fort Lewis, Washington, on September 28, 1942, and assigned to the 33rd Infantry Division. After training in the United States and Hawaii, it reached Finschhafen, New Guinea, in May 1944. Its first wartime field duty came at Maffin Bay, where it arrived on September 1 and relieved elements connected with the Wakde-Sarmi operation. Attached to TORNADO Task Force, the regiment protected the Wakde airdrome and the Toem-Sarmi sector while the area served as a staging and air base for later Southwest Pacific operations.

The regiment landed on Luzon on February 10, 1945 and briefly came under the 43rd Infantry Division before rejoining the 33rd Division's drive toward Baguio. During the early phase, the 123rd patrolled north and east of Pugo while the division tested the southern and western approaches to the city. Its main route, the Tuba Trail and related Galiano approaches, ran through difficult mountain country where rain, fog, poor tracks, and determined Japanese delaying positions slowed every movement.

In April the 123rd pushed toward Mount Calugong and the Tuba Trail as the 33rd and 37th Divisions converged on Baguio. Its pressure on the southern approaches helped force Japanese redeployment while the 37th Division broke through along Route 9 and the 130th Infantry opened the Galiano-Asin road. After Japanese forces began withdrawing from Baguio, the 123rd reached Tuba on April 24 and entered the city area with other 33rd Division patrols on April 27. Later, officers and elements associated with the regiment contributed to task-force operations in northern Luzon, including the Connolly Task Force movement toward Aparri. The regiment ended the war in the Baguio area and moved to occupation duty in Japan.