136^th Infantry Regiment

The 136th Infantry Regiment was activated at Camp Forrest, Tennessee, on April 1, 1942, and assigned to the 33rd Infantry Division. After training in the United States and Hawaii, it reached New Guinea in May 1944 and later moved with the division to Morotai. The regiment landed at Lingayen Gulf on February 10, 1945 as the 33rd Division entered the Luzon campaign. Its combat service centered on the northern Luzon drive toward Baguio and the later clearing operations beyond the city.

In the Baguio campaign, the 136th operated on the division's eastern side along Kennon Road and Route 11, the most strongly defended and most difficult direct approach to the city. The road ran through the Bued River gorge, crossed streams and ravines repeatedly, and was dominated by steep ridges. Japanese troops used these terrain advantages to block bridges, hold ridge noses, and delay any direct thrust. In March, while the 130th Infantry worked the Aringay-Naguilian side and the 123rd patrolled near Pugo and Tuba, the 136th maintained pressure by patrols on Kennon Road and in the adjacent valleys.

When the main effort shifted west to Route 9 and the Galiano-Asin road, the 136th continued its holding and pressure mission. Reinforced by reconnaissance and guerrilla elements, it helped contain Japanese forces along Route 11 and in the Arboredo, Agno, and Ambayabang river valleys while the 37th Division and the 130th Infantry broke through from the west. After Baguio fell on April 27, the regiment remained in the northern Luzon campaign. Elements of the regiment also served in task-force duties near Dingalan and Baler on the east coast. In June, as the 33rd Division pushed beyond Baguio, the 136th helped clear north and east toward the Baguio-Aritao supply road, Ambuclao, Bokod, and Daklan.