162^nd Infantry Regiment

The 162nd Infantry Regiment was an Oregon National Guard regiment federalized at Portland on September 16, 1940 and assigned to the 41st Infantry Division. After training in Washington and New Jersey, it sailed from New York on March 1, 1942 and reached Australia on April 9. The regiment entered New Guinea in February 1943, moving through Port Moresby, Oro Bay, and Milne Bay before taking part in the long advance along the north coast.

Its first major combat role came through MacKechnie Force, built around the 1st Battalion, 162nd Infantry. On June 30, 1943 that force landed at Nassau Bay to support the Australian advance against Salamaua. The landing was unopposed but difficult, with heavy surf wrecking many landing craft and complicating supply. The regiment then helped secure the beachhead and pushed north in conjunction with Australian units. The rest of the regiment joined later operations in the Salamaua area, including the fighting around Roosevelt Ridge and Scout Ridge before returning to Australia in October 1943.

The 162nd returned to New Guinea for the 1944 offensive. At Hollandia on April 22, it landed over the Humboldt Bay sandspits, seized Pancake Hill, cleared Jarremoh Hill, and entered Hollandia town the next morning. On Biak, beginning May 27, the regiment met heavier resistance. Forced back from positions west of Parai, it regrouped near Ibdi and later fought through the Parai Defile as the whole division was committed to clear the island. In 1945 the regiment landed at Zamboanga on March 10, secured Wolfe Field and the western beachhead area, and fought inland through prepared Japanese defenses toward Mount Capisan, which fell by March 24. The regiment later moved to Parang, Mindanao, where it guarded communications, held rear areas, and freed X Corps units for the final drive across the island.