The 182nd Infantry Regiment was a Massachusetts National Guard regiment federalized at Charlestown on January 16, 1941. After release from the 26th Division, it joined Task Force 6814, sailed through Australia to New Caledonia, and became part of the Americal Division in May 1942. Detachments first served in the New Hebrides, while the main regiment landed at Lunga Point on Guadalcanal on November 12, 1942, amid the naval battles fought to keep the island supplied.
The regiment entered combat west of the Matanikau River. On November 18 the 2nd Battalion crossed to seize Hill 66; the next day the 1st Battalion advanced toward Point Cruz and fought through confusion, artillery, mortars, and Japanese counterpressure before the 164th Infantry filled the gap between the battalions. In January 1943 the 182nd served in the Composite Army-Marine Division, advancing with Marine and 147th Infantry units toward Kokumbona and the Poha River before reverting to Americal Division control.
After rest in Fiji, the 182nd reached Bougainville in December 1943 and entered the Torokina perimeter. Its hardest Bougainville action came at Hill 260 in March 1944, when Japanese troops overran South Knob, forcing companies of the regiment into repeated counterattacks, containment, and close fighting around North and South Knobs under heavy mortar and artillery fire. In 1945 the regiment moved to Leyte, and its 1st Battalion helped clear Capul, Biri, and nearby islands guarding San Bernardino Strait. On March 26 the regiment assaulted Cebu near Talisay, drove toward Cebu City, and fought for Lahug Airfield, Hill 30, and Go Chan Hill, where Company A was shattered by Japanese explosive charges. It continued through the Cebu hill fighting and pursuit before occupation duty in Japan.
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