188^th Glider Infantry Regiment

The 188th Glider Infantry Regiment was activated at Camp Mackall, North Carolina, on February 25, 1943, and joined the 11th Airborne Division. After training at Camp Mackall and Camp Polk, it moved to the Pacific in 1944, arriving in New Guinea in June and on Leyte in November. On Leyte it served with the division in the Burauen area during the Japanese airborne attack and the subsequent drive across the island.

The regiment's most important combat work began with the Luzon landing at Nasugbu on January 31, 1945. The 1st Battalion came ashore early, passed through Nasugbu, and drove inland toward the Palico River. The 188th seized the Palico bridge intact, pushed to Route 17, and then fought through the mountain defile west of Tagaytay Ridge. It cleared positions around Mt. Aiming and linked with the 511th Parachute Infantry after that regiment's drop on Tagaytay Ridge on February 3.

From Tagaytay the 188th turned north into the Manila fighting. At Nichols Field it attacked from the south and southeast, with the 1st Battalion, 187th Glider Infantry attached. The first assaults met heavy artillery, mortar, machine-gun, and pillbox resistance, but continued pressure by the 188th, 187th, and 511th broke the defense. On February 12 the coordinated attack cleared most of the field, and mop-up followed the next day.

The 188th also took part in the Los Banos rescue on February 23, with elements moving by land and amphibian tractor while the 511th dropped on the camp. In March the regiment fought in the Ternate-Manila Bay area and then advanced from Batangas toward Lipa, overrunning defenses southeast of the city and securing Lipa Hill. In April it pushed through southern Luzon and joined the final attack on Mt. Mataasna Bundoc. It was redesignated the 188th Parachute Infantry Regiment on July 20, 1945, and later entered Japan for occupation duty.