385^th Infantry Regiment

The 385th Infantry Regiment was organized at Fort George G. Meade on June 15, 1942, assigned to the 76th Infantry Division, and trained in Virginia and Wisconsin before staging at Camp Myles Standish. It left Boston on November 24, 1944, arrived in England on December 4, landed in France on January 12, 1945, and crossed into Belgium on January 23 and Luxembourg on January 25. The regiment entered combat as the 76th Division relieved the 87th Infantry Division along the Sauer and Moselle near Echternach. While the 417th Infantry fought across the Sauer with the 5th Division, the division expanded and secured its bridgehead, then crossed the Pruem in late February.

The 385th's most distinct early role came in the drive from the Kyll toward the Moselle. Reinforced as Task Force Onaway, it crossed the Kyll on March 3, 1945, and drove on Herforst during the broader XII Corps breakthrough. The task force was dissolved on March 9, and the regiment captured Grosslittgen while the 304th took Musweiler. After the division reached the Klein Kyll-Lieser line and cleared most resistance by March 14, it shifted to the Rhine. On March 21 the 76th relieved the 2nd Cavalry Group along the river from Boppard to Bingen.

The 385th and 417th crossed the Rhine at Boppard on March 26-27 and fought through house-to-house resistance at Kamberg, where German officer-candidate troops helped delay the advance until April 1. The regiment then joined the pursuit into central Germany. On April 9, after relief by the 3rd Cavalry Group, RCT 385 moved to the division's right southeast of Langensalza and cleared Doellstaedt, Grossfahner, Gierstadt, and Kleinfahner. It ended the war in the Zwickauer Mulde bridgehead near Chemnitz.