158TH REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM AND 158TH INFANTRY REGIMENT. GENERAL MACARTHUR SAID "NO GREATER FIGHTING COMBAT TEAM HAS EVERY DEPLOYED FOR BATTLE. “They came together from squalid Indian reservations, from the barrios of Phoenix and Tucson, from prep schools on the Hudson and coal mines in Pennsylvania, and they became the fighting team known as the Bushmasters. Lauded by MacArthur as among the finest units under his command, reviled by Tokyo Rose as 'bloody butchers,' the group began humbly as part of the Arizona National Guard. A year of jungle training in Panama, much of it spent fighting the Regular Army types who called them 'spics and blanket-asses,' earned them their nickname after the notoriously deadly pit viper found in the region. Thrown together by the fortunes of war, men whose lives would never have touched fought through the jungles of New Guinea and the Philippines, proving the Japanese wrong when they said a nation of mongrels could never overcome Bushido warriors.” – Anthony Arthur, Bushmasters: America’s Jungle

The proud history of the Bushmasters dates back to 1865 when the 1st Arizona Volunteers organized to provide security in our nation’s southwest territory. Follow-on service included the Spanish American War, Mexican border service, and World War I in France.

As a result of the declaration of a National Emergency in 1940, the 158th Infantry mobilized again – training in Oklahoma and Texas. Then in 1942, following the December 7th, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, the 158th Infantry Regiment disembarked to the Panama Canal Zone.

In Panama the 158th trained in jungle warfare. Gaining fame for their newly acquired fighting skills, the Regiment took the name “Bushmasters” after the deadly bushmaster snake (indigenous to the region). The name "Bushmasters" became well-known throughout the national press and General MacArthur personally requested the 158th Infantry to serve in the Southwest Pacific Theater.

In January 1943 the Bushmasters staged in Australia. From “Down Under” the 158th Infantry advanced on and fought through Goodenought Island, Arawe, Wakde-Sarmi in Dutch New Guinea, and Neomfoor engaging and defeating Japanese units of division strength.

In 1944, the Bushmasters landed in the Philippines and received a presidential citation for their success destroying or capturing 100 Japanese artillery pieces and enabling a successful invasion of the allies -- General MacArthur "had returned."

In 1945, the 158th Infantry pressed further in the Philippines, invading southern Luzon by means of a daring naval landing craft assault hitting the Legaspi Port.

As a result of the Bushmasters’ continued success, the 158th Infantry was selected to spearhead the final invasion of Japan. The Bushmasters were under orders to proceed two days ahead of America's crushing D-Day, to silence Japanese air warning stations south of Kyushu. Timely capitulation of Japan saved the Bushmasters from what many believed would have been a certain suicide mission.

In October 1945, the 158th Infantry landed in Yokohama, Japan. The great odyssey was over. FROM ARIZONA TO JAPAN - IN FIVE YEARS!

Thanks Dad ...............