164th Infantry Remembrance Association

09/09/2026

Calling all Reenactors, Living Historians, or anyone interested in helping us recreate and remember the 164th Infantry in WWII!

We are always looking for new members to help us recreate the lives of North Dakota’s most famous unit. We are currently planning our 2027 schedule commemorating the 164th’s actions on Guadalcanal.

If you or anyone you know may be interested in joining and becoming part of the 164th Infantry Remembrance Association- reach out through Facebook Messenger or email us at [email protected]

09/07/2026

𝐀 𝐑𝐔𝐌𝐎𝐑 𝐈𝐍 𝐒𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟗𝟒𝟏 — 𝐀 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐖𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐏 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝟏𝟔𝟒𝐓𝐇 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐘’𝐒 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐘

On September 11, 1941, while thousands of soldiers were taking part in the massive Louisiana Maneuvers, The Town Talk of Alexandria, Louisiana, reported on rumors of a major restructuring of the U.S. Army.

The headline read:
“𝟑𝟐𝒏𝒅, 𝟑𝟒𝒕𝒉 𝑻𝒐 𝑩𝒆 𝑻𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝑫𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝑹𝒖𝒎𝒐𝒓”

Among the units caught in that changing Army was North Dakota’s 164th Infantry Regiment, then serving as one of four infantry regiments of the 34th Infantry Division.

The old Army “square” division was built around four infantry regiments. The new triangular division would contain only three. As the newspaper explained, the Army believed these smaller divisions would possess greater mobility and combat power. The article even speculated about how the restructuring of the 32nd and 34th Divisions might leave regiments available for entirely new formations.

For the men of the 164th, that organizational change would soon have enormous consequences.

Less than three months after this article appeared, Pearl Harbor was attacked. On December 8, 1941, the 164th Infantry was detached from the 34th Division as the Army completed its transition to the triangular organization. Instead of following the 34th toward Europe, North Dakota's regiment was ordered west.

That separation ultimately sent the 164th down an entirely different road.

09/02/2026

🇺🇸 V-J DAY SEPTEMBER 2, 1945 | VICTORY IN THE PACIFIC

Eighty-one years ago today, representatives of the Empire of Japan formally signed the Instrument of Surrender aboard the USS Missouri, bringing World War II to an official end.

For the men of North Dakota’s 164th Infantry Regiment, it marked the end of a long road of war that had carried them thousands of miles from home.

Called into federal service in February 1941, the men of the 164th went on to fight across the Pacific—from Guadalcanal and Bougainville to Leyte and the Southern Philippines. They endured years overseas, hundreds of days in contact with the enemy, and the loss of hundreds of their comrades.

When victory finally came, however, their service was not yet finished.

The 164th Infantry and the rest of the Americal Division moved from the Philippines to Japan as occupation troops, helping secure the peace that they had fought so hard to achieve. For many of these North Dakotans, it would still be months before they finally returned home.

Today, on V-J Day, we remember not only the victory, but the men who made it possible—the citizen-soldiers who left communities across North Dakota and carried the 164th Infantry Regiment through some of the hardest fighting of the Pacific War.

For them, September 2, 1945 represented something generations of Americans had waited nearly four years to hear:

The war was over.

We remember their service.
We remember their sacrifice.
We remember the 164th.

Je Suis Prêt — “I Am Ready.”

08/27/2026

A Change of Command for the 34th Infantry Division — August 27, 1941

During the massive buildup and training of American forces in 1941, leadership of the 34th Infantry Division changed hands while the division was participating in the Louisiana Maneuvers.

This article, published in The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican on Wednesday, August 27, 1941, announced that Brig. Gen. Russell P. Hartle had assumed command of the 34th Infantry Division, succeeding Maj. Gen. E. A. Walsh of Minnesota, who had been granted sick leave. Brig. Gen. Gordon C. Hollar of Sioux City, who had served as acting commander, returned to command the 67th Infantry Brigade.

For North Dakota readers, the newspaper made a point of noting the state's connection to the division:

“The 34th division includes N.D.’s 164th infantry regiment.”

At the time, North Dakota's 164th Infantry Regiment was serving as part of the 34th Infantry Division and taking part in the enormous 1941 Louisiana Maneuvers. These exercises gave the regiment experience operating alongside thousands of other soldiers under field conditions as the United States rapidly prepared its Army for the possibility of war.

Within months, the 164th's path would change dramatically. Following Pearl Harbor and America's entry into World War II, the regiment was detached from the 34th Division and sent to the Pacific. In 1942, the North Dakotans joined the Americal Division and entered combat on Guadalcanal.

Clippings such as this help us tell the often-overlooked story of the 164th before Guadalcanal—when North Dakota's citizen-soldiers were training in Louisiana for a war that was drawing ever closer.

Source: The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, Fargo, North Dakota, Wednesday, August 27, 1941. Digitized through Newspapers.com.

08/26/2026

Much is discussed here about the men and the 164th as a whole, but here is what they were up against as soon as they landed on Guadalcanal.

A typical Japanese Army rifle platoon on Guadalcanal. Those fast firing Type 96/99 and Type 89 50mm gr***de dischargers (knee mortars) gave them a quick advantage in gaining fire superiority. Marines such a Puller and Edson provided favorable remarks about each weapon system. Japanese squads were based around the light machine gun similar to the Germans. Chart Credit: G. Rottman

08/23/2026

As an organization dedicated to recreating, educating, and preserving the sacrifices of North Dakota’s fighting men of WWII, one of the most important tools in our arsenal is … RESEARCH!

Luckily thanks to the The 164th Infantry News we have an almost complete collection of years of the original Association’s newsletters which included hundreds of original photos, interviews, written accounts, etc all from the men of the 164th Infantry themselves!

Today some of our members looked through the editions and articles pertaining to Camp Claiborne and Guadalcanal for some projects coming down the road!
So stay Tuned!

08/23/2026

Before Guadalcanal, Bougainville, and the Philippines, there was Louisiana.

On August 23, 1941, The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican gave readers back home a glimpse of the 164th Infantry Regiment in the midst of the massive Louisiana Maneuvers.

Serving with the 34th Infantry Division, the 164th was taking part in large-scale exercises designed to prepare the U.S. Army for modern warfare. The newspaper followed Company B of Fargo as its men traveled by truck from DeQuincy, Louisiana, north along the Sabine River before establishing a bivouac near Merryville.

There, the regiment pitched tents, established kitchens, prepared for the coming simulated battle, and even found time for a swim after an Army doctor approved the swimming area.

The next day, the “war” began. Company B loaded into trucks, moved north toward the opposing “Blue” forces, and eventually dismounted to continue through the dark Louisiana forests on foot with rifles, packs, and ammunition.

For the North Dakotans of the 164th Infantry, exercises like these were more than training. Little more than a year later, the regiment would be fighting a very real enemy on Guadalcanal.

Source: The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, Fargo, North Dakota, Saturday, August 23, 1941. Article: “164th Contacts ‘Enemy’ in Louisiana Maneuvers.” Accessed via Newspapers.com.

08/19/2026

On This Day — August 19, 1941 🇺🇸

“164th of N.D. Digs In For Field Maneuvers”

Eighty-five years ago, North Dakota’s 164th Infantry Regiment was settling into the Louisiana countryside for what would become an important chapter in the regiment’s preparation for war.

The August 19, 1941 edition of The Fargo Forum, Daily Republican, and Moorhead Daily News reported that soldiers of the 164th had completed a 90-mile movement from Camp Claiborne to their new field base near DeQuincy, Louisiana, where they joined the 34th Division for large-scale maneuvers.

Once in position, the North Dakotans went to work.

They policed their area, dug trenches around their pup tents, established communications with the 68th Brigade and 34th Division headquarters, checked equipment, and prepared for extensive field exercises. The newspaper described the regiment's camp as rows of “squat, brown pup tents” stretching across the Louisiana landscape.

Even after a 90-mile movement, one priority came first, a hot meal. Cooks from Headquarters Company arrived early, set up the cook shack, and had food waiting when the rest of the company reached camp.

There was even time for a little news from home. Sergeants Osborn Fredrickson and James A. Hedges of Fargo were noted for putting up the first pup tent in Headquarters Company's line and both had recently announced engagements.

The article concluded that much of the week had been spent preparing for the move, checking equipment, packing non-essential items for shipment home, and establishing camp. But the real work was about to begin:

“For the weekend, an exercise was announced that would mark the first of the extensive maneuvers in the field work for the 164th.”

These Louisiana maneuvers were part of the massive training exercises that helped transform the prewar National Guard into a force prepared for modern combat. Little could these North Dakota soldiers have known that Pearl Harbor was less than four months away, or that the 164th Infantry would soon travel halfway around the world and enter combat on Guadalcanal in 1942.

From pup tents and trenches in Louisiana to the battlefields of the Pacific, the regiment was preparing for a war that was rapidly approaching.

Source: The Fargo Forum, Daily Republican, and Moorhead Daily News, Page 7, Tuesday, August 19, 1941, Fargo, North Dakota.

08/07/2026

Today is the anniversary of the landings on Guadalcanal, which would eventually send the 164th Infantry into action.

It was 84 years ago today, 7 August 1942, that the US started their first offensive. I’m posting it in real-time. It occurred on 6 August in the US.

Credit: my friend Peter Flahavin for the photo set up.

07/31/2026

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Hall was the only US Army soldier to earn a Navy Cross during the campaign. As the battalion commander of 3/164, he received the medal for his leadership in supporting Lt Colonel Lewis Puller and 1/7. This was during the evening of 24-25 Oct during the Battle of Henderson Field.

Hall was later wounded on 23 Nov during the 5th Battle of the Matanikau by a mortar round.

Several soldiers earned the Navy Cross’s Army equivalent, the Distinguished Service Cross, during the campaign.