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The history of the Arkansas National Guard and World War II begins with the reorganization following 153rd Infantry Regiment, the 141st Machine Gun Battalion, and the 142nd Field Artillery. The Guard acquired its first permanent facilities and additional training during its annual encampments. During World War II, the entire Arkansas National Guard was activated and units saw duty in the Pacific and European theaters of conflict.
The effort to rapidly reorganize the Arkansas National Guard following World War I was a complicated task for two reasons, first the fact that the units mobilized for the war had effectively been disbanded at the end of the war and second because Federal Authorities were focused on a massive expansion of the National Guard.
The state requested authority from the Militia Bureau (predecessor of today's National Guard Bureau) for authority to disband the paper organizations of the 4th Arkansas Infantry and the 1st Arkansas Engineer Battalion.[1] This was accomplished in February 1920.
However, as it became clear that the mobilized units would not simply revert to state control, the state petitioned the War Department to be able to fill the states quote of National Guard Soldiers by establishing several new units, in order to provide the governor with units to respond in case of an emergency:[1]
A Proclamation was issued by the Governor on 7 November 1919, calling upon every county and city to co-operation in the organizing of at least one National Guard Company in each county. A campaign was launched in January 1920 by bringing the Regimental Commander and a group of officers and enlisted soldiers who toured through 64 of the states largest cities to raise awareness and support of the National Guard.[1]
Under as a result of this campaign, the following unit were authorized to expand the new 5th Arkansas Infantry:[2]
Infantry companies were also authorized at the following cities.[2]
A key piece of Federal Legislation governing the organization of the National Guard had been passed during the build up to World War I. The [3]
While the act was utilized to mobilize the entire National Guard for the Mexican Expedition and World War I, the massive expansion of the National Guard which it authorized had not yet been implemented before the outbreak of the war. This meant that while the state authorities were focused on how to reconstitute the Arkansas National Guard, the Federal Authorities were planning the expansion of the National Guard from a force of 110,000 during the Mexican Expedition to the 450,000 man force authorized by the Act. From 1920–1922 various meetings were conducted at the state and regional level to determine what troops and units would be allotted to the Arkansas National Guard.[4]
By 1921 the state had been authorized to reconstitute its war time units. The 5th Arkansas Infantry was reorganized as the 153rd Infantry and the 141st Machine Gun battalion. The 153rd Infantry was stationed as follows:[5]
The 141st Machine Gun Battalion (Anti-Aircraft) was reorganized in the Arkansas National Guard with units stationed as follows:[6]
In 1923, The Arkansas National Guard was allocated a new organization, the 206th Coast Artillery (Anti Aircraft). The unit resulted form the reorganization and re-designation of the 141st Machine Gun Battalion (Anti Aircraft). The 141st was incorporated into the new unit as the 2nd Battalion, 206th Coast Artillery (Anti Aircraft).[7] The newly formed 206th Coast Artillery took its coat of arms from Chaumont, one of the principal towns in the Department of Haute-Marne, France, where the 141st Machine Gun Battalion was stationed during World War I.[8]
The state was allocated and Observation Squadron, which assumed to designation of the 154 to continue the history of the 154th Infantry, which had been organized during WWI from the former 3rd Arkansas Infantry. The 154th Observation Squadron was organized at Little Rock and federally recognized on October 24, 1925.
During the period between the World Wars, the Arkansas National Guard acquired its first permanent facilities. The Guard also received improved training at its annual encampments.
Until the reorganization following World War I, the state owned no armories. A proclamation was issued by Governor Charles Brough on 7 November 1919 appealing to all county and city officials to co-operate in the building of at least one "Memorial Community Armory Building" in each county in honor of World War I veterans.[14] The first of the new armories was built in 1926, and by 1940, the state owned a total of 25 Armories located in the following cities:
The state had acquired Camp Pike, the U.S. Army Installation that had been built for World War I. The Secretary of War granted the state a revocable license for the camp, which was accepted by Governor Thomas C. McRae on December 22, 1922.[5] The camp was turned over to the Camp Pike Honorary Commission which liquidated surplus Federal government property left at the Camp, raising approximately $250,000. These funds were utilized to new buildings and to provide for maintenance and up keep of the facilities. The commission also built a water tank and established a target range with funds from the sale. The Camp would eventually be renamed in honor of Arkansas Senator Joseph T. Robinson.
Arkansas National Guard Troops often traveled out of state to conduct training at U.S. Army facilities. In 1940, all Arkansas National Guard units participated in the 4th Army Maneuvers held in Minnesota beginning August 24, 1940.[15]
The 206th Coast Artillery also conducted summer encampments at Fort Sill OK, and in 1933 and 1934 at Fort Barrancas Florida.,[16] Fort Sheridan Ill, and Camp Pacos, TX.
The great Mississippi River flood of 1927 was one of the worst natural disasters in American history. It inundated 27,000 square miles, an area about the size of New England, killing as many as 1,000 people and displacing 700,000 more. At a time when the entire budget of the federal government was barely $3 billion, the flood caused an estimated $1 billion in damage. Although National Guard aviation units had been regularly called upon to assist civil authorities since early in that decade, the 1927 flood marked the first time that an entire Guard flying unit and its government-issued aircraft had been mobilized to help deal with a major natural disaster.[17]
Governor John E. Martineau called up the 10 officers and 50 enlisted members of the 154th Observation Squadron, Arkansas National Guard, to help locate stranded flood victims as well as to deliver food, medicines and supplies to them and relief workers. The unit also conducted aerial patrols along the Mississippi River scouting for weakened or broken levees. Its JN-4 Jenny aircraft flew some 20,000 miles during the mobilization which lasted from 18 April through 3 May 1927. Members of the unit also worked to strengthen and repair river levees.[17]
Flood relief operations took a toll on the 154th. Two aircraft crashed and at least three aviators were injured. The unit’s remaining aircraft were grounded for maintenance and repairs at one point. Because of the heavy burden of flight operations, five of the unit’s aging JN-4s had to be replaced by PT-1 trainer aircraft in mid-May 1927. The flood relief work of the 154th underscores the long-standing but little understood history of Air National Guard units and their pre-World War II antecedents in supporting civil authorities.[17]
After the various re-stationing, creation and re-constitution of units, the Arkansas National Guard consisted of the following units on the eve of World War II:[18]
State Headquarters and Detachment
153rd Infantry Regiment
206th Coast Artillery Regiment (Anti Aircraft)
154th Observation Squadron, Air Corps
142nd Field Artillery Regiment
During the build up to World War II, while the nation was still wavering on the question of whether to enter another European War, President Roosevelt took the precaution of mobilizing the National Guard for what was originally described as one year of training. The first units were mobilized in September 1940 and by the end of January 1941 all units of the Arkansas National Guard were mobilized. Many of these units had completed their post mobilization training and been shipped to duty at various stations several months before the United States officially declared war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. In all 272 officers and 41496 enlisted men of the Arkansas National Guard were mustered into Federal Service for World War II.[19]
The first unit called to active duty was the 154th Observation Squadron on September 16, 1940.[15] After extensive stateside training, the majority of the squadron departed New York City and arrived in North Africa November 8, 1942.[20] The airplanes arrived in early December, having flown from Florida to South America and across the Southern Atlantic via Ascension Island to Africa. Only 23 of 36 planes that started the trip arrived in North Africa. Flying A-20s, P-38s, P-39s and P-51s, the 154th flew combat missions from several airfields in North Africa. The 154th is credited with flying the first combat mission in a P-51 in the Mediterranean April 9, 1943.[20] The squadron moved to Bari Airdrome east of Naples, Italy in February 1944. There the 154th flew combat missions all across Europe until the end of the war. The squadron earned a distinguished unit citation for its service in operations over the Ploesti oil refineries in August 1944.
The 153rd, along with the 206th Coast Artillery Regiment arrived in Alaska in August 1941.[22]
The 2nd Battalion, 153rd Infantry was stationed on Umnak Island, west of Dutch Harbor and took part in the occupation of Adak Island and the assault on Kiska,[23] August 15, 1943, part of the Aleutian Islands Campaign. The Japanese had secretly abandoned Kiska only days before the invasion by U.S. Forces. The recapture of Kiska brought the Aleutian Islands Campaign to a close.[24]
The 153rd returned to Camp Shelby, MS on March 21, 1944 and was inactivated on June 30, 1944; its soldiers assigned to other units as replacements. Many returned to Camp Robinson as cadre.[21] The 153rd was awarded the following Campaign Participation Credit:
The 206th Coast Artillery Regiment (CA) was inducted into Federal service 6 January 1941 at home stations as a part of a one year mobilization of the National Guard in preparation for World War II. Later the Regiment moved to Fort Bliss, Texas and conducted its initial training. The 206th Coast Artillery Regiment was deployed to Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska and had been on station for approximately 4 months when the Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The 206th CA was equipped with the M1918 3-inch Gun (an older model with a vertical range of 8,200 m), .50-caliber machine guns, and 60-inch (1.5 m) Sperry searchlights.
With the threat to the Aleutian Islands at an end, the Regiment was redeployed to Fort Bliss in March 1944, deactivated and personnel were reassigned. The 1st Battalion was redesignated the 596th AAA (automatic weapons), but was broken up after a month and its personnel used as replacements. The 2nd Battalion was redesignated the 597th AAA (automatic weapons) and participated in the Central Europe and Rhineland campaigns. The 3rd Battalion, which was created in Alaska, was redesignated the 339th Searchlight Battalion but was disbanded in less than three months and its personnel used as replacements.[30] Several hundred former members of the 206th became infantry replacements, most being assigned to the 86th and the 87th Infantry Divisions.[31] The 597th AAA was inactivated December 12, 1945 at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. The 206th was awarded the following Campaign Participation Credit:
The 142nd Field Artillery Regiment was inducted into Federal service on 6 January 1941, at Fayetteville.[32] The 142nd Field Artillery Regiment was ordered the unit moved to Fort Sill, OK where the 3rd Battalion was disbanded. In February the Regiment moved to Camp Bowie, TX and began extensive training. On February 25, 1943, the 142nd Field Artillery Regiment was disbanded. The headquarters was redesignated the 142nd Field Artillery Group, the 1st Battalion became the 936th and the 2nd became the 937th.[33] These were independent battalions equipped with the 155mm howitzer.
The 142nd Field Artillery Group left Camp Bowie September 25, 1943 and arrived in England on November 3, 1943. It crossed Utah Beach June 10, 1944 and participated in the European offensive with up to five battalions attached. When the war ended it was 25 miles (40 km) from the Elbe River.[32]
The 936th Field Artillery Battalion left Camp Bowie August 9, 1943, arrived in Algiers September 2, 1943, and landed in Naples, Italy November 11, 1943. It participated in the drive across the Rapido River, the liberation of Rome and the assault on Mount Cassino. When the war ended the 936th was across the Po River, about 45 miles (72 km) from Venice. It had fired 139,364 rounds in combat and was awarded battle streamers for the following campaigns:
The 937th Field Artillery Battalion left Camp Bowie on August 10, 1943, arrived in Algiers September 2, 1943 and landed in Naples, Italy November 11, 1943. It participated in the drive across the Rapido River and the liberation of Rome. It then prepared for and participated in the amphibious landings in southern France August 15, 1944. One of vessels carrying the 937th FA was hit by a German bomber resulting in 1 KIA, 2 MIA, 83 WIA and the loss of the fire direction equipment and one battery of howitzers. The 937th fired over 200,000 combat rounds and was awarded battle streamers for the following campaigns:
Just as the State had organized the Home Guard units for World War I in order to give the governor a force to utilize in case of emergency, the state re-established the Arkansas State Guard during World War II.[34] General Order Number 4, dated May 1, 1942 established the State Guard with officer and enlisted strength, stationing and designations as follows:
In all the Arkansas State Guard was authorized 46 Officers and 478 Enlisted Soldiers. The State Guard responded to fires, tornados, and floods at Fort Smith, Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Texarkana and Batesville during the War. The Arkansas State Guard was deactivated between 17 September 1946 and 16 December 1946.[34]
This list is intended to included all know Arkansas National Guardsmen who died during combat operations in support of World War II. This list may be shorter than corresponding list of casualties included in various unit histories because those lists may include Soldiers who were assigned to the units as replacements after mobilization.
Arkansas, Arkansas Air National Guard, American Civil War, National Guard of the United States, North Little Rock, Arkansas
World War II, United States, Japan, Empire of Japan, Canada
Missouri, Little Rock, Arkansas, Louisiana, American Civil War, Texas
Handbook of Texas, Houston, Dallas, New Mexico, Oklahoma
Republican Party (United States), Anchorage, Alaska, Democratic Party (United States), Canada, United States
Arkansas National Guard, Sic, Arkansas, Fulton County, Arkansas, Ulysses S. Grant
Arkansas National Guard, American Civil War, Arkansas, Mexico, Florida
Battle of Wilson's Creek, American Civil War, 1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles, Arkansas National Guard, Confederate States of America
Arkansas National Guard, Mexican Revolution, World War I, World War II, Arkansas