The 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiment was an American Army

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

composed of

Filipino Americans Filipino Americans () are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos in North America were first documented in the 16th century and other small settlements beginning in the 18th century. Mass migration did not begin until after the end of the Sp ...

that was active in the Pacific Theater during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was constituted at

Fort Ord Fort Ord is a former United States Army post on Monterey Bay on the Pacific Ocean coast in California, which closed in 1994 due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) action. Most of the fort's land now makes up the Fort Ord National Monument, ...

under the 1st Filipino Battalion in October 1942 and was activated the following month until its disbandment and reorganization in March 1944 into the 2nd Filipino Battalion (Separate). It went on to serve in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

and was later stationed in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. The regiment never saw combat. It was constituted by request of Filipinos.

History

On 21 December 1941, the United States Congress amended the Selective Training and Service Act by passing the Filipino Naturalization Bill to permit enlistment of all citizens and "every other male person residing in the United States" which enabled the recruitment of Filipino-Americans who were previously not able to enlist. The 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment was formed in July 1942 in response to the desire for an all-Filipino regiment. Its recruitment grew until a 2nd Regiment was needed to be formed to properly organize the manpower. When it was formed in October 1942 it was initially led by Colonel Charles Clifford at Fort Ord. In 1943 the regiment was sent to Camp Cooke for several months of training. The regiment stayed at the Hunter Liggett Military Reservation during October 1943. There they underwent even more extensive combat training until returning to Camp Cooke. In March 1944, the regiment was reorganized to bring the 1st Filipino Regiment up to 125% strength and the 2nd Filipino Battalion (Separate) was formed to take their place. The newly formed 2nd Battalion then experienced a brief one month long stay at Camp Stoneman in June 1944. On 4 July 1944 the unit was sent to

Oro Bay Oro Bay is a bay in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea, located southeast of Buna. The bay is located within the larger Dyke Ackland Bay. A port is operated by PNG Ports Corporation Limited with limited wharf facilities, located at . History Du ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. From there it was sent to

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

where it stay until its disbandment in 1946.

References

{{reflist Infantry regiments of the United States Army in World War II United States Army in World War II Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1944 American military personnel of Filipino descent Filipino-American history