The 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiment was an

American Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

composed of

Filipino Americans Filipino Americans ( fil, Mga Pilipinong Amerikano) are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos and other Asian ethnicities in North America were first documented in the 16th century as slaves and prisoners on ships sailing to and from New ...

that was active in the

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. It was constituted at

Fort Ord Fort Ord is a former United States Army post on Monterey Bay of 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, m ...

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''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

and was later stationed in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. 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 The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, also known as the Burke–Wadsworth Act, , was the first peacetime conscription in United States history. This Selective Service Act required that men who had reached their 21st birthday b ...

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 The 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment was a segregated United States Army infantry regiment made up of Filipino Americans from the continental United States and a few veterans of the Battle of the Philippines that saw combat during World War II. ...

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 Camp Stoneman was a United States Army facility located in Pittsburg, California. It served as a major troop staging area for and under the command of the San Francisco Port of Embarkation (SFPOE). The camp operated during World War II and the Kor ...

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 Duri ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. From there it was sent to

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

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