[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 133 (Thursday, October 10, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S10352]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 NORTH DAKOTA'S 164TH INFANTRY REGIMENT

 Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, it was 60 years ago that 2,000 men 
from North Dakota's 164th Infantry Regiment performed heroically in a 
savage battle in the South Pacific. It marked the first time the U.S. 
Army launched an offensive operation in that war and stands today as a 
critical juncture in World War II.
  Coming from almost every city and village in North Dakota, the 
members of the 164th Infantry were North Dakota's National Guard and 
traced their unit's heritage to the Indian wars on the American 
frontier. Its history was one of distinction, most notably marked by a 
spectacular ten Medals of Honor its men won in the Philippines in 1899.
  Called to active duty early in 1941, the North Dakotans were ordered 
to the West Coast the day after Pearl Harbor, and landed in the South 
Pacific in the spring of 1942.
  Meanwhile, on the island of Guadalcanal, U.S. Marines had begun 
America's first offensive action against Japan. By autumn, it was a 
precarious deadlock and the 164th Infantry was sent in October 13. By 
noon it had its first casualty. Corporal Kenneth Foubert of Company M 
of Grand Forks, North Dakota, was killed in a bombing run by Japanese 
planes. As Japanese ground patrols tested U.S. positions, the 164th 
Infantry advanced, the first unit of the Army to go on the offensive in 
WWII.
  An intense Japanese attack, the largest battle fought on Guadalcanal, 
occurred October 24-25. In ``Citizens as Soldiers,'' a history of the 
North Dakota National Guard, authors Jerry Cooper and Glenn Smith tell 
how a battalion of the 164th Infantry was sent to reinforce the 
Marines. Despite the blackness of night, made darker by a heavy 
tropical rain, the 164th Infantry, over narrow trails slippery with 
mud, followed its Marine escorts to the front line, holding on to the 
backpacks of the man in front of them to avoid being lost.
  Fighting side by side with the Marines, the 164th Infantry poured 
relentless fire through the night into continuous waves of oncoming 
Japanese. At dusk of the next day, the Japanese attacked again. The 
situation was precarious and cooks, messengers, and clerks manned 
positions and waited for the worst. Even the musicians of the North 
Dakota band were pressed into service as litter bearers. Every member 
of the 164th had a role in that battle, the fiercest of the campaign.
  At one outpost, 18 Marines, many seriously wounded, were surrounded. 
The 164th Infantry's Sgt. Kevin McCarthy of Jamestown, ND, used a 
small, lightly armored, open topped vehicle to make repeated trips to 
the desperate men and, under heavy fire, rescued them all. For his 
bravery, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
  By dawn, it was clear the enemy had suffered a disastrous defeat. In 
front of the 164th Infantry were 1,700 dead Japanese. The North Dakota 
unit, meanwhile, suffered only 26 killed and 52 wounded.
  Impressed, the Marines' commanding general sent the North Dakotans a 
message that said the Marines ``salute you for a most wonderful piece 
of work. We are honored to serve with such a unit. Our hat is off to 
you.''
  Lt. Col. Robert Hall of Jamestown, ND, received the Navy Cross for 
his leadership of the battalion during this crucial action.
  The fight for Guadalcanal continued into November when the 164th was 
assigned to drive Japanese defenders off a series of ridges. From 
November 20-27, the battle raged. It was the bloodiest week of the 
entire war for the unit. More than 100 men were killed and some 200 
wounded. Not until February did the Japanese finally flee the island.
  It was none too soon. Guadalcanal had taken its toll. The 164th was 
no longer combat effective. It was down to less than two-thirds its 
authorized number. Most men had lost 20 pounds or more. They suffered 
from malaria, heat exhaustion, exotic tropical diseases. All told, the 
unit buried 147 men on the island, had 309 wounded, and another 133 
casualties from shock, trauma, and neurosis.
  It was little wonder that the Americans called the island ``green 
hell'' and Japanese referred to it as the ``island of death.''
  The regiment received a Presidential Unit Citation for its 
outstanding contributions and personal plaudits from General George 
Marshall, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Admiral William 
Halsey, commander of the South Pacific forces. For Guadalcanal, men of 
the regiment won a Navy Cross, five Distinguished Service Crosses, 40 
Silver Stars, more than 300 Purple Hearts, and many Soldier's Medals 
and Legions of Merit. One of its proud boasts was that it would leave 
no one behind and, indeed, it had no men missing in action.
  The survivors are now old men. They have had America's hat tipped to 
them before, but they deserve it again, one more time before they leave 
us to rejoin their comrades, brave young men who left North Dakota on 
troop trains in the bitter February cold so long ago to answer their 
Nation's call.

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