1st Filipino Infantry Regiment

1st Filipino Infantry Regiment
Per pall Argent, Gules and Azure, over the second and third an Igorot war shield and kris in saltire Or.
Regiment Coat of Arms
Active4 March 1942[1] – 10 April 1946[2]
Disbanded1952[2]
Allegiance United States
Branch United States Army
TypeInfantry
SizeRegiment
Motto(s)"Laging Una" (Always First)[3]
March"On to Bataan"[3][4]
EngagementsWorld War II
DecorationsPresidential Unit Citation streamer
Philippine Presidential Unit Citation[2]
Campaign streamersAsiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal streamer
  • New Guinea[2]
  • Leyte[2]
  • Southern Philippines[2]
Commanders
Regiment CommanderColonel Robert H. Offley[9][10]
Colonel William Robert Hamby[1]
Insignia
Shoulder Sleeve InsigniaOn a yellow disk 3 1/4 inches in diameter with a 1/8 inch edge, a conventionalized black volcano emitting smoke, the volcano charged with three yellow mullets in fess.
Distinctive Unit InsigniaA Gold color metal and enamel device 1+1⁄4 inches (3.2 cm) consisting of a shield blazoned: Per pall Argent, Gules and Azure, over the second and third an Igorot war shield and kris in saltire Or. Attached above the shield a wreath of the colors Argent and Gules three mullets Or. Attached below the shield a Gold scroll inscribed 'LAGING UNA' in Blue letters.

The 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment was a segregated[11][12] 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. It was formed and activated at Camp San Luis Obispo, California, under the auspices of the California National Guard.[13] Originally created as a battalion, it was declared a regiment on 13 July 1942. Deployed initially to New Guinea in 1944, it became a source of manpower for special forces and units that would serve in occupied territories. In 1945, it deployed to the Philippines, where it first saw combat as a unit. After major combat operations, it remained in the Philippines until it returned to California and was deactivated in 1946 at Camp Stoneman.

  1. ^ a b Fabros, Alex S. "California's Filipino Infantry". The California State Military Museum. California State Military Department. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Statement of Service". Center of Military History. United States Army. 1 May 2011. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
    "Statement of Service". United States Army. Center of Military History. 10 May 2011. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  3. ^ a b Revilla, Linda A. (1996). ""Pineapples," "Hawayanos," and "Loyal Americans": Local Boys in the First Filipino Infantry Regiment, US Army" (PDF). Social Process in Hawai'i. 37. University of Hawai`i at Manoa: 57–73. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference RTT1998 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b c d e Ishikawa, Scott (30 November 2001). "New Film Depicts Filipino Regiments' Exploits". Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved 10 May 2011. Soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Infantry Regiments also participated in bloody combat and mop-up operations in New Guinea, Leyte, Samar, Luzon and the southern Philippines.
  6. ^ McKibben, Carol Lynn; Seaside History Project (2009). Seaside. San Francisco, California: Arcadia Publishing. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-7385-6981-9. Retrieved 24 May 2011. The 1st and 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments trained at Fort Ord, after which they distinguished themselves in the Battle of Leyte and on the Bataan Peninsula.
  7. ^ Frank, Sarah (2005). Filipinos in America. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Lerner Publications. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-8225-4873-7. Retrieved 8 June 2011. Members of the first and second regiments also served in the parachute-naval assault to recapture the island of Corregidor in 1944
  8. ^ Crouchett, Lorraine Jacobs (1983). Filipinos in California: from the days of the galleons to the present. El Cerrito, California: Downey Place Publishing House, Inc. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-910823-00-5. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  9. ^ "1st Filipino Infantry and 2nd Filipino Infantry in Bataan, Philippines". CriticalPast.com. 1943. Retrieved 8 June 2011. First Commander of the 1st Filipino Infantry, Colonel Robert H Offley.
  10. ^ Frank, Sarah (2005). Filipinos in America. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Lerner Publications. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-8225-4873-7. Retrieved 8 June 2011. Robert H. Offley Filipino.
  11. ^ Espiritu, Yen Le (1995). Filipino American lives. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Temple University Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-56639-317-1. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  12. ^ McNaughton, James C. (2006). Nisei Linguists: Japanese Americans in the Military Intelligence Service During World War II. Washington, D.C.: Department of the Army. p. 87. ISBN 0-16-072957-2. Retrieved 26 May 2011. The War Department already had several long-serving segregated units for African Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Filipinos and established several more during 1942. The Office of War information saw propaganda value in having combat units of different nationalities. Thus during 1942 the War Department organized the 1st Filipino infantry in California and battalion-size units of Norwegians, Austrians, and Greeks.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference RB2011-212 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).