33rd Inf Division

Genuine WWII shoulder badge of the 33rd Infantry Division.

The 33rd Infantry Division arrived in Hawaii on July 12, 1943. While guarding the installations, it received training in jungle warfare. On May 11, 1944, he arrived in New Guinea where he received further training. The 123rd Infantry Regiment arrived at Maffin Bay on 1 September to provide perimeter defense around Wakde Airfield and in the Toem–Sarmi sector. The 123rd was relieved on January 26, 1945. Elements of the 33rd arrived at Morotai on December 18, 1944 and landings were made on the west coast of the island on December 22, without opposition and defensive perimeters were established. Aggressive patrols were sent out which met scattered resistance. The 33rd then landed in Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, on 10 February 1945, and relieved the 43rd Infantry Division in the Damortis–Rosario Pozorrubio area, from 13 to 15 February. The division moved into the Caraballo Mountains on February 19, toward its objective, Baguio, the summer capital of the Philippines and the headquarters of General Tomoyuki Yamashita. [Citation needed]

Fighting against a fanatical enemy entrenched in the hills, the 33rd took Aringay on 7 March, Mount Calugong on 8 April, and Mount Mirador on 25 April. Baguio and Camp John Hay fell on April 26, to the concerted attack of the 33rd and 37th Infantry Divisions. Manuel Roxas, future President of the Philippines, was released during the capture of Baguio, which was liberated by the 33rd and Filipino soldiers of the 66th Infantry Regiment, Philippine Commonwealth Army, USAFIP-NL on April 27. After mopping up isolated pockets of Japanese troops, the division captured the San Nicholas–Tebbo–Itogon road on 12 May. All elements went to rest and rehabilitation areas on 30 June 1945. The division landed on the island of Honsh?, Japan, on 25 September and then carried out occupation duties until it was deactivated at the beginning of 1946.