Below is the basic structure of the 442nd RCT. Additional information to clarify the structure of battalions is included below.
100TH INFANTRY BATTALION (SEPARATE) ADDITIONAL COMPANIES
During training and initial combat in the Naples-Foggia Campaign in Italy, the 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate) had two additional companies: E Company and F Company.
Prior to merging with the 442nd RCT, the men from these two companies were transferred to Companies A, B, C, and D to replace casualty losses. By the time the 100th was assigned to the 442nd as its first battalion, its Companies E and F had been reduced to a skeleton and were disestablished.
For a soldier who was initially in the 100th’s E Company or F Company, this will be noted in his Story to the extent it can be determined by our research.
1ST BATTALION
At Camp Shelby in early 1944, the 442nd’s 1st Battalion furnished replacements to the 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate) in Italy, which had suffered heavy battle casualties. When the 442nd was preparing to leave Camp Shelby, many men from the 1st Battalion were transferred to companies in the 2nd and 3rd Battalions. When the 442nd left Camp Shelby on April 22, 1944, what was left of the 1st Battalion stayed behind as a training cadre for incoming new soldiers, who would be replacements for 442nd battle casualties. The 1st Battalion was quickly redesignated the 171st Battalion (Separate).
Our Soldier Stories will include, as they come to our attention, the men who served in the 1st Battalion at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, and remained there as part of the training cadre, and never joined the 442nd in combat in Europe.
171ST BATTALION
In August 1944, the 1st Battalion at Camp Shelby was redesignated the 171st Battalion (Separate). They were the training cadre at Camp Shelby for replacements for the 100th/442nd RCT. At some point, incoming soldiers were sent to other training camps, such as Camp Blanding in Florida, but the 171st remained at Camp Shelby.
As they come to our attention, the men who served in the 171st at Camp Shelby will be added to the 442nd Unit Roster and a Soldier Story will be researched and written for them. If they were originally in the 442nd RCT 1st Battalion, then their Unit Identifier on the story and photo files will be based on the company they were in, for example, “1C,” If this is not known, then use the code “1u,” which means the company is unknown.
MILITARY INTELLIGENCE SERVICE (MIS)
At Camp Shelby in 1943-1944, some soldiers with Japanese language fluency were transferred to the Military Intelligence Service to undergo special training and serve as interpreters and translators. As these men, who were originally assigned to the 442nd, come to our attention, they will be added to the 442nd Unit Roster and a Soldier Story will be researched and written for them. The Unit Identifier on their story and photo files will be determined by the unit they were in before they were reassigned to the MIS.