Stateside Constituted in March 1942, the
1st Filipino Infantry Battalion was activated in April at
Camp San Luis Obispo, to liberate the Philippines. and were recuperating in the United States were also instructed to report to the unit. On July 13, 1942, the battalion was elevated to a regiment at the
California Rodeo Grounds in
Salinas, California. The Regiment was made up of three battalions, each consisting of a
headquarters company and four infantry
companies. Members of this regiment were notably issued bolo knives in place of rifles. The Regiment continued to train and grow, leading to the activation of the
2nd Filipino Infantry Regiment at
Fort Ord in November 1942. While at Camp Beale, there was a mass
naturalization ceremony of 1,200 soldiers of the Regiment. As members of the armed forces they were able to become citizens; in 1924 naturalization of Filipino Americans
had been barred, as it was determined that only aliens could be naturalized and Filipinos at the time were nationals. In November 1943, it paraded through
Los Angeles, with
Carlos Bulosan, the influential Filipino author of
America Is in the Heart, there to witness it. in 1943.|alt=Three soldiers behind a M1917 Browning machine gun while training in a field in California Members of the Regiment faced discrimination during this period. The
anti-miscegenation laws in California meant that the soldiers were banned from marrying non-Filipino women; those soldiers who wished to marry in this way were transported to
Gallup, New Mexico, as New Mexico had repealed its anti-miscegenation law after the
Civil War. Soldiers of the Regiment faced discrimination in
Marysville while visiting from neighboring Camp Beale, as the local businesses refused to serve Filipinos. This was later remedied by the Regiment's commander, who informed the
Chamber of Commerce that they were failing to cooperate with the Army, at which point they changed their business practices.
Deployment Vice President
Osmeña|alt=Five men in foreground, four in World War II uniform, one in the center in a suite and overcoat. Behind a color guard stands at attention, with a formation of Filipino American soldiers behind it. In April 1944, the Regiment departed California aboard the
USS General John Pope for
Oro Bay, New Guinea. On the way to
New Guinea, the Regiment spent part of June in Australia. Upon arriving at Oro Bay, it was assigned to the
31st Infantry Division,
8th Army to provide area security and continue training. the 5217th Reconnaissance Battalion, and to the Philippine Regional Section of
Allied Intelligence Bureau. One example was
Second Lieutenant Rafael Ileto, a future Vice Chief of Staff in the Philippines, who led a team in the Alamo Scouts. Due to the reassignment of these soldiers, both Filipino Infantry Regiments became smaller than authorized. In response, the 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiment was disbanded and used to bring the 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment to 125% of its
standard allocated size. In February 1945, the Regiment was sent to
Leyte and was assigned to the
Americal Division,
10th Corps. It would later be reassigned back to the 8th Army, in May 1945, along with the Americal Division. operations on Leyte,
Samar, and other islands in the
Visayan islands group. Other soldiers would also participate in the
Luzon Campaign, Soldiers of the Regiment who had been detached to the
Alamo Scouts, 5217th Reconnaissance Battalion, and other units were reassigned back to it. During the period between the close of operations and their return to the United States, and without the
Imperial Japanese Army to fight, the men of the Regiment clashed with soldiers of the
Philippine Commonwealth Army and
Philippine Constabulary over differences in pay, culture and local women. which allowed spouses and adopted children of United States military personnel to enter the U.S. For these newly married couples, a "tent city" or were otherwise ineligible were transferred to 2nd Filipino Infantry Battalion (Separate) in
Quezon City.
Returning to the United States aboard the
USS General Calan on 8 April 1946, the rest of the Regiment was sent to Camp Stoneman, near
Pittsburgh, California, where it was deactivated on 10 April 1946. ==Legacy==