The 43rd Philippine Scout Infantry Regiment (43rd INF (PS)) was part of

USAFFE United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) ( Filipino: ''Hukbong Katihan ng Estados Unidos sa Malayong Silangan/HKEUMS''; Spanish: ''Fuerzas del Ejército de los Estados Unidos en el Lejano Oriente'') was a military formation of the Uni ...

Philippine Division Philippine Division, or from 1946–1947 the 12th Infantry Division, was the core U.S. infantry division of the United States Army's Philippine Department during World War II. On 31 July 1941, the division consisted of 10,473 troops, mostly enl ...

, during World War II.

History

The 43d Infantry Regiment was formed in June 1917, at

Fort Douglas Camp Douglas was established in October 1862, during the American Civil War, as a small military garrison about three miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah, to protect the overland mail route and telegraph lines along the Central Overland Route. I ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. In April 1921, it became a Philippine Scout unit and joined the Philippine Division, on 22 October. In 1922, the unit was deactivated. The 1st Battalion was reactivated on 1 April 1941, formed from troops transferred from the

45th Infantry Regiment (PS) The 45th Infantry Regiment was a unit of the Philippine Scouts in the Philippine Division. History The 45th along with the 57th Infantry Regiment were the first two infantry regiments of the Philippine Scouts which were formed after World W ...

, and the 329 troops of the 1st Battalion served at Pettit Barracks and

Camp John Hay Camp John Hay is a mixed-used development which serves as a tourist destination and forest watershed reservation in Baguio, Philippines which was formerly a military base of the United States Armed Forces. History The United States 48th Infa ...

. The 1st Battalion surrendered to the Japanese on 9 April 1942. However, elements of Troop C, 26th Cavalry, and Companies C and E, 43d Infantry, all isolated in Northern Luzon, became the core of guerrilla units which continued to resist until the end of the war. Another account, from Louis Morton's "The Fall of the Philippines", place C and E companies on Mindanao where they staffed an infantry school and trained elements of the Philippine Army. These instructors were organized into a reserve force for Colonel William P. Morse's 102nd Division ( PA). They continue to serve in this role during the final defense of Mindanao town of Dalirig in the Cagayan Sector. These companies, led by Major Allen Peck, "made a brave stand" in Dalirig on 9 May 1942 to cover the withdrawal of the Philippine Army 62d Infantry Regiment during their retreat from defenses near the Del Monte airfield. The Scouts stood their ground until they were surrounded on three sides by Japanese troops from the Kawamura Detachment. At that point they fell back before they were completely cut off by pursuing Japanese forces. These units were probably dispersed with the rest of the Dalirig force and were surrendered with the rest of General Sharpe's command on 10 May.Morton, Louis. The Fall of the Philippines – U. S. Army in World War II, pp. 518–519. The unit was reorganized following the war, but disbanded a year later.

History

References

See also