During World War II, the 41^st Infantry Division, known as the “Sunset Division” of the United States National Guard, fought for three years as part of the New Guinea Campaign. The Division was composed of National Guard regiments from the Pacific Northwest including Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. The Division’s soldiers saw active service in both World War I and II. The Division was composed of young men from farms and ranches, small towns, and larger cities. Many had joined the Guard to earn extra income to support their families during the hard times of the Depression.

The 163^rd Regiment of Montana was founded between 1884 and 1887. It was deployed in 1916 to patrol the Mexican border after Pancho Villa’s bloody raid on Columbus, New Mexico. The units were called up for federal service during World War I but did not see action as a regiment. However, the fall of France in June 1940 injected urgency into National Guard training units nationwide. Eighteen National Guard divisions nationwide were activated, including the 32^nd (the “Red Arrow” Division) (Wisconsin and Michigan) and the 41^st.

After Japan attacked the American Navy and Army forces stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, these divisions were sent for advanced training to Fort Lewis, near Tacoma, Washington. The soldiers of the 41st Division were originally assigned to guard facilites along the Oregon and Wshington coasts in response to the anticipated threat of a Japanese invasion.

As Japanese forces rapidly advanced into the South Pacific; the struggle for New Guinea began with the Japanese capture of the protectorate of New Britain, approximately five hundred miles northeast of New Guinea. Japan was intent on cutting Australia off from its American supply lines in the Pacific. The United States sent the 32^nd and 41^st Divisions to Melbourne in response to this threat. Montana’s 163^rd Infantry Regiment was the first contingent of American troops deployed overseas during World War II.

President Roosevelt ordered General Douglas MacArthur to leave the Philippines to go to Australia to take command of Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific region and defeat the Japanese enemy.This book tells the stories of the deadly and bloody efforts to achieve that goal.