182nd Inf Americal

[182nd Inf]

Hi all,

just thought I'd start off with a quick intro as to my primary impression. I've got the beginnings of my early 182nd Inf Americal Division started.

Jeff

[redjoshuaman]

Jeff,
When you say early, how early are you talking about? When they are forming up on New Caledonia, Guadalcanal or later?

Luckily the Google's "Life Archives" has a lot of great images of the Americal when they were on Guadalcanal, many of them color images.

Also the Division's World War II historian is exceptionally helpful and can be reached through his e-mail:
[e-mail]

If you don't already have it I would pick up the book "Combat Officer"(I think that is the name) it is essentially a memoir of a PL in the Americal prior to and during the Guadalcanal campaign. I would also pick up the divisional history. I would also consider reading "The Thin Red Line", though it is written by a guy from the 25th ID, it does one of the best jobs of any work describing the fighting on Guadalcanal for Army troops and in general.

Hope this helps,
Josh

[182nd Inf]

Hi Josh,

the Guadalcanal period essentially - which I believe also requires knowing the New Caledonia period.

Thanks for the info on sources - check, check and check (except for contacting the division's historian)!

The largest hole/gap in my impression is the M-1 liner - just haven't parted with the $$ for a Hawley liner repro yet.

[redjoshuaman]

Understood and awesome. The division's historian was awesome and was certainly worth contacting.

Yeah, I totally understand about the Hawley thing. Rob Lihani does them once in a blue moon and Costino does good work but shipping from the UK..... I was lucky since I already have one of the early Lihani liners(think Thin Red Line).

Luckily it appears in some photos that some guys maybe using really early(think rayon lined) high pressure liner or more probably low pressure liners. Unfortunately the low pressure liner reproductions stink without major modification.

Yeah it is an awesome impression, I mean you get to wear khakis as a combat uniform.

-Josh

[seabeepo3]

I'm really interested in the Americal Div. as they were the unit that landed on the island of Cebu, Philippines, which is where my family currently lives now. I was there in September and the landing area, Talisay, is now modernized and growing. However, they just dug up some 105 rounds at a construction site a week before I visited.

Is there any good literature, other than the unit history, that goes into their involvement in the Philippines?