"The 169th Regiment was what you could call a fighting outfit and we could expect to be in the thick of things all the way to Tokyo." (Memoirs, page 29)

Joseph Steinbacher

Sergeant Joseph Steinbacher. Hdqtrs Co., 2nd Battalion, 169 Inf., 43rd Div. 1944 [detail] War: World War II, 1939-1946 Branch: Army Unit: 2nd Battalion, 169th Infantry 43rd Infantry Division, 6th Army Service Location: Fort Lewis, Washington; New Guinea; New Caledonia; New Zealand; Philippines Islands; Japan Highest Rank: Sergeant Place of Birth: Foley, AL

Taking back the islands of the South Pacific in 1944 and 1945 meant more than defeating the persistent Japanese armed forces. As Joseph Steinbacher notes in his memoir, peril could come from disease, hostile locals, incidents of friendly fire, or even bad army chow. After almost two years on New Guinea and the Philippines, Steinbacher and his infantry buddies were told they would be part of the force invading Japan, only to be spared further danger when the war ended.