145th Armor Regiment

Company	Headquarters
Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC)	Stow, Ohio
Detachment 2, 1-125th Field Artillery	Stow, Ohio
A Company (Armor)	Newton Falls, Ohio
B Company (Armor)	Alliance, Ohio
C Company (Infantry)	North Canton, Ohio
134th Support Company (Forward)	Stow, Ohio

In support of their federal mission, soldiers of the battalion train as members of M1A1 Abrams main battle tank crews, M2A2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle crews, and as mechanized infantry platoons, squads, and fire teams. Additionally, the battalion has a scout platoon, a 120-mm M120 heavy mortar platoon, a fire support platoon, a medical platoon, a signal section, a sniper squad, and a unit ministry team.

When training in a traditional National Guard status, the battalion will typically complete tank gunnery tables, Bradley Fighting Vehicle gunnery tables, or dismounted infantry squad and fire team training lanes. The battalion has also conducted successful training cycles providing training and validation to prepare other Ohio Army National Guard units for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. Additionally, the battalion incorporates elements of stability operations, support operations, and counterinsurgency operations into larger training events.

Federal mission
To maintain combat-ready units and soldiers available to mobilize in support of the National Military Strategy.
Combat mission
To close with and destroy enemy forces using fire, maneuver, and shock effect, or to repel his assault by fire and counterattack.
State mission
To provide organized, trained, and equipped units to protect life and property and to preserve peace, order and public safety when ordered by the governor.
Community mission
To participate in local, state and national programs that add value to America.

• Shield: Argent, a bend wavy Azure between a falcon close and a cactus Proper.
• Crest: That for the regiments and separate battalions of the Ohio Army National Guard: From a wreath Argent and Azure, a sheaf of seventeen arrows Argent bound by a sprig of buckeye (aesculus glabra) fructed Proper (two leaves bursting burr).
• Motto: EXCEL

The service of the original organization, the 145th Infantry Regiment is indicated by the white shield for Infantry. The falcon from the arms of Montfaucon, France and the wavy bend for the Escaut (Scheldt) River symbolize the most outstanding feats of the regiment during World War I. The giant cactus represents service on the Mexican border.

The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 145th Infantry Regiment on 5 September 1928. It was amended on 27 November 1928. It was cancelled on 29 May 1935. It was reinstated and redesignated for the 145th Infantry Regiment on 19 May 1936. The insignia was redesignated with description and symbolism revised for the 145th Regiment on 15 April 1997. It was redesignated effective 1 September 2007, for the 145th Armored Regiment with the symbolism revised.[6]

Pre-1928 Regimental Colors of the 145th Infantry Regiment

Post-1928 Regimental Colors of the 145th Infantry Regiment

Commander of 3rd Battalion and company commanders of 145th Infantry prior to invasion of New Georgia Island

The regiment first saw combat against the Japanese during the invasion of the New Georgia islands, codenamed Operation Toenails under Admiral Halsey. There, the 145th Infantry's 3rd Battalion was tasked as part of the Northern Landing Group of the Munda-Bairoko Occupation Force, along with the Marines' 1st Raider Battalion, and the 3rd Battalion from its sister regiment, the 148th Infantry, all under the command of U.S. Marine Colonel Harry B. Liversedge. The Northern Landing Group's mission was to invade New Georgia north of Munda in order to interdict Japanese supply lines and prevent the reinforcement of Munda. On 5 July 1943 the Northern Landing Group went ashore at Rice Anchorage. Progress for Liversedge and other elements invading New Georgia was agonizingly difficult and slow due in greater part to hostile jungle terrain and weather than Japanese resistance.

By 9 July, the offensive officially began and many allied units saw limited forward progress amid harsh close combat. By 13 July, U.S. Army Major General Oscar Griswold, Commanding General of the U.S. XIV Corps, took command on 16 July and decided not to renew the offensive until reinforcements had arrived. By 25 July, the offensive was resumed as a corps-level operation with "five regiments attacking abreast", to include all three regiments of the 37th Infantry Division.

During this offensive, allied forces on New Georgia experienced jungle warfare at its worst: "the demanding, draining, and deadly task of assaulting hidden Japanese positions one by one, a style of warfare that chewed up rifle companies and became all too familiar to American ground troops in the Pacific." It was during this offensive that Major Carl F. Coleman, the regiment's operations officer noted, "enemy strong points encountered in this fashion oftentimes resulted in hasty withdrawals which were costly both in men and weapons."

By 29 July, the Japanese had withdrawn to a final defensive line in front of the airfield, their main defenses shattered. As XIV Corps advanced into the last high ground protecting Munda Field, trying to break the Japanese line and defend against a counterattack, Private First Class Frank J. Petrarca demonstrated conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action to receive the Medal of Honor. Over the course of 27 to 31 July, Private Petrarca, a medic, would repeatedly advance under intense enemy fire to uncover, treat, and evacuate wounded soldiers. Even when mortally wounded by hostile mortar fire, Private Petrarca "continued to display valor and contempt for the foe, raising himself to his knees, this intrepid soldier shouted defiance at the enemy, made a last attempt to reach his wounded comrade and fell in glorious death."[7]

By November 1943, after operations on New Georgia and elsewhere, Adm. Halsey had been ordered to seize airfield sites on the final Solomon Island of Bougainville, which was occupied by approximately 37,500 Japanese soldiers. Adm. Halsey selected the Empress Augusta Bay area on the western side of the island, where 14,000 Marines cleared a shallow 4,000-yard beachhead. It would not be until March 1944 that the Japanese realized an invasion of Bougainville would not be coming from another direction, and assembled a counterattack force of 19,000 soldiers who would not have the element of surprise.

Key to Maj. Gen. Griswold's defense of XIV Corps' 23,000-yard, 62,000-man perimeter, was two miles of jungle perimeter manned by the 3rd Marine Division and the 37th Infantry Division. Consistent with the rugged jungle terrain, this section of perimeter contained tactically important pieces of high ground which he refused to abandon after hard lessons learned at Munda. The linchpin to Maj. Gen. Griswold's perimeter was Hill 700 at the center of the line, manned by the 145th Infantry.

On 8 March 1944 the Japanese began their massive assault on Maj. Gen. Griswold's perimeter. The plan was to focus on Hill 700 in the center of the horseshoe, as well as on the east and west "corners" of the horseshoe. By 7:00 am on the 8th, the 145th Infantry's 2nd Battalion began receiving small arms fire, combined with focused artillery barrages, making it clear that the Japanese would be attacking Hill 700. By noon, the regiment's last patrol had come in and the American forces began to return artillery fire. Once the Japanese had advanced to a point too near for further American artillery fire, Japanese soldiers began scrambling uphill, setting off warning devices and booby traps.

Fighting darkness worsened by fog and rain, the regiment was aided by artificial illumination fashioned by Staff Sergeant Otis Hawkins. When Japanese soldiers approached barbed wire obstacles, SSgt. Hawkins ordered wires pulled which ignited phosphorus grenades in gallon buckets of oil, providing illumination around the perimeter. While points on the perimeter were illuminated, SSgt. Hawkins was able to direct over 600 rounds of 60 mm mortar fire and many other soldiers were able to fire on the advancing Japanese.

While the Japanese had gained a small foothold during the night and managed to harass one observation post, another observation post was overrun at great cost. Four 145th Infantry soldiers manning one mortar observation post repelled several Japanese assaults with rifles, grenades, knives, and fists until all four were killed, with twelve Japanese bodies found inside their pillbox and hundreds more in the immediate area.

Soldiers of the 145th Infantry carry a wounded comrade off of Hill 700, Bougainville Island, March 1944.

By the morning of 9 March, the Japanese had penetrated the American lines 50 yards deep and 70 yards wide. Forward observers, directing accurate artillery and mortar fire at dangerously close distances repelled a fresh Japanese assault. By noon on 9 April, elements of the 1st and 2nd battalions, 145th Infantry, counterattacked but by 10 pm, only a few pillboxes had been regained and the Japanese still held their foothold on Hill 700. The next morning, an American 90 mm antiaircraft gun and bombers had been brought to bear on Japanese positions on the hill, coordinated with marking artillery fire. By 5 pm on the 10th, 1st and 2nd battalions mounted another counterattack and recovered all but four pillboxes from the Japanese.

At dawn on 11 March, the Japanese charged the hill brandishing sabers and screaming epithets, despite withering American machinegun and small arms fire. It was during this charge that 1st Lt. Clinton S. McLaughlin, commander of Company G, 145th Infantry, and Staff Sgt. John H. Kunkel moved from pillbox to pillbox to encourage their men and break the Japanese attack. 1st Lt. McLaughlin was wounded several times and knowingly occupied outflanked emplacements, but he and SSgt. Kunkel were credited with killing over 185 Japanese soldiers and were both later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

G.I.'s from Company A, 145th Infantry Regiment, 37th Division, in position on a hillside where they had the Japs surrounded, September 1944.

That afternoon, after three days of continuous combat 2nd Battalion, 148th Infantry arrived to join the 145th Infantry in regaining lost portions of the hill. Companies E, F, G, and H, 148th Infantry Regiment began operations to prevent further Japanese penetration and regain ground already taken by the Japanese. Over the next two days, 148th Infantry soldiers fought aggressively, using every weapon in their inventory – from bazookas to flamethrowers – to defeat the Japanese and regain the Hill for the Americans. By 4 pm on 12 March, the two Ohio infantry units had killed or routed the Japanese and American lines were restored.

According to one history of the battle, "Captured [Japanese] prisoners claimed that the four days of fighting had resulted in the virtual annihilation of the 2nd and 3rd battalions of the Japanese 23rd Infantry and the 13th Infantry, which had been pitted against this thin, narrow front of the 37th Infantry Division." The cooperation of the two Ohio infantry regiments lead to the successful defense of Hill 700 and the entire allied air installation at Empress Augusta Bay. The regiment remained on Bougainville until December 1944, when it would prepare for the invasion of Luzon and the liberation of Manila.

During the Luzon Campaign in early 1945, the 145th Infantry participated in the invasion of the island of Luzon and the approach march to the Philippine capital of Manila. The assault on Luzon commenced on the morning of 9 January 1945. In the first few days, over 175,000 troops landed on the twenty-mile beachhead.

Lt. Col. Sylvester Del Corso, commander of the 1st Battalion, 145th Infantry, receives the surrender of Japanese forces on the Philippine Island of Luzon.

Despite strong Japanese opposition, by 31 January, the 145th and 148th Infantry Regiments took Clark Field on Luzon. By 4 February, the 37th Infantry Division and the 1st Cavalry Division had encircled and begun to enter Manila from the north. The 37th Infantry Division moved south along the coast of Manila Bay, with the 1st Cavalry Division moving south to the east of the 37th. The Battle of Manila provided some of the worst urban combat of the entire Pacific theater.

On 8 February, elements of the 37th Infantry Division crossed south over the Pasig River, a major obstacle dividing Manila. Both Provisor Island, a small industrial island in the middle of the Pasig River, and the Paco railway station were scenes of intense fighting for the 37th Infantry Division. The Paco railway station itself took ten assaults before it was taken by the Americans. Provisor Island and the Paco station on 9 and 10 February accounted for 45 killed and 307 wounded in the 37th Infantry Division.

On 17 February, the 145th Infantry relieved the 129th Infantry Regiment on the eighth day of the 129th Infantry's siege of the New Police Station. By 20 February, the police station was taken, and the 145th Infantry and armored support conducted repeated grueling combined arms assaults of Japanese strong points until 23 February when allied forces converged on the Japanese walled, old-city stronghold of Intramuros.

The regiment stormed Intramuros through the Quezon and Parian Gates, and by 10:30 am had secured an area of several blocks inside the city from the gate. Their progress became slowed by a flood of civilian women and children. By the evening of the 23rd, two blocks short of the city walls that were their objective, the regiment had suffered 15 killed and 45 wounded, with approximately 200 enemy killed in the process.

The morning of 24 February, the remaining Japanese in the regiment's sector were in the aquarium off the southwest corner of Intramuros. Walled-off and easily defensible, the aquarium was where Company C, 145th Infantry utilize a tunnel as an assault route into the aquarium. According to one history, "The final assault began at 1600 [hours]. An hour and a half and 115 dead Japanese later, the 145th Infantry had overcome the last organized resistance within Intramuros."

By 3 March, the 37th Infantry Division had secured Manila. The pace of operations slowed while the 37th Infantry Division was temporarily reassigned directly to Sixth U.S. Army for stability and support operations within Manila. By April 30, the 145th Infantry relieved the 6th Division in Montalban to capture Wawa Dam which resulted into a seesaw battle during the course of the month of May, and ultimately completion of the objective. The 145th Infantry remained in Manila while the division moved to northwest Luzon and did not rejoin it until 2 June. Taking Bagabag on 9 June, the regiment continued to participate in mop-up operations through the end of the Luzon Campaign on 30 June.[8]

The lineage and honors of a National Guard unit will often reflect campaigns and honors won by units which hail from a certain area, regardless of whether or not the unit's role or numerical designation remains the same. This is true of the 145th, as its campaign participation credit reflects its consolidation with the 107th Cavalry in the three Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater campaigns listed below.

• Campaign participation credit
  • Civil War (Union Service) – Antietam
  • Civil War (Union Service) – Virginia 1862
  • Civil War (Union Service) – Chancellorsville 1863
  • Civil War (Union Service) – Gettysburg 1863
  • Civil War (Union Service) – Chattanooga 1863
  • Civil War (Union Service) – Georgia 1864
  • War with Spain – Santiago
  • World War I – Ypres-Lys 1918
  • World War I – Lorraine 1918
  • World War I – Meuse-Argonne 1918
  • World War II – Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater – Central Europe
  • World War II – Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater – Northern France
  • World War II – Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater – Rhineland
  • World War II – Asiatic-Pacific Theater – Northern Solomons
  • World War II – Asiatic-Pacific Theater – Luzon (Arrowhead Device)
  • Global War on Terrorism Campaign (9 November 2008 to 14 September 2009)
  • Global War on Terrorism- Operation Enduring Freedom (2019-2020)

Private First Class Frank J. Petrarca.

• • Philippine Presidential Unit Citation (17 October 1944 to 4 July 1945)

• Private First Class Frank J. Petrarca
  • Place of Entry into Active Duty: Cleveland, Ohio
  • Unit of Assignment: Medical Detachment, 145th Infantry Regiment, 37th Infantry Division
  • Summary: Awarded the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty between 27–31 July 1943 on New Georgia, Solomon Islands.[7]

Sgt. Donald F. "Don" Shula.

• Sergeant Donald F. "Don" Shula
  • Place of Entry into Active Duty: Cleveland, Ohio
  • Period of Service: January–November 1952 (Korean War era)
  • Unit of Assignment:145th Infantry Regiment
  • Summary: Famed coach of the Miami Dolphins, the team he led to two Super Bowl victories, and to the National Football League's only perfect season. Shula was named 1993 Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated. He currently holds the NFL record for most career wins with 347. Shula only had two losing seasons (below .500) in his 32-year career.