Prior to US involvement in the First World War, the predecessors of the 118th were sent to El Paso, Texas in 1916. There, they joined Brig. Gen. John J. "Blackjack" Pershing's Punitive Expedition to protect U.S. border towns from Mexican General Pancho Villa's forces. When America declared war on the German Empire, the various companies of the South Carolina Militia were organized into the 118th Infantry Regiment on 16 April 1917, and assigned to the 30th Infantry Division, the "Old Hickory" Division. The division consisted of the 117th, the 118th, the 119th, and the 120th Infantry Regiments, along with the 113th, 114th, 115th Machine Gun Battalions, and the 105th Engineer Regiment. Soldiers from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee comprised the division when it shipped off to France for combat on the Western Front. The 118th joined the US Army II Corps, which served in the north alongside British forces. The fighting in the II Corps area was heavy, and six soldiers of the 118th Infantry received the Medal of Honor for their actions during this time: three on 8 October 1918, and one each on 11 October, 12 October and 15 October.