In 1942, the regiment and its division were sent overseas and saw their first action in Operation Torch, in which they landed at Casablanca. The regiment fought in the Allied invasion of Sicily with the division in 1943, then went to England. There, the regiment and the division trained for Operation Overlord, landing in Normandy on 9 June 1944. The regiment, less the 3rd Battalion, was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for its performance during Operation Cobra, the breakthrough of German positions west of Saint-Lô. The regiment and division fought in the Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine, crossing the German border in September.