Rushed to the Aleutians in the spring of 1943, after the Japanese had landed on Attu Island a year earlier, the regiment played a major role in retaking American soil during the Battle of Attu. It was on the Aleutian Islands that Private Joe P. Martinez, Company I, earned the Medal of Honor. Seeing his unit pinned down by enemy machine gun fire, Private Martinez single-handedly charged the enemy emplacement and destroyed it. While rallying the men he was mortally wounded. Private Martinez received the Medal of Honor posthumously.