108th Infantry Regiment ( United States ) The 108th Infantry Regiment is a regiment of the New York Army National Guard . It was first formed in 1898 and has been in continuous existence since 1907 . As National Guardsmen , Soldiers of the 108th Infantry can be called upon to serve the state and Federal governments . The 108th has served in the Spanish - American War , the Mexican Border War , World War I , World War II , Iraq , and Afghanistan . Spanish - American War . The 108th Infantry Regiment was originally called the 3rd New York Volunteer Infantry . When the Spanish - American War broke out in April 1898 , a new regiment was organized from twelve separate National Guard companies from the 4th Brigade . The 3rd New York , headquartered in Rochester , mustered into service on 17 May 1898 . They were involved in drilling , provost , and camp duty in Virginia and Pennsylvania . The brief war with Spain ended before the regiment could be sent into action , and the Guardsmen were mustered out of Federal service by companies between 30 November and 10 December 1898 . Thirty - three members of the 3rd New York died of disease during its short service , with several more dying afterward of typhoid fever contracted while on active duty . The state historian called the 3rd New York Regiment “ unquestionably one of the best that New York sent into the service , ” noting that not a single member had to be disciplined in its first three months of duty . Composition of the 3rd New York Volunteer Infantry , 2 May 1898 . 1st Battalion 2nd Battalion 3rd Battalion 1898 – 1917 . After the war the 3rd New York was dissolved and the companies returned to the peacetime National Guard duties of drilling and supporting the state and local authorities . The regiment was reformed on 30 March 1907 . In April 1913 the 3rd served in Buffalo during rioting caused by a streetcar workers ’ strike . It was also deployed for guard duty at Pharr , Texas on the Mexican border in 1916 during the U . S . Army ' s expedition against the guerilla commander Pancho Villa . By 31 May 1918 the whole regiment had arrived in France . The 27th Division ( minus division artillery ) was attached to British forces for training and issued British rifles and machine guns . The Division ended up fighting alongside the British and Australians for its entire combat service . The Regimental Scout Officer of the 108th noted that " we were supposed to leave behind the customs and traditions of the U . S . Army , in which we had been so carefully brought up , in order that we might study and adapt ourselves to those of our Allies , the British , with whom our lot had been cast for the duration of the war . " This included living on the British Tommy ' s relatively scanty rations . The 27th Division initially served in the around Ypres alongside the British from July to September 1918 . In September , the New Yorkers joined the British Fourth Army in the infamous Somme region , facing the Germans ' formidable Hindenburg Line . The 54th Brigade attacked as part of the Hundred Days Offensive on 29 September . German artillery , poison gas , and machine guns took a heavy toll as the Americans struggled through barbed wire and shell holes to reach the Hindenburg Line . The 108th penetrated the German defenses at Quennemont Farm , although they were stalled by severe casualties and an enemy counterattack , and Australian units were sent in to complete the assault . Many leaderless Americans joined in the Australian attack without orders . This engagement is officially called the Battle of St . Quentin Canal . Private First Class Frank Gaffney of Company G later received a Medal of Honor for his heroism . The 108th joined in the pursuit of the retreating Germans , engaging them at Jonc de Mer Ridge , the Selle River , and Catillon . The 500 survivors still on duty were pulled out of the line to rest on 21 October , three weeks before the Armistice ended the fighting . The 108th Infantry suffered 1 , 763 casualties — including 331 dead — in three months of combat out of 3 , 056 men in the ranks . Most of these casualties occurred in the Hindenburg Line attack . Reasons for the heavy losses included a lack of experienced leadership and the eagerness of the Doughboys , who often made frontal assaults on enemy machine gun nests . Additionally , Allied artillery did not " soften up " the Germans with a preparatory bombardment before the attack , for fear of hitting Americans lying wounded from an earlier assault . Nevertheless , as 27th Division commander Major General John F . O ' Ryan remarked : " That the 108th Infantry . . . should have broken through the maze of wire that existed and in the face of machine guns firing from every trench and nest , lodged one battalion in the main position , now seems an extraordinary feat . " In March 1919 the 27th Division returned to New York and was mustered out of Federal service . The 108th once again became the 3rd New York Infantry , although it was designated the 108th Infantry for a second time in October 1921 . In 1925 the 108th adopted a distinctive unit insignia featuring a fasces held by two lions . World War II . Composition in 1940 . 1st Battalion 2nd Battalion 3rd Battalion The 27th Division became part of the garrison of Hawaii in April 1942 . It was here that the 108th parted ways with the New York Division . An Army - wide reorganization cut divisions from four regiments to three , and the 108th Infantry was transferred to the 40th Infantry Division ( California National Guard ) on 1 September 1942 . The 40th Division remained on Hawaii for fourteen more months . In January 1944 the division landed on the $ 3 island of Guadalcanal , which had been largely secured by U . S . forces a year earlier . That April they moved to Cape Gloucester on New Britain , with the 108th being stationed at Arawe in the south . This was a more active area where the regiments of the 40th conducted combat patrols , since there were still many Japanese troops on the island . As they did on Guadalcanal , however , the men of the 108th found that their most dangerous enemy on Cape Gloucester was not the Japanese Army but the harsh jungle climate . On 28 November the 40th Infantry Division was concentrated at Borgen Bay to prepare for the invasion of Luzon , the largest and most strategically important of the Philippine Islands . The 108th Regiment was in reserve on S - Day — 9 January 1945 , when the Sixth Army landed at Lingayen Gulf . Japanese resistance intensified as the GIs moved south toward Manila , and the 108th fought brutal battles for possession of Fort Stotsenburg , Clark Field , Hill 7 , and Sacobia Ridge . The 43rd Infantry Division relieved the 40th on 2 March . Six days later the 108th was detached and sent to the island of Leyte to assist in mopping up defeated Japanese forces . The regiment ' s 2nd Battalion also cleared Masbate and other local islands . On Leyte and Masbate the 108th lost an estimated 19 troops killed and 49 wounded . On 10 May the 108th joined in the battle for Mindanao . The regiment made an unopposed landing at Macajalar Bay and moved south to clear the Sayre Highway with the assistance of Filipino guerillas . From 15 – 18 May the 108th fought strongly - emplaced Japanese defenders at the Magima River canyon . The regiment linked up with the 31st Infantry Division coming up from the south on 23 May . Securing the Sayre Highway cost the 108th about 15 men killed and 100 wounded . ( Non - combat casualties from battle fatigue , sickness , and heat exhaustion were probably heavier . ) The troops then moved east to combat more Japanese resistance . After six weeks of enduring thick jungle , heavy rains , knee - deep mud , and tall , razor - sharp grass — not to mention Japanese resistance — the 108th rejoined the 40th Division on Panay . With the war against Japan nearly over , the 108th Infantry was sent to garrison Korea on 29 June . Their homeward journey began on 15 March 1946 , when they left Korea bound for San Francisco . The regiment arrived on 5 April and was deactivated two days later at Camp Stoneman . The National Guardsmen of the 108th Infantry had been some of the first U . S . troops to deploy after Pearl Harbor , and the 108th was one of the last Guard units to return to the continental United States . Its long , grueling service in the Pacific Theater earned the 108th Infantry four campaign streamer s and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation . During the war , the 108th lost 190 men killed in action and one ( Private Leroy Mest of Reading , Pennsylvania ) missing in action . 59 were awarded the Silver Star . Recent history . Only the 2nd Battalion of the 108th Infantry is still in existence . In recent years it has served in Iraq and Afghanistan . On 1 May 2004 , while providing security for a pipeline repair crew west of Balad , Iraq , soldiers of the battalion helped to rescue American truck driver Thomas Hamill , who had been held captive by insurgents since 9 April . The battalion played an instrumental role in the Battle of Samarra in October 2004 . 2nd Battalion , 108th Infantry , headquartered in Utica , is part of the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and has companies and detachments stationed in ten Upstate New York towns . A Gold color metal and enamel device in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned : Azure , a fasces in pale , the rods Argent banded of the first , the axe Or , supported by two lions the dexter rampant guardant , the sinister rampant , both of the last . Attached below and to the sides of the shield a Blue scroll inscribed “ VIRTUTE NON VERBIS ” in Gold letters . The shield is Infantry blue ; in the center the fasces representing France and on either side and supporting it the lions of Great Britain and Belgium in gold . The motto translates to “ By Valor , Not By Words . ” The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 108th Infantry Regiment on 29 April 1925 . It was amended to delete the motto on 1 October 1925 . It was redesignated for the 108th Armored Infantry Battalion and amended to add the motto on 22 March 1957 . The insignia was redesignated for the 108th Infantry Regiment on 19 March 1962 . Azure , a fasces in pale , the rods Argent banded of the first , the axe Or , supported by two lions the dexter rampant guardant , the sinister rampant , both of the last , armed and langued Gules . That for the regiments and separate battalions of the New York Army National Guard : On a wreath Argent and Azure , the full rigged ship “ Half Moon , ” all Proper . Motto : " Virtue Non Verbis " ( By Valor , Not By Words ) . The shield is Infantry blue ; in the center the fasces representing France and on either side and supporting it the lions of Great Britain and Belgium in gold . The crest is that of the New York Army National Guard . Coat of arms . Background . The coat of arms was originally approved for the 108th Infantry Regiment on 30 June 1924 . It was amended to correct and clarify the blazon of the shield on 1 October 1925 . It was redesignated for the 108th Armored Infantry Battalion on 22 March 1957 . The insignia was redesignated for the 108th Infantry Regiment and amended to correct the blazon of the crest to restore the colors of the wreath on 19 March 1962 .