112th Cavalry Regiment ( United States ) The 112th Cavalry Regiment ( United States ) was a Texas National Guard Regiment that served in several Pacific campaigns during World War II . Early history . The 112th Cavalry was first organised in 1918 as the 5th Texas Cavalry Regiment in 1918 before being disbanded in 1920 . In December 1920 the Texas National Guard was reorganised as the 36th Infantry Division and the 1st Texas Cavalry Brigade less one regiment . On 20 July 1921 the 1st Texas Cavalry Regiment became the 112th Cavalry . In March 1929 the 2nd Squadron and the Machine Gun Squadron of the 112th were reorganised into the 124th Cavalry Regiment . The 112th and 124th Cavalry were brigaded into the 56th Cavalry Brigade in 1940 . World War II . On 10 November 1940 President Roosevelt federalized the National Guard , and on 18 November 1940 the 112th was posted to Fort Bliss . The 112th ' s sister regiment in the Brigade , the 124th Cavalry was the last of the cavalry regiments to give up their horses and was later sent to Burma . The Regiment patrolled the Mexican border until being shipped to New Caledonia on 8 July 1942 arriving on 11 August 1942 . They were assigned to the Americal Division under General Alexander Patch . The 112th Cavalry were assigned Australian Waler horse s , and ordered to New Caledonia to serve as a horse mounted security force . General Patch initially thought horse mounted cavalry could be used in jungle warfare , but the torrential Pacific rains and the mud that followed damaged the horses ' hooves , changing the General ' s mind . The Australian horses were shipped to Burma and assigned to Chinese forces who mistreated them . In 1944 the Waler s rejoined the American Army being assigned to Merrill ' s Marauders . During the heavy fighting on Guadalcanal , General Alexander Vandegrift of the 1st Marine Division sent an urgent request for machete s for his Marines . General Patch took the sabres of the regiment , cut them down and sent them to the Marines for jungle warfare use . After extensive training the 112th made its first amphibious landing at Woodlark Island as part of " Operation Chronicle " on 30 June 1943 . The landing was unopposed , and the cavalrymen established a defensible perimeter to protect Seabee s building an airstrip on the island . The Regiment was sent to Goodenough Island for training and became part of Task Force Director in preparation for its first action , Operation Director the Battle of Arawe . The 112th set sail on the USS " Carter Hall " , HMAS " Westralia " and the high speed transports USS " Sands " and USS " Humphreys " . On 15 December 1943 the regiment landed in three separate amphibious operations on New Britain . One of these landings involved Troop A of the 2nd Squadron landing in rubber boats off the USS Sands against fierce defence that sank all but three of the boats . The destroyer USS " Shaw " sailed close as possible to the enemy defenders to shell them and rescue the survivors of A Troop . Troop B landed at Pilelo Island from the USS " Humphreys " in 15 rubber boats on the same day . When meeting resistance from Japanese troops in caves , Troop B destroyed one with a bazooka and one with a flamethrower the first use of the weapon in the Southwest Pacific area . The main landings were from amphibious tractors launched from the USS " Carter Hall " and landing craft from HMAS " Westralia " . In this landing the 112th Cavalry were the first to use the 4 . 5 inch rocket firing DUKW s . After linking up with the 1st Marine Division , the 112th was assigned to the 32nd Infantry Division in Aitape Papua New Guinea . The Regiment fought in the Battle of Driniumor River for 51 days taking 62 % casualties . Two of the regiment ' s Second Lieutenant s , Dale Eldon Christensen and George W . G . Boyce , Jr . were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during this period . On 1 October 1944 the 112th Cavalry was combined with the 114th Field Artillery Battalion became the 112th Regimental Combat Team ( RCT ) and departed Aitape for Leyte in the Philippines on 31 October 1944 . The 112th RCT was attached to the 1st Cavalry Division for the Battle of Leyte and Battle of Luzon . Following the Japanese surrender , the 112th landed in Japan for Occupation Duties on 3 September 1945 . During World War II the 112th Cavalry served 434 days in combat . They were the first U . S . Army unit in the Southwest Pacific to use bazookas and flame throwers against enemy defences and first used rocket firing DUKWs in amphibious assaults . The 112th were the first unit in the Philippines to use helicopter s to evacuate their wounded . Two of the regiment ' s late replacements authored books after the war ended . Norman Mailer wrote " The Naked and the Dead , " and Francis Gwaltney authored " The Day the Century Ended " , later filmed as " Between Heaven and Hell " . Postwar . The regiment was inactivated in Japan in 1946 but was re - organized on 13 November 1947 as the 112th Mechanized Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron , then reorganised on 12 September 1949 as the 112th Armored Cavalry Regiment . On 16 March 1957 the Regiment became the 112th Armor and was transferred to active service . In 1961 it was transferred back to the National Guard as part of the 49th Armored Division . Following the disbandment of the 49th Armored Division , the 112th Armor became part of the 56th Brigade of the 36th Infantry Division . From 1973 all of the Texas Army National Guard Armor units were renumbered as battalions of the 112th Armor . From 1988 - 1993 eight battalions were assigned to the 112th making it then the largest armoured regiment in the U . S . Army . On 17 October 2008 , the 4th Battalion , 112th Armor was renamed 1st Squadron , 112th Cavalry . The unit carries the colors and lineage of the original 112th Cavalry Regiment . The Squadron Headquarters and Headquarters Troop are based in Bryan , Texas , with A Troop , B Troop and C Troop based in Taylor , Rosenberg and Ellington Field respectively . A and B Troops are equipped as Cavalry units with Hmmwvs , and C Troop is a dismounted Infantry unit . The current commander is MAJ ( P ) Jose D . Rivera and the Command Sergeant Major is CSM Gary Krpec . . The 1st Squadron , 112th Cavalry , is part of the 72nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the 36th Infantry Division .