132nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 132nd Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry is an infantry regiment that first served in the Union Army during the American Civil War . It was among scores of regiments that were raised in the summer of 1864 as Hundred Days Men , an effort to augment existing manpower for an all - out push to end the war within 100 days . Later reactivated as the 132nd Infantry Regiment , the unit served as an active - duty regiment with the United States Army in World War I and World War II . Due to actions conducted in the fall of 1918 during WWI fighting in France , five men from the regiment were awarded the Medal of Honor : Johannes Anderson , Sydney Gumpertz , Berger Loman , George H . Mallon , and Willie Sandlin . Civil War Service . The 132nd Illinois Infantry was organized at Chicago , Illinois , and mustered into Federal service on June 1 , 1864 , for a one - hundred - day enlistment . The 132nd relieved veteran troops and performed garrison duty at Paducah , Kentucky , until October 1864 . The regiment was mustered out of service on October 17 , 1864 . The regiment suffered 12 enlisted men who died of disease , for a total of 12 fatalities . World War I and interwar years . The 132nd Infantry Regiment was organized from other Illinois militia units , namely the Illinois 2d Infantry Regiment , and activated on July 21 , 1917 . Assigned to the 33rd Infantry Division , it was redesignated on 12 October 1917 as the 132nd Infantry Regiment and trained at Camp Logan , TX . Sent overseas in May 1918 , the 132nd participated in the Battle of Hamel , the Meuse - Argonne Offensive , and the 1918 Somme offensive . The 132nd returned to the United States and was demobilized on 31 May 1919 at Camp Grant , Illinois , and inactivated that same year . The unit reorganized between 1920 - 1921 in the Illinois National Guard at Chicago as the 2nd Infantry Regiment , while its regimental headquarters was federally recognized on 7 July 1921 at Chicago . The 2nd Infantry Regiment was redesignated on 31 December 1921 at the 132nd Infantry and reassigned to the 33rd Division as a National Guard regiment . World War II . The 132nd Infantry Regiment was inducted into federal service on March 5 , 1941 , at Chicago , Illinois as part of the 33rd Infantry Division , and participated in divisional maneuvers at Camp Forrest , Tennessee . It was relieved from the 33rd Division on January 14 , 1942 , and assigned to Task Force 6814 , an assemblage of units gathered for immediate transfer to Australia to defend against threatened Japanese invasion . On the morning of January 17 , 1942 , the last train car pulled away from Camp Forrest carrying the 123 officers and 3 , 325 enlisted men . " Being one of the first infantry regiments to be moved overseas , the trains were guarded by F . B . I . agents . " On January 20 , 1942 , it sailed from New York and arrived in Australia on February 27 . On March 6 it sailed again , arriving in New Caledonia , where it became an infantry component of the newly created Americal Division on May 24 , 1942 . The 132nd Infantry arrived on Guadalcanal on December 8 , 1942 , where it engaged in combat in the Guadalcanal campaign , including fierce fighting to capture Japanese positions in the Battle of Mount Austen . The Regiment was relieved and sent to Fiji with the rest of the Americal Division to rest and refit . The 132nd next fought in the Bougainville campaign . It arrived at Cape Torokina on January 9 , 1944 , and relieved the 3rd Marine Parachute Battalion , the 3rd Marine Raider Battalion , and units of the 145th Infantry , which then reverted to the 37th Division . The 132nd Infantry took over that portion of the perimeter paralleling the Torokina on the extreme right flank and engaged in patrolling and in strengthening defensive positions . On April 5 , 1944 , after establishing patrols along Empress Augusta Bay , the 132nd successfully launched an attack to capture Mavavia Village . Two days later , while continuing a sweep for enemy forces , the Regiment encountered prepared enemy defenses , where they destroyed some twenty Japanese pillboxes using pole charges and bazookas . Later , the 132nd secured the heights west of Saua River in fierce fighting that lasted until April 18 , when the last of the Japanese defenders were killed or driven off . In 1945 , the 132nd participated in the retaking of the Philippine Islands . On March 26 , 1945 , preceded by a heavy naval and aerial bombardment , troops of the 3rd Battalion , 132nd Infantry waded ashore across heavily - mined beaches during an amphibious invasion of Cebu Island , at a point just south of Cebu City . Elements of the 132nd later secured Mactan Island and Opon Airfield in Cebu province . On November 26 , 1945 , the 132nd was inactivated at Fort Lewis , Washington . The 132nd was relieved on July 5 , 1946 , from assignment to the Americal Division and reassigned to the 33rd Infantry Division . It was reorganized and federally recognized on February 11 , 1947 at Chicago as a component of the Illinois Army National Guard . It consolidated on March 15 , 1954 , with the 131st Infantry and the consolidated unit was designated as the 131st Infantry , an element of the 33rd Infantry Division . A Gold color metal and enamel device in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned : Argent , a pairle Azure between chief an oak tree Proper within a circle of five mullets Gules , a palm tree to dexter and a prickly pear cactus to sinister both of the third . Attached above the shield a wreath Or , upon a grassy field the blockhouse of old Fort Dearborn Proper . Attached below and to the sides of the shield a Gold scroll inscribed “ SEMPER PARATUS ” in Gold . The shield is white charged with the pairle which appears on the shield of the city of Chicago , shield and pairle are white and blue , the Infantry colors . The green oak tree is for the WWI Forges Wood battle and the stars represent the five major operations in which the Regiment took part in France : The palm tree recalls Cuban and the cactus the Mexican border service . The crest is that of the Illinois Army National Guard . The motto “ Ever Ready " was later amended into Latin " Semper Paratus . " The distinctive unit insignia was approved on 13 March 1925 . It was amended to change the motto to Latin on 16 October 1926 . The insignia was rescinded / cancelled on 20 October 1961 . Argent , a pairle Azure between chief an oak tree Proper within a circle of five mullets Gules , a palm tree to dexter and a prickly pear cactus to sinister both of the third . That for the regiments and separate battalions of the Illinois Army National Guard : From a wreath Argent and Azure , upon a grassy field the blockhouse of old Fort Dearborn Proper . Coat of arms . Blazon . Motto SEMPER PARATUS ( Ever Ready ) . The shield is white charged with the pairle which appears on the shield of the city of Chicago , shield and pairle are white and blue , the Infantry colors . The green oak tree is for Forges Wood and the stars represent the five major operations in which the Regiment took part in France . The palm tree recalls Cuban and the cactus the Mexican border service . The crest is that of the Illinois Army National Guard . The coat of arms was approved on 15 May 1924 . It was amended to include the historical outline on 1 November 1926 . The insignia was rescinded / cancelled on 20 October 1961 .