General MacArthur speaks to the members of the Bushmaster Association
                                                                                                      By Henry Seebald

 I was delighted to be invited to speak to you members of the Bushmaster Association. I would like to tell you about the 158^th Regimental Combat Team in the Southwest Pacific that compiled an outstanding military record. They are called “The Bushmasters”.

I asked my adjutant to study the battle records of all of the divisions and combat teams who fought in the Pacific during World War II. His study was revealing. Here are some records that he found.

Any history written about the war in the Pacific would be incomplete if it failed to mention the many military exploits of the Bushmasters. You have set records that will never be broken.

The 158^th National Guard Infantry Regiment from Arizona was called to active duty on September 16, 1940 and the Regiment was returned to National Guard status in 1946, a period of five and one-half years on active duty.

The 158^th Infantry Regiment was continuously in a combat zone longer than any National Guard unit in all the wars of the U. S. The 158^th Infantry Regiment was the first army unit to be trained in jungle warfare. You Bushmasters wrote the book of “Jungle Warfare” with your own blood.

The 158^th Infantry Regiment was the first Army unit to be sent overseas after Pearl Harbor.  You Bushmasters traveled farther than any other Army unit in your five and one-half years of active duty. From New Orleans, to Panama, to Australia, to New Guinea, to New Britain, to the Philippines, to Japan and then back to the United States.

Now, I’d like to tell you just how you Bushmasters helped the Allies defeat the Japanese in the Southwest Pacific Theater and ultimately win the war in the Pacific. The most frustrating time that I experienced in my 55 year military career was when I was ordered by President Roosevelt to leave the battles on Bataan and Corregidor on the islands of the Philippines and to proceed immediately to Australia where I was ordered to assemble and lead an Allied Army against the Japanese Empire.

On March 15, 1942 my family and I left Corregidor Island in PT boats and headed for Australia. A few weeks later, the Philippine government had to surrender, unconditionally, to the Japanese.

After a long and difficult trip through Japanese controlled waters, my family and I arrived in Australia, At that time, I was informed that most of the Australian Army was in North Africa fighting General Rommel.

Later, when I arrived in Brisbane, I learned that there were few Army units left in Australia and that the Australians had already decided that trenches would be dug just north of Brisbane and would be manned by whatever troops that would be available.

When you members of the 158^th Infantry Regiment arrived in Brisbane from the Panama Canal Zone, you were on the front line without knowing it.  If the Japanese had known it, they could have taken the northern half of Australia without a fight.

In March 1943, the Bushmasters were sent to Port Moresby, New Guinea and again you were on the front line. You were there when the Japanese sent a 100 plane raid over Port Moresby. The planes bombed the airstrips around Port Moresby.

You Bushmasters then occupied Milne Bay, Kiriwina Island, Woodlark Island and Goodenough Island in New Guinea waiting for men, munitions and supplies before launching your first attack. In February 1944, you were ordered to attack Arawe, New Britain and advance toward Cape Gloucester with the Marines. Here you faced a determined Japanese Army and you helped drive them out of western New Britain.

After a time for rest and build-up, you were sent to the Sarmi-Wadke area to fight the enemy and to protect the airstrip on Wadke Island. Here again you were on the front line. After heavy fighting and many casualties, you Bushmasters were replaced by an Army Division. You were then sent to Noemfoor Island to take, hold and protect the airstrip from the enemy. Again you were on the front line of fighting against the enemy.

You Bushmasters left Noemfoor Island on January 1, 1945 to participate in the Lingayen Gulf landing on January 11. Again you were on the front line fighting the Japanese in the Philippines.

You fought the hardest battle in your history along the Damortis-Rosario road. You did not retreat in battle; you continued to fight until Company “G” located and destroyed the 12” gun that was firing against Navy ships in the harbor. This heroic effort won Company “G” a Presidential Unit Citation.

After a brief rest at Tarlac, Luzon, you were sent to Batangas, Luzon where you had skirmishes with the Japanese troops in the area. After two weeks of sporadic fighting, you were sent to Legaspi, Luzon where you made a landing on Easter Sunday, April 1, 1945. Here again you were on the front line fighting the Japanese stationed in and around Legaspi on the Bicol Peninsula.

There you had some hard fighting in the Cituinan Hills. In the months that followed, your units patrolled along Highway 1 that leads to Manila. After most resistance was gone in the Bicol Peninsula area, you Bushmasters started training for a hostile landing on an island 28 miles south of the Island of Kyushu, Japan.

After the Japanese signed the peace treaty, with almost four years of overseas service completed, with 312 days and nights of the toughest jungle fighting under its belt, you Bushmasters were sent to Utsunomiya, Japan as part of an Army of Occupation. Finally, the 158^th Regimental Combat Team was deactivated on January 17, 1946.

Long after the Peace Treaty was signed, World War II was over and you soldiers were home, a small booklet was published entitled “Top Secret”. In it was a description of the  secret war plans for the Allies attack on Japan. It stated that more than 40 divisions were scheduled to attack the Japanese homeland. It stated that on D minus 4, you Bushmasters were scheduled to land on Tanega Shima, a small island off Kyushu. It was to be the first hostile landing on Japanese soil in the last 600 years.

And you Bushmasters, based on your great battle record, had been selected to lead in battle, the greatest armada of ships, aircraft and Army units ever assembled in all of the Pacific.

We were all thankful that the atom bomb ended the war. In time, you Bushmasters will be gone but your military record will live forever!

YOU ARE BRAVE HEROES! YOU ARE AMONG THE BRAVEST OF THE BRAVE! IN EVERY BATTLE YOU HAVE DEFEATED THE JAPANESE WHO HAD NEVER BEEN DEFEATED IN MODERN HISTORY.

I AM PROUD TO SAY – NO GREATER FIGHTING COMBAT TEAM THAN THE 158^TH REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM HAS EVER DEPLOYED FOR BATTLE. IT IS MY PLEASURE TO SALUTE YOU BUSHMASTERS, FOR A JOB WELL DONE AND TO WISH YOU WELL IN YOUR CURRENT ACTIVITIES.

THANK YOU!