Activated in 1942 at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, the 338th Infantry Regiment was the core infantry regiment of the 85th Infantry or "Custer" Division. Though the regiment was not used in combat in France in 1918, it's World War II heraldry would be very different. The 338th Infantry saw active combat through 1944 beginning at Minturno, Santa Marie Infante (the Gustav Line offensive), Terracina, the Arno River, Mount Altuzzo (the Gothic Line offensive), North Apennines, and into the Po Valley in 1945.

It was at Mount Altuzzo that the 338th Infantry proved its mettle. A significant point of defense in the German Gothic Line, the 3,000-foot peak overlooked the eastern flank of the Il Giogo Pass through the mountains north of Florence. At H-Hour on September 13, 1944, the 338th Infantry attacked the height. Despite heavy losses and a desperate enemy defense, the 338th Infantry made significant gains against enemy positions on the western slope and overran the mountain's lower defenses.

By September 18, the regiment had secured most of the height and the breach in the Gothic Line was impossible for the weakened German units to retake. Combined with the fall of Mount Monticelli to the 91st Infantry Division on the western flank of the pass, the important breach of the Gothic Line gave Fifth Army passage into the North Apennines Mountains and Firenzoula. The Custermen of the 338th broke the back of German resistance at the pass. Veterans of Combat Team 8 returned to Mount Altuzzo on September 20, 1987, to dedicate a monument where the regiment fought.

The 339th Infantry was one of three infantry regiments of the 85th Infantry Division, Army of the United States. The regiment went overseas with the division in 1944 and was assigned to Fifth Army, 15th Army Group in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. As a unit of the 85th Infantry or "Custer" Division, the 339th Infantry saw combat service in Italy from March 1944 until the surrender of German forces in May 1945.

The 339th Infantry was nicknamed the "Polar Bears" because of the unit's service at Archangel in North Russia during the first World War. The 339th Infantry was the core element of "Regimental Combat Team 9", a combat organization composed of an infantry regiment with an attached artillery battalion, an engineer company and a medical company. "Combat Team 9" included the 339th Infantry, 910th Field Artillery Battalion, C Company, 310th Engineer Battalion, and C Company, 310th Medical Battalion.

The regiment's role in World War II began in 1942 when the 85th Infantry Division, one of the first all-draftee filled divisions authorized, was officially activated at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. Preparations had been ongoing since mid-April when a cadre of officers and non-commissioned officers arrived at the sparsely provisioned camp to get organization underway. Many of the officers assigned to the 339th infantry had jus completed training and promotions at Fort Benning and the re-activated "Polar Bear" regiment was the first real field experience for many of them.

Under the guidance of Colonel Donald Stroh and executive officer Lt. Colonel G. R. Schweickert, the officers set up headquarters and attended to the pile of paperwork involved in getting a regiment ready for training. Among the new officers was one officer who could appreciate the heraldry of the 339th Infantry, Captain Charles Isely. This tough Illinois-born officer was proud of his military service and was immediately enthralled with the history of the 339th Infantry. He made every effort possible to let the new recruits know something about the old regiment and what that Polar Bear symbol meant. Another officer who came into the regiment soon after activation was Lt. Paul Schultz who would author The 85th Infantry Division in World War II soon after war's end.

While in Italy, the regiment had a sequential order of commanders, the first being Colonel James Matthews, who was forced to resign because of illness. He was followed by Colonel Brookner Brady who led the regiment until October 1944 when he was replaced by Colonel William Fitts from division headquarters. Colonel Fitts remained in command until December 31, 1944, when the 339th Infantry reverted to the regimental executive officer, Lt. Colonel John English, who commanded the regiment until it was deactivated in August 1945.

The Allied operations in Italy between January and September 1944 were essentially an infantryman’s war where the outcome was decided by countless bitterly fought small unit actions waged over some of Europe’s most difficult terrain under some of the worst weather conditions found anywhere during World War II.

North Apennines Campaign
10 September 1944 – 4 April 1945

The northern Apennines fighting was the penultimate campaign in the Italian theater. Although the Allies steadily lost divisions, materiel, and shipping to operations elsewhere, which diminished their capabilities, their offensives prevented the Axis from substantially reinforcing other fronts with troops from Italy. Yet the transfer of units from Fifth and Eighth Armies for use in northwest Europe, southern France, and Greece, both after the capture of Rome and during the North Apennines Campaign itself, left Allied commanders with just enough troops to hold Axis forces in Italy but without sufficient forces to destroy the enemy or to end the campaign.

Po Valley Campaign
5 April – 8 May 1945

For the Allied armies in Italy, the Po Valley offensive climaxed the long and bloody Italian campaign. When the spring offensive opened, it initially appeared that its course might continue the pattern of the previous months and battles in Italy, becoming another slow, arduous advance over rugged terrain, in poor weather, against a determined, well-entrenched, and skillful enemy.

However, by April 1945 the superbly led and combat-hardened Allied 15th Army Group, a truly multinational force, enjoyed an overwhelming numerical superiority on the ground and in the air. On the other side, Axis forces had been worn down by years of combat on many fronts; they were plagued by poor political leadership at the top as well as shortages of nearly everything needed to wage a successful defensive war.

By April 1945 factors such as terrain, weather, combat experience, and able military leadership, that had for months allowed the Axis to trade space for time in Italy could no longer compensate for the simple lack of manpower, air support, and materiel. By the end of the first two weeks of the campaign both sides realized that the end of the war in Italy was in sight, and that all the Allies needed to complete the destruction of Axis forces was the skillful application of overwhelming pressure, a feat largely accomplished within ten days, by 2 May 1945.