1941 – April 1942), Maj. Gen. Henry L. L. Jones (April 1942 – February 1945), Maj. Gen. William C. Chase (February–July 1945), Maj. Gen. Frederick A. Irving (August 1945 to inactivation). Returned to U.S.: 30 October 1945. Inactivated: 10 November 1945 at Camp Anza, California. Combat chronicle The 38th Infantry Division arrived in Hawaii on 17 January 1944. It received further training and the duty of the defense of Oahu. The division embarked from Hawaii to New Guinea, where the combat elements conducted final combat rehearsals (made realistic by the presence of bypassed Japanese troops) from July to November 1944. Once rehearsals were complete, the 38th Infantry Division sailed for Leyte, landing in December 1944. Enemy paratroops attempted to capture the Buri, Bayug, and San Pablo airstrips on 6 December. The 149th Infantry Regiment destroyed organized resistance, 11 December, and defended the strips until relieved, 4 January 1945. The division landed in the San Narciso area in Southern Zambales Province, Luzon, 29 January 1945, without opposition. The San Marcelino airstrip was secured on the same day and the port facilities at Olongapo were captured on the 30th as well as Grande Island in Subic Bay after an amphibious landing. Driving west of Olongapo the 38th destroyed an intricate maze of enemy fortifications in Zig-Zag Pass. While elements landed at Mariveles on the southern tip of the peninsula, 15 February, other units pushed down the east coast road to Pilar and across the neck of land to Bagac along the route of the March of Death. The Bataan Peninsula was secured on 21 February, although mopping-up activities remained. The 38th Infantry Division's rapid drive across the peninsula was critical to MacArthur's campaign plan by preventing a Japanese withdrawal into Bataan - thereby avoiding a costly siege operation. 2nd Battation of the 151st Infantry, along with elements from the Cannon and anti-tank companies, moved to Corregidor, 24 February, to clear the remaining Japanese defenders from the Rock. The same battalion assaulted and captured Caballo Island, 27 March, and Fort Drum on El Fraile Island, 13 April. 1st Battalion 151st Infantry captured Carabao Island on 16 April. Supporting operations in March included a major push against dug-in Japanese defenders in the mountainous terrain between Fort Stotsenburg and Mount Pinatubo by the 38th Division Advance (consisting of the 149th Regimental Combat Team (RCT), the 169th RCT, and all the 38th Division's artillery). Once the