Many of the men and officers were Irish immigrants, and under the leadership of Colonel Thomas Cass, the Massachusetts soldiers fought in ten major engagements during the war.

In this role it and other units served both the nation, as an Army reserve, and the state, in domestic crises like the Great Chelsea Fire of 1908.

It was here in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive that Private First Class Michael J. Perkins from Boston, earned the Medal of Honor.

While advancing with D Company, 101st Infantry, he single-handedly neutralized a fortified pillbox with grenades, and captured 25 prisoners and 7 machine guns with his trench knife.

[4] While Germany and Fascist Italy were in the process of conquering most of Europe in 1939 and 1940, and the Empire of Japan grabbing territory in the Pacific and China, the United States felt unprepared in the event war was necessary to combat the Axis Powers and began mobilizing its army in response.

On 19 November, the GIs attacked through water waist deep on a general line north and south through Bergelstroff.

[5] While moving through Metz, 2-101 was ordered to contain the German garrison at Fort Jeanne d'Arc and it relieved the elements of the 345th Infantry Regiment.

The movement of 26th Division was the initial effort made by the Third Army to defend the southern flank of the German penetration.

On 24 December, 2-101 captured Rambrouch and Koetschette in time for the regiment to spend a quiet Christmas Eve.

[3] Here, they encountered the Gross Deutschland Division, and drove them away from the Sure River after COL Scott personally led the attack across the water in a makeshift boat.

The regiment was forced to fight against fierce opposition on Hill 490 and the Mon Shuman crossroads, and constant battle exhausted the men.

After continuing through Wiltz, the 101st Regiment encountered German mine fields, Schumines, and booby trapped enemy bodies.

[3] On 24 January, the regiment crossed the Clerf River under heavy fire, and after seizing its objective, Clervaux, the 101st Infantry, along with the entire 26th Division, concluded its combat action in the Ardennes region.

Skirmishing with the enemy and sending combat patrols to harass German positions was commonplace in the cities of Saarlautern and Fraulautern.

As organized German resistance crumbled, COL Scott ordered the formation of the Saint Patrick's task force, which was led by MAJ Joseph P. Boucher.

Spearheading the 101st Infantry drive, Task Force St. Patrick reached Buprich on the night of 17 March and secured a bridgehead across the Prims River.

[6] Telephone communications were unavailable due to the nature of the rapid advance, and control was maintained entirely by use of radio.

On Easter Sunday, 1 April 1945, 1-101 attacked the Germans at Fulda while 2-101 and 3-101 cleared out the nearby woods to the north and northeast.

Fulda was cleared on 3 April, and within the next two days, 16 German officers and 1,307 enlisted men surrendered to the 101st Infantry (1,000 of the prisoners were Hungarian).

In order to protect the 26th Division's left flank, the 101st moved to Cham, where MAJ Joseph Boucher, CO of 1-101 was killed in an enemy ambush.

The final action of the 101st Infantry was made in a drive on Passau, a key city on the Danube River.

On 7 May 1945, Wehrmacht Major General Von Butler surrendered the whole German 85th Corps to the regiment, a total of 5,000 men.