Arkansas National Guard and World War II

The history of the Arkansas National Guard and World War II begins with the reorganization following World War I. The State first reorganized a provision unit, the 5th Arkansas, in order to provide a force to deal with domestic situations. As the Defense Department slowly implemented the massive changes and expansions outlined National Defense Act of 1916, the Arkansas National Guard was allowed to reorganize its war time units, including the 153rd Infantry Regiment, the 141st Machine Gun Battalion, and the 142nd Field Artillery. The Guard acquired its first permanent facilities and additional training during its annual encampments. During World War II, the entire Arkansas National Guard was activated and units saw duty in the Pacific and European theaters of conflict.

The effort to rapidly reorganize the Arkansas National Guard following World War I was a complicated task for two reasons, first the fact that the units mobilized for the war had effectively been disbanded at the end of the war and second because Federal Authorities were focused on a massive expansion of the National Guard.

The state requested authority from the Militia Bureau (predecessor of today's National Guard Bureau) for authority to disband the paper organizations of the 4th Arkansas Infantry and the 1st Arkansas Engineer Battalion. This was accomplished in February 1920.

However, as it became clear that the mobilized units would not simply revert to state control, the state petitioned the War Department to be able to fill the states quote of National Guard Soldiers by establishing several new units, in order to provide the governor with units to respond in case of an emergency:

A Proclamation was issued by the Governor on 7 November 1919, calling upon every county and city to co-operation in the organizing of at least one National Guard Company in each county. A campaign was launched in January 1920 by bringing the Regimental Commander and a group of officers and enlisted soldiers who toured through 64 of the states largest cities to raise awareness and support of the National Guard.

Under as a result of this campaign, the following unit were authorized to expand the new 5th Arkansas Infantry:

Infantry companies were also authorized at the following cities.

A key piece of Federal Legislation governing the organization of the National Guard had been passed during the buildup to World War I. The National Defense Act of 1916 provided for an expanded army during peace and wartime, fourfold expansion of the National Guard, the creation of an Officers' and an Enlisted Reserve Corps, plus the creation of a Reserve Officers' Training Corps in colleges and universities. The act clarified the authority of the President, in case of war or national emergency, to mobilize the National Guard for the duration of the emergency. The act was passed amidst the "preparedness controversy", a brief frenzy of great public concern over the state of preparation of the United States armed forces, and shortly after Poncho Villa's cross-border raid on Columbus, New Mexico. It authorized an army of 175,000 men, a National Guard of 450,000 men. The Act represented the settlement of a debate that had raged over whether the Nation need a large professional standing army, like the European powers or whether national defense should be provided with a smaller standing regular army, supplemented in time of war by a strong well organized National Guard.

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