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N.D. (AP) – The Bismarck Historical Society will discuss a famous North Dakota National Guard regiment in a meeting on Wednesday.

North Dakota’s 164th Infantry Regiment based in Valley City fought in the South Pacific during World War II. The Bismarck Historical Society says it was the first U.S. Army unit to take offensive action against the Japanese when it arrived on the island of Guadalcanal in Oct. 1942. The unit left Guadalcanal with the unofficial nickname “the 164th Marines.”

Several North Dakota farm boys served with the 164th. It’s the only U-S Army unit to receive a citation of accommodation from the U-S Marine Corp for their fighting efforts on Guadalcanal. The 164th was decommissioned during a ceremony in Valley City a few years ago.

Bismarck Historical Society board member and retired school teacher Ann Vadnie will present the unit’s history at the meeting. The meeting will be held at the Bismarck Veterans’ Memorial Public Library at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday night December 3.

Above file photos, far left Bernard Wagner of Valley City in 2010. He served with the 164th in Guadalcanal in October of 1942, his photo back then is to the far right.