WHAT IS THE MILITIA?

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THE ARMED CIVILIAN AND WORLD WAR II

The organized Militia or National Guard serves an important function in peace as well as war. It is a trained force available to the governor of the state, in emergency situations such as flood, earthquake, or hurricane, riot or insurrection. It is a trained force available to supplement the established armed forces at the call of the president.

Whenever the National Guard is called away from their home communities, and those communities are left unprepared for emergency conditions, the unorganized Militia may be called to fill in for the absent National Guard.

On September 16, 1940, President Roosevelt ordered the National Guard units of 15 states to active duty. The units of the remaining 33 states were activated by June of 1941. By June 30, 1941, with the National Guard units on active duty, the governors of 37 states called up the Militia.

This Militia of 89,000 men occupied the vacated National Guard Armories. Providing arms for this para-military force was a problem, and many volunteers supplied their own arms, or suitable weapons were borrowed from civilian owners.

Eventually the government was able to furnish weapons, uniforms and vehicles for this volunteer corps.

National Guard Company E, 161st Infantry was among the first to be called to active duty. They served in such remote places as Guadalcanal, New Guinea, Philippines, and Japan, but left a void in their home community of Pullman, Washington, which was a small farming community, and the home of Washington State College.

Men exempt from military duty by virtue of age, physical infirmity, or occupation: doctors, farmers, professors, merchants, and male college students were suitable candidates for the Militia, now called the State Guard. The official enlistment age was 17, but a few high school students enlisted as “seventeen minus.

These volunteers became Company C, Fifth Washington Volunteer Infantry, even before the United States officially entered World War II. The company commander was a banker, the First Lieutenant was the High School music teacher and band instructor. The Principal of the High School became the First Sergeant and range master. A selection of non-coms would include a car dealer, some farmers, auto mechanics, and even some of the High School Students.

Originally, they had no uniforms and trained with personal weapons or whatever was available.  

By 1943, the government had furnished Company C with an assortment of 12 ga. single-shot shotguns, and some field manuals. Individual members purchased uniforms from J. C. Penny that summer.

As the war progressed, more equipment was made available: Civilian Conservation Corps winter uniforms, 1917 Enfield rifles, bayonets, a few Thompson submachine guns, one or two Colt .45 handguns, and a few Mossberg .22 rifles for marksmanship training.

The company eventually boasted two 6x6 military trucks and a jeep.

Ammunition was available in Quantities sufficient to permit some practice at the National Guard rifle range.

Instructors in the Military Arts were veterans of World War I, and a few ROTC instructors from the college.

Training included care and handling of weaponry, marksmanship, close order drill, principles and practices of guard duty and riot control. Specialized instruction pertaining to sabotage such as Japanese fire balloons was included. Gas masks were issued followed by some training in chemical warfare. On such occasions a military specialist would conduct training sessions on a particular subject.

In addition to routine weekly training sessions, there was high public visibility when the unit participated in parades, Civil Defense Exercises, and other patriotic functions.

The militia stood guard duty around a B-17 Bomber flown in for a War bond rally.

A more somber duty was Honor Guard at services for our military casualties.

At the end of WWII, all active militiamen were awarded a service medal suspended from a yellow ribbon with one green stripe for each year of service, and given an invitation to transfer their ratings to the National Guard.

Although few of the 44 militia units performed any functions directly related to enemy action, they were present and available for whatever eme­rgencies arose during the WWII crisis.

America had a last line of defense. Armed civilians exercising the rights and responsibilities of free men living under the U.S. Constitution. Dedication by the Militia prevailed in an environment of anticipated enemy invasion. These armed citizens had a commitment to the Nation and to the Community that is a rarity today.

We must protect these rights from people who would “reinterpret”  the United States Constitution. Be aware of the stand your candidate and his affiliates take on this important issue before you vote.