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Did You Know? State Highway 64 designated Bushmasters Memorial Highway in 1995

The 1st Arizona Infantry offically adopted the name Bushmasters during WWII, where they trained extensively in jungle combat techniques.
Photo/ Department of Emergency and Military Affairs

The 1st Arizona Infantry offically adopted the name Bushmasters during WWII, where they trained extensively in jungle combat techniques.

GRAND CANYON -- State Highway 64, from Williams to the Grand Canyon and east to Cameron, was officially designated as Bushmasters Memorial Highway in 1995.

Arizona Army National Guard’s 158th Infantry Regiment was originally established as a Confederate scout company during the Civil War. Shortly after the Confederacy disbanded, returning veterans established the 1st Arizona Volunteer Infantry, which participated in several conflicts during the Apache Wars.

The unit saw action in the Spanish-American War, including the Pancho Villa Expedition, and was officially drafted into federal service following the United States’ entry into World War I in 1917. It was one of the most diverse regiments in the army.

The 1st Arizona Infantry’s elite distinction came during World War II, when the regiment was sent to the jungles of Panama to guard the Panama Canal Zone. It was here they formally adopted the name Bushmasters, after the lethal pit viper infesting the jungles. The unit trained and excelled in jungle warfare before being sent to Australia, New Guinea and the Phillippines. According to General MacArthur, “no greater fighting combat team was ever deployed for battle.”

After being reorganized many times, from a mortar company to military police, the Bushmasters were disbanded and their colors retired in 1967.

The unit saw new life in 2005 when the 180th artillery was redesignated the 1st Battalion, 158th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Brigade with five companies. The Bushmasters were back. The regiment was most recently deployed to Afghanistan in 2007.


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