On 1 June 1942, the 819th Tank Destroyer Battalion was activated at Camp Chafee, Arkansas. A group of 24 officers and 80 enlisted men formed the nucleus of the new battalion.

On 10 June 1942, some fillers were received and more arrived in July 1942. On 15 December 1942, the Battalion was relieved from the Second Army and sent to Camp Bowie, Texas for basic training. In January 1943, sufficient fillers were received to put all companies to full strength.

From Bowie the Battalion was moved to Fort Hood, Texas for advanced training. We were in Shell Camp #1 (tents) for the first part of our training and later moved to the main camp and barracks.

On 25 July 1943, we moved from Hood to Camp Ibis, California, and were assigned to the Dessert Training Center. Following desert maneuvers we were sent to Camp Stoneman for overseas assignment.

On 24 March 1944, we arrived in Hawaii. Needless to say, our tour of duty in Hawaii was not the worst duty that we were asked to pull. However, that was short lived, and on 1 February 1945, we arrived in the Palau Islands, attached to the 111th Infantry Regiment as supporting artillery. Upon our arrival in the southern Palaus, Company C was assigned to the island of Angaur and the remainder of the battalion to Peleliu. While in the Palaus all companies were assigned to certain tasks and often releived each other as the situations changed. During the period from 30 April 1945 through 8 May 1945, a total of 1104 rounds were fired by elements of the 819th on enemy held islands.

All military elements in the South Pacific were alerted and began preparation for the big and final push to Japan. The 819th was packed and ready to move when the "bomb" was dropped and brought the war to an end. The battalion was deactivated in November 1945. Captain Lawrence Wickline signed the final morning report and lowered the company flag, which is still in his possession.