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If you grew up on or near General Dalton Drive in Naugatuck, CT, you may have had some sense of the legacy the name was meant to preserve. Perhaps you learned about the history behind your street, and that added a little extra sense of pride to growing up there.

If you're not familiar with the man behind the street name, then read on...

James Leo Dalton II was born in New Britain, Connecticut. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Naugatuck where James attended Saint Francis of Assisi School, and then Naugatuck High School, graduating in 1927. Two years later he entered West Point, graduating from the military academy in 1933, as a Second Lieutenant. At the time when he started his military career, cavalrymen still actually rode horses rather than tanks. James was assigned to Fort Ethan Allen in Vermont, and that was where he met his wife, Catherine Andrews Starbird.

While in Vermont, James showed the courage and self-sacrifice that would become his legacy. While riding in a polo match, his horse became spooked and threatened to injure a group of spectators. He pulled on the reins forcing the horse to fall, saving others, but trapping him beneath his fallen steed. His sacrifice earned him a spinal injury, causing him to spend the next six months at Walter Reed Hospital in Maryland. After his release, he was assigned to the infantry.

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941 James was there. In January 1943 his regiment, the 161st Rifle (Infantry) Regiment, was sent to Guadalcanal, where Colonel James Dalton II relieved Colonel Clarence Orndorft, who had become ill with malaria. Colonel Dalton took over as commander of the 161st Regiment which had entered the war earlier that month, on January 4th.

"The 161st departed for Guadalcanal. The action there by the 161st was so fast and decisive that the 25th Division, which until this time was without a shoulder patch, was given a Taro Leaf, Familiar to the Hawaiian Islands, with a bolt of lightning running thru it. The Division to this day is known as the "Tropical Lightning Division." The morale of the 161st increased with the issuing of this insignia."

Guadalcanal is the principal island in the Solomon Islands chain, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. On August 7th, 1942, just eight months after the beginning of the Pacific War, Allied forces consisting of primarily U.S. troops landed on the islands. The goal was to stop the Japanese from establishing bases from which they could threaten the supply routes between the United States and Australia. It was the beginning of the six-month-long Guadalcanal campaign.

He may have arrived toward the end of the battle on the islands, but he was quick to distinguish himself. Colonel Dalton earned the Silver Star during the strategically significant Guadalcanal Campaign.

Silver Star Medal (SSM)
Period: Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
Unit: 161st Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division "Tropic Lightning", U.S. Army
Awarded on: March 17th, 1943

"For gallantry in action as Commanding Officer, 161st Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, in action against the enemy on 23 - 24 January 1943 at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. Lieutenant Colonel Dalton personally led a patrol of eighteen infantrymen in an attack to be undertaken in co-ordination with another similar patrol, on an enemy position which had been previously located. The other patrol was halted by enemy machine gun and rifle fire. The patrol led by Lieutenant Colonel Dalton proceeded into the enemy-infested area and relieved the pressure from the other patrol, killing ten of the enemy. The following day Lieutenant Colonel Dalton organized a larger patrol which cleared the area of all enemy resistance, killing thirty-five of the enemy. His gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty, without regard for his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army."

Headquarters, U.S. Army Forces in the South Pacific Area, General Orders No. 63

Initially the 161st was a unit of the Washington National Guard, but having seen heavy combat in the Guadalcanal campaign the regiment took on veteran replacements and became fully federalized. Subsequently Dalton's squad was ordered to New Georgia Island, another in the Solomon Islands grouping, to link up with the 145th and 148th Infantry Regiments, for an assault on the Japanese airfield at Munda Point.

Arriving on New Georgia Island on July 22, 1943, Dalton's regiment was placed under the command of General Robert S. Beightler. It was a difficult fight, and the 161st was unable to make progress against enemy defensive positions. However, once again James demonstrated heroism in the face of battle.

"For the initial fighting on New Georgia, the 161st was detached from the 25th Division and assigned to the 37th Division from Ohio. After extensive combat, the 161st went from their bright sun tan uniforms to the new camouflage uniforms on New Georgia. Everyone got size 40 or 44, and one company was attacked as it changed its uniforms. The first major action was on Hartley Ridge and Tank Hill. Intense fighting took place for five days and for six days more they defended their gains against counter attack. One time a patrol from a neighboring unit withdrew from a fire fight and found itself closely pursued by the enemy, who fell on the patrol's rear. Just as GI's reached the out position of the 161st Infantry, the Battalion Commander said let them come thru, the Japanese moved right in between the withdrawing patrol to find themselves in a full fledged fire fight that lasted for 24 hours or until every Japanese soldier was wiped out."

Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)
Period: Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank: Colonel
Unit: 161st Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division "Tropic Lightning", U.S. Army
Awarded: 1945

"For extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Commanding Officer of the 161st Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, in action against enemy forces from 23 to 28 January 1945, in the vicinity of New Georgia. Colonel Dalton's outstanding leadership, personal bravery and zealous devotion to duty exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, the 25th Infantry Division, and the United States Army."

Headquarters, U.S. Army Forces in the Far East, General Orders No. 38.

Soon after, the 161st fought their way to the beach via the Zieta trail thus ending the main phase of the battle for New Georgia. The Munda air strip was secured on the 7th of August, 1943.

After securing Munda, the regiment went to New Caledonia for training and reorganization. At the New Caledonia camp fifteen Distinguished Service Crosses were announced, seven of them posthumous. In a letter to a friend back in his hometown of Naugatuck, James wrote:

“It goes okay out here Pete, like any other corner of the war men live hard and scramble and scratch to beat the other guy — and some don’t come back. We will win this war and I hope we never face the prospects of another such.”

Over a year later, after extensive retraining, the 161st returned to battle on January 17, 1945. Landing on Luzon Island in the Philippines, along with the 25th Infantry Regiment. Dalton was promoted to Brigadier General, and reassigned as assistant Commanding General of the 25th Infantry Division, nicknamed “Tropic Lightning.”

At age 34, James Dalton, became Naugatuck's first Brigadier General, one of the Army’s youngest generals and the highest ranking officer in our town's history.

On the 11th of January, 1945, the Regiment with the rest of the 25th Division clambered down scramble nets, poured into landing craft, and for the 2nd time in its history, started for the beaches of an island name Luzon. They landed in the San Fabian area on the west shore of the island, and were to drive across the central plain of Luzon. They crashed into the enemy six days later at Binalonan. On the 26th of January, they smashed thru San Manuel by a sheer force of arms. here the last 13 officers of the original 114 officers who were inducted with the 161st had an unofficial reunion. They called themselves the Dirty Dozen. After that came Bryan Hill, Dig Dig, Dunken and Balete Pass.

The assignment was to capture three villages. The first of which was Binalonan Village where they ran into fierce resistance from Japanese tanks and infantry. The 161st defeated the counterattack and captured the town on January 18, 1945. The regiment then assaulted San Manuel where they defeated an entrenched enemy.

In the deadly fighting at San Manuel, Company E of the 161st saw five company commanders killed in four days. The 25th Infantry Division had 5,432 casualties in 260 days of combat. Company E received a Presidential Unit Citation for valor.

After San Manuel the 161st occupied San Isidro village on February 6, 1945. The American forces, including the 161st, then marched north into the mountains where they suffered huge losses. At Balete Pass many soldiers fell in the face of intense resistance. The northern advance took some 90 days and there were heavy casualties. It was the regiment's final battle.

It was at Balete Pass that General Dalton would achieve a tragic first. Much like Officer Nancy Ford Nichols, who died in the line of duty, James Dalton became the first general from Naugatuck to be killed in action. He was shot by a Japanese sniper during the Battle of Balete Pass on May 16, 1945. Dalton was one of only eleven U.S. General officers killed in action during World War II.

"As assistant commander of the 25th Division, Dalton’s leadership was instrumental in the capture of Balete Pass, a strategic point in the Philippines. On May 16, 1945, the day after the battle was won, Dalton was shot while inspecting the Japanese defenses he had just conquered."

In yet another first for General Dalton, this one posthumous, the government of the Philippines renamed the area Dalton Pass. It has become a shrine to those lost in the war and is still referred to as Dalton Pass today.

"Dalton Pass was named for the former Regimental commander of the 161st who was killed there. Dalton Pass was the new name given to Balete Pass where one of the toughest battles of the Pacific took place. The terrain was comparable to Cassino and more forbidding than that of Burma, its fall was the key to the Luzon campaign. The Luzon campaign lasted 165 days. The 161st had been in combat 225 days, this is a record equaled by few Regiments in the war. not one man surrendered to the enemy and not one foot of ground was given up due to enemy pressure."

“The General, who in his prior command as Regimental Commander for the 161st Regiment had been exposed so many times to extreme danger, was suddenly killed in his moment of triumph,” wrote Sgt. James P. Cundari in a 2007 memoir. “In a war of this type, even Generals got killed.”

Legion of Merit - US Military
Period: Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank: Colonel
Unit: 161st Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division "Tropic Lightning", U.S. Army

Colonel (Infantry) James Leo Dalton, II (ASN: 0-19100), United States Army, was awarded the Legion of Merit (Posthumously) for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States as Commanding Officer, 161st Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, from 1942 to 1945.

Brig. Gen. James Leo Dalton, Jr. was buried at USAFE Cemetery #1, Santa Barbara, Pangasinan, Luzon on May 18, 1945.

Brigadier. Gen. James Leo Dalton, Jr

(January 20, 1910 – May 16, 1945)

Monument in Fort William Mckinley in Manila, the Phillippines.

COMMENDATIONS

★ Distinguished Service Cross

★ Silver Star

★ Legion of Merit

★ Bronze Star

★ Air Medal

★ Purple Heart

★ Combat Infantryman Badge

★ Marksmanship Badge

★ World War II Victory Medal

★ American Campaign Medal

★ Army Presidential Unit Citation

★ Army Good Conduct Medal

★ Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal