The Home Defense Infantry Regiment, or HDIR, was organized from the state guards during World War II after the National Guard was federalized and called into service. In Washington State about 2,500 civilian men were issued a billy club, gas mask, utility belt, and white civil defense helmet, and tasked with protecting and supporting the state in times of civil unrest and natural disasters.
This enlistment poster for the Home Defense Infantry Regiment, printed in red, white, and blue, advertises assignments open in the Battalion Band. Organized in 1941 under warrant officer Stan Woodin, the band practiced weekly at the Field Artillery Armory at Third Avenue North and Harrison Street. Age limits for enlistment in the regiment band were 18 to 55 years.
Caption information source: "Home Defense Infantry Regiment, Seattle, WA, WWII" by Mark Hough Caption information source: "Home Defense Band Is Being Organized," Seattle Times, September 16, 1941, p. 9
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
Credit: MOHAI, Home Defense Infantry Regiment Records, 1947.24.39.1
