Walter Rinko was one of the men inducted into the 182nd Infantry in early 1941, when the unit was still part of the 26th “Yankee” Division. He served with the unit during the 1941 training period, and shipped overseas with Task Force 6814. He endured the initial combat campaign on Guadalcanal, but was evacuated home in December 1942 for medical reasons, on board the hospital ship USS Solace.