 In Corsica they were assigned to guard Army Air Force installations.On September 22, 1944, the 65th Infantry landed in Toulon, France and was committed to action on the Maritime Alps at Peira Cava.On December 13, the 3rd Battalion under the command of Cordero Dávila, then a Lieutenant Colonel, relieved the 2nd Battalion of the Japanese-American 442nd "Nisei" Infantry Regiment which was under the command of fellow Puerto Rican Col. Virgil R. Miller.