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82nd Airborne Division

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Date: 5 Aug 1917
Location: Fort Bragg North Carolinamap
Surnames/tags: 82nd Airborne Division 82nd Division All American
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Template:82nd Airborne Division Project

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Contents

Purpose

The 82nd Airborne Division is a specialized airborne infantry division of the United States Army that is primarily engaged in conducting parachute assault operations in areas that are inaccessible. The division is mandated by the U.S. Department of Defense to be capable of responding to crisis contingencies worldwide within a timeframe of 18 hours. The division is headquartered at Fort Liberty, formerly known as Fort Bragg, in North Carolina, and is a constituent unit of the XVIII Airborne Corps. The 82nd Airborne Division is renowned for its strategic mobility and is considered the most mobile and strategic division in the U.S. Army.

The 82nd Airborne Division

The 82nd Airborne Division holds the distinction of being one of the oldest divisions within the United States Army. Its establishment dates back to the period immediately following the American entry into World War I in April 1917. Throughout its history, this division has actively participated in various significant military operations, including the Battle of Saint-Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive during World War I, as well as Operation Husky, Operation Avalanche, Operation Overlord, Operation Market Garden, Ardennes-Alsace, and the Western Allied invasion of Germany during World War II. Additionally, the division has been involved in numerous subsequent conflicts, such as the Cold War, which saw its engagement in the Occupation of the Dominican Republic, the Vietnam War, the Invasion of Grenada, Operation Golden Pheasant, the Invasion of Panama, the Persian Gulf War, and the ongoing war on terror, officially known as the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). This global counterterrorism military campaign was initiated by the United States in response to the September 11 attacks and encompasses various operations, including the War in Afghanistan, the Iraq War, Operation Inherent Resolve, and Operation Freedom's Sentinel.

Formerly Fort Bragg

the 82d Airborne Division was stationed at Fort Bragg however on 1 January 2021, the United States Senate successfully passed a veto override of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. This newly enacted legislation mandated the establishment of a commission by Congress, with the purpose of renaming Department of Defense properties that were previously named after Confederate leaders. In March 2022, the commission released a comprehensive list consisting of 87 potential names for nine Army installations, which included Fort Bragg, originally named after Confederate General Braxton Bragg. Subsequently, in May 2022, the commission officially recommended that the aforementioned installation be renamed as Fort Liberty. Furthermore, the commission granted the Pentagon a deadline until October to accept this proposed name change. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin duly acknowledged and approved the name change on 6 October 2022.

Division Song

Commanding Generals

1ST Commanding General

2D Commanding General

3D Commanding General

4TH Commanding General

5TH Commanding General

6TH Commanding General

7TH Commanding General

8TH Commanding General

9TH Commanding General

10TH Commanding General

11TH Commanding General

12TH Commanding General

13TH Commanding General

14TH Commanding General

15TH Commanding General

16TH Commanding General

  • Major General John W. Bowen
    • 14 September 1956 – 27 December 1957

17TH Commanding General

18TH Commanding General

19TH Commanding General

20TH Commanding General

21ST Commanding General

22D Commanding General

23RD Commanding General

24TH Commanding General

25TH Commanding General

26TH Commanding General

27TH Commanding General

28TH Commanding General

29TH Commanding General

30TH Commanding General

31TH Commanding General

32D Commanding General

33RD Commanding General

34TH Commanding General

35TH Commanding General

36TH Commanding General

37TH Commanding General

38TH Commanding General

39TH Commanding General

40TH Commanding General

41ST Commanding General

42ND Commanding General

43RD Commanding General

44TH Commanding General

45TH Commanding General

46TH Commanding General

47TH Commanding General

48TH Commanding General

49TH Commanding General

50TH Commanding General

51ST Commanding General

Division Sergeant Majors

1st Division Sergeant Major

  • Sergeant Major R L Rape
    • April 1959 - August 1959

2nd Division Sergeant Major

  • Sergeant Major R Finn
    • September 1959 - February 1960

3rd Division Sergeant Major

4th Division Sergeant Major

  • Sergeant Major J E Gray
    • October 1960 - July 1960

5th Division Sergeant Major

  • Sergeant Major G W Griffin (C W in pam)
    • August 1962 - May 1963

6th Division Sergeant Major

  • Sergeant Major Chester D. Kendrick
    • June 1963 - February 1965

7th Division Sergeant Major

  • Sergeant Major C C McClain (L L in pam)
    • March 1965 - July 1965

8th Division Sergeant Major

  • Sergeant Major Albert H. Rowe
    • August 1965 - October 1966

9th Division Sergeant Major

  • Sergeant Major V L West (A L in pam)
    • November 1966 - November 1967

10th Division Sergeant Major

  • CSM Earl S. Wemple
    • December 1967 - August 1968

11th Division Sergeant Major

12th Division Sergeant Major

  • CSM George D. Ketchum
    • June 1971 - June 1973

13th Division Sergeant Major

14th Division Sergeant Major

  • CSM Frank R. Creed
    • December 1978 - February 1981

15th Division Sergeant Major

  • CSM Tommie W. McKoy
    • February 1981 - February 1984

16th Division Sergeant Major

17th Division Sergeant Major

  • CSM Felix W. Acosta
    • May 1991 - Marh 1993

18th Division Sergeant Major

  • CSM Steven R. Slocum
    • March 1993 - April 1995

19th Division Sergeant Major

  • CSM Steven R. England
    • April 1995 - June 2000

20th Division Sergeant Major

  • CSM Charlie A. Thorpe
    • June 2000 - August 2003

21st Division Sergeant Major

  • CSM Wolf W. Amacker
    • August 2003 - May 2006

22nd Division Sergeant Major

  • CSM Thomas R. Capel
    • May 2006 – July 2010

23rd Division Sergeant Major

  • CSM Bryant C. Lambert
    • July 2010 – October 2012

24th Division Sergeant Major

  • CSM LaMarquis Knowles
    • October 2012 – April 2015

25th Division Sergeant Major

  • CSM Micheal D. Green
    • April 2015 – October 2017

26th Division Sergeant Major

  • CSM Michael A. Ferrusi
    • October 2017 – Present


HHBN. 82ND AIRBORNE DIVISION

  • Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, trains, readies, and deploys Division mission command nodes; provides sustainment, communications, and security for deployed forces in support of unified land operations.


1ST BCT, 82ND AIRBORNE DIVISION

The 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division is an active Airborne Brigade of the United States Army.

Lineage and Honors

Lineage

  • Constituted 5 August 1917 in the National Army as Headquarters Troop, 82d Division
  • Organized 25 August 1917 at Camp Gordon, Georgia
  • Demobilized 27 May 1919 at Camp Mills, New York
  • Reconstituted 24 June 1921 in the Organized Reserves as Headquarters Company, 82d Division
  • Organized in January 1922 at Columbia, South Carolina
  • Reorganized and redesignated 13 February 1942 as Headquarters and Military Police Company (less Military Police Platoon), 82d Division
  • Ordered into active military service on 25 March 1942 and reorganized at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana
  • Reorganized and redesignated 15 August 1942 as Headquarters Company, 82d Airborne Division(Organized Reserves redesignated 25 March 1948 as the Organized Reserve Corps)
  • Withdrawn 15 November 1948 from the Organized Reserve Corps and allotted to the Regular Army
  • Reorganized and redesignated 1 September 1957 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Command and Control Battalion, 82d Airborne Division
  • Reorganized and redesignated 25 May 1964 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade, 82d Airborne Division Headquarters, 1st Brigade, 82d Airborne Division, reorganized and redesignated 16 June 2006 as Headquarters, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82d Airborne Division (Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade, 82d Airborne Division – hereafter separate lineage)[2]

Campaign participation credit

  • World War I: St. Mihiel; Meuse-Argonne; Lorraine 1918
  • World War II: Sicily; Naples-Foggia; Normandy (with arrowhead); Rhineland (with arrowhead); Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe
  • Armed Forces Expeditions: Dominican Republic; Panama (with arrowhead)
  • Southwest Asia: Defense of Saudi Arabia; Liberation and Defense of Kuwait
  • War on Terrorism: Campaigns to be determined[3]
    • Afghanistan: Consolidation I; Transition I
    • Iraq: Transition of Iraq; Iraqi Surge; Iraqi Sovereignty

Note: The published US Army lineage lists "Campaigns to be determined" as of December 2011. Comparison of the BCT's deployment dates with War on Terrorism campaigns shows that the BCT is entitled to the 5 campaigns listed.

Decorations

  • Presidential Unit Citation (Army), Streamer embroidered STE. MERE EGLISE
  • Valorous Unit Award, Streamer embroidered AFGHANISTAN 2003
  • Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer embroidered SOUTHWEST ASIA 1990–1991
  • Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer embroidered IRAQ 2010
  • French Croix de Guerre with Palm, World War II, Streamer embroidered STE. MERE EGLISE
  • French Croix de Guerre with Palm, World War II, Streamer embroidered COTENTIN
  • French Croix de Guerre, World War II, Fourragere
  • Belgian Fourragere 1940
    • Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the Ardennes
    • Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in Belgium and Germany
  • Military Order of William (Degree of the Knight of the Fourth Class), Streamer embroidered NIJMEGEN 1944
  • Netherlands Orange Lanyard[4]

1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT) "Devil Brigade"

1st BCT's HHC
  • Constituted 24 February 1942 in the Army of the United States as the 504th Parachute Infantry
  • Activated 1 May 1942 at Fort Benning, Georgia
  • Assigned 15 August 1942 to the 82nd Airborne Division
  • Reorganized and redesignated 15 December 1947 as the 504th Airborne Infantry
  • Allotted 15 November 1948 to the Regular Army.
  • Relieved 1 September 1957 from assignment to the 82nd Airborne Division; concurrently reorganized and redesignated as the 504th Infantry Regiment, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS).
  • Withdrawn 1 May 1986 from the Combat Arms Regimental System and reorganized under the U.S. Army Regimental System (USARS).


504th Infantry Regiment
1st Battalion, 504th Infantry Regiment
  • Reorganized and redesignated 15 December 1947 as Company A, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
  • Allotted 15 November 1948 to the Regular Army
  • Reorganized and redesignated 1 September 1957 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Airborne Battle Group, 504th Infantry, and remained assigned to the 82d Airborne Division (organic elements concurrently constituted and activated)
  • Relieved 11 December 1958 from assignment to the 82nd Airborne Division and assigned to the 8th Infantry Division
  • Relieved 1 April 1963 from assignment to the 8th Infantry Division and assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division
  • Reorganized and redesignated 25 May 1964 as the 1st Battalion, 504th Infantry. Known as the "Red Devils."
2nd Battalion, 504th Infantry Regiment
  • Reorganized and redesignated 15 December 1947 as Company B, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
  • Allotted 15 November 1948 to the Regular Army.
  • Reorganized and redesignated 1 March 1957 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Airborne Battle Group, 504th Infantry, relieved from assignment to the 82nd Airborne Division, and assigned to the 11th Airborne Division (organic elements concurrently constituted and activated).
  • Inactivated 1 July 1958 in Germany.
  • Relieved 9 May 1960 from assignment to the 11th Airborne Division and assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division.
  • Activated 1 July 1960 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
  • Reorganized and redesignated 25 May 1964 as the 2nd Battalion, 504th Infantry. Known as the "White Devils."

Former Battalion

Third Battalion 3-504th PIR

  • Reorganized and redesignated 15 December 1947 as Company C, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
  • Allotted 15 November 1948 to the Regular Army.
  • Inactivated 1 September 1957 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and relieved from assignment to the 82d Airborne Division; concurrently redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3d Airborne Battle Group, 504th Infantry.
  • Redesignated 3 July 1968 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3d Battalion, 504th Infantry (organic elements concurrently constituted).
  • Assigned 15 July 1968 to the 82d Airborne Division and activated at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

(The battalion was part of the 4th Brigade, temporarily activated when the 3rd Brigade was sent to Viet Nam. Units of the division's 4th Brigade remained in skeletal status, never being fully manned, and were inactivated upon the return of the 3rd Brigade from Viet Nam.)

  • Inactivated 15 December 1969 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and relieved from assignment to the 82d Airborne Division.
  • Assigned 1 May 1986 to the 82d Airborne Division and activated at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The Blue Devils deployed as a contingency force to OIF from Sep 2005 to Jan 2006 under the command of LTC Larry Swift. Acknowledged by only a handful in the 82d Airborne Division, during this deployment, 3-504 started the famed "Torch Mission": the enduring attachment of an infantry battalion to USASOC for missions.
  • Inactivated June 2006 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and relieved from assignment to the 82d Airborne Division; concurrently reflagged as 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment.[1]
  • Known as the "Blue Devils."

History

The 504th Infantry Regiment, originally the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (504th PIR), is an airborne forces regiment of the United States Army, part of the 82nd Airborne Division, with a long and distinguished history. The regiment was first formed in mid-1942 during World War II as part of the 82nd Airborne Division and saw service in Sicily, Italy, Anzio, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

A parent regiment under the United States Army Regimental System, two battalions from the regiment, 1st Battalion (1-504 PIR) and 2nd Battalion (2-504 PIR), are currently active, both assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.

World War II

  • Activation

The regiment was initially constituted on 24 February 1942, over two months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent American entry into World War II, in the Army of the United States as the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (504th PIR). The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions were constituted the same date as Companies A, B, and C, respectively, of the 504th PIR, and were activated on 1 May 1942 at Fort Benning, Georgia, and was assigned to the U.S. Army Airborne Command. When complete with its regimental training, the 504th, then under the command of Colonel Theodore L. Dunn, was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, commanded by Major General Matthew Ridgway, on 15 August 1942. Serving alongside the regiment in the 82nd were the 325th and 326th Glider Infantry Regiments, together with supporting units.

The 504th PIR, now under the command of 31-year-old Lieutenant Colonel Reuben Henry "Rube" Tucker, who had formerly been the 504th's executive officer (XO), soon moved from Fort Benning to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on 30 September 1942 to finish its training, fill its Table of Organization and Equipment (TOE), and prepare for its staging call. When the call came, the regiment staged at Camp Edwards on 18 April 1943, and it made its port call on 10 May 1943, when it departed the New York Port of Embarkation (NYPOE).

North Africa On 29 April 1943, the 504th boarded the troop ship USS George Washington which steamed to North Africa and the regiment's first overseas port of call, Casablanca. They arrived shortly before the end of the campaign in North Africa, which ended with the surrender of almost 250,000 Axis soldiers. Upon arrival the paratroops marched eight miles south of the city where they established a cantonment area consisting of a few stone huts and a tent city.[1]  Soon, the regiment was moved by "40 and 8’s" northward to Oujda, Morocco. The "40 and 8’s" were railroad cars dating from World War I, so called because they were designed to carry 40 men or 8 horses.

Training intensified and senior officers such as General Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO), Lieutenant General Clark, the U.S. Fifth Army commander, and Lieutenant General Patton, the U.S. Seventh Army commander, along with the Sultan of Morocco and officials of every Allied nation watched the 504th go through its paces. Training included many practice jumps, and one conducted in winds of up to 30 miles-per-hour put nearly 30% of the unit in the hospital with broken bones, sprains and bruises. Finally, the order came and the 504th moved by truck to Kairouan, Tunisia, which was to be the 82nd Airborne Division's point of departure for the Allied invasion of Sicily.[5]

Sicily, July 1943 Colonel James M. Gavin, commander of the 505th Parachute Regimental Combat Team (with the 3rd Battalion of the 504th attached), led the 82nd Airborne Division during Operation Husky, and, on the night of 9 July 1943, the 504th helped spearhead the Allied invasion of Sicily in the first airborne military offensive in the history of the United States Army.[6]

The paratroopers of the 504th crossed over the Sicilian coast on schedule. Despite extensive precautions to avoid an incident, near the Sicilian coast a nervous Allied naval vessel suddenly fired upon the formation. Immediately, all other naval vessels and shore troops joined in, downing friendly aircraft and forcing planeloads of paratroopers to exit far from their intended drop zones in one of the greatest friendly fire tragedies of World War II. However, U.S. Navy ships had been under intense Axis aerial attacks, and many were unaware of the impending jump. Twenty-three planes were destroyed, thirty-seven were damaged, and almost 400 casualties were confirmed.[7]

Colonel Tucker's plane, after twice flying the length of the Sicilian coast and with well over 2,000 holes in its fuselage, finally reached the drop zone near Gela. By morning, only 400 of the rest of the regiment's 1,600 paratroopers had reached the objective area. The others had been dropped in isolated groups on all parts of the island and carried out demolitions, cut lines of communication, established island roadblocks, ambushed German and Italian motorized columns, and caused so much confusion over such an extensive area that initial German radio reports estimated the number of American parachutists dropped to be over ten times the actual [8]

On 13 July 1943, the 504th Parachute Infantry moved out, spearheading the 82nd Airborne Division's drive northwest 150 miles (240 km) along the southern coast of Sicily. With captured Italian light tanks, trucks, motorcycles, horses, mules, bicycles, and even wheelbarrows pressed into service, the 82nd encountered only light resistance and took 22,000 POWs in their first contact with enemy forces. Overall, the Sicilian operation proved costly, both in lives and equipment, but the regiment gained valuable fighting experience and managed to hurt the enemy in the process. It was with this experience and pride that the 504th returned to its base in Kairouan to prepare for the invasion of mainland Italy.[9]

Devils in Italy Back in North Africa, replacements arrived, training resumed, and the 3rd Battalion was again detached, this time to Bizerte, for special beach assault training with the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment (325th GIR) and the Army Rangers. The 1st and 2nd Battalions moved back to Sicily and trained for a drop at Capua —in vain, however, because the enemy had been tipped off and was waiting on the drop zone. Another disappointment followed with the cancellation of the drop on Rome. Last minute intelligence disclosed that "negotiations" between Brigadier General Maxwell Taylor, commanding the 82nd Airborne Artillery, and Italian Marshal Pietro Badoglio were a trap. Finally, in early September, the 3rd Battalion rejoined the 325th GIR and the Rangers, boarded landing craft, and set out to sea. The men knew they were going to Italy, but little else. Troopers from H Company, with a group of Army Rangers, made the initial landing on 9 September 1943 on the Italian coast at Maiori. They quickly advanced inland to seize the Chiunzi Pass and a vital railroad tunnel.[10]

On 11 September 1943, the 3rd Battalion Headquarters and G and I Companies, along with the remainder of the 325th GIR, swerved south and landed at Salerno. The military situation deteriorated with each passing hour as German tanks and infantry tried to push the Allies back into the sea. The 3rd Battalion troopers dug in and held on.[11]

On standby at airfields in Sicily, the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 504th were alerted, issued parachutes, and loaded on aircraft without knowledge of their destination. Receiving their briefing aboard the plane, the men were told that the U.S. Fifth Army's beachhead was in danger and they were needed to jump in behind friendly lines. Flying in columns of battalions, they exited over the barrels of gasoline-soaked sand that formed a flaming "T" in the center of the drop zone. The regiment assembled quickly and moved to the sounds of cannon and small arms fire within the hour. By dawn, the unit was firmly set in defensive positions.[12]

The days that followed were, in the words of Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, commander of the Fifth Army, "responsible for saving the Salerno beachhead." As the 504th (minus the 3rd Battalion) took the high ground at Altavilla, the enemy counterattacked, inflicting heavy casualties on the regiment, and the divisional commander, Major General Ridgway, along with Major General Fred L. Walker, commander of the 36th Infantry Division, suggested the unit withdraw. Epitomizing the determined spirit of the regiment, Colonel Tucker vehemently replied, "Hell no! We've got this hill and we are going to keep it. Just send me my other battalion." The 3rd Battalion, then being held in reserve, rejoined the rest of the 504th and, supported by a huge 350-round barrage from the Navy, repulsed the enemy, forcing the Germans to retreat from Salerno. Colonel Tucker and two of his men were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for their actions at Altavilla.[13]

The operation secured the flanks of the Fifth Army, allowing it to break out of the coastal plain and drive on to Naples. On 1 October 1943, the 504th became the first infantry unit to enter the city of Naples, which it subsequently garrisons, along with most of the rest of the 82nd Airborne Division. The airborne operation at Salerno was not only a success, but it also stands as one of history's greatest examples of the mobility of the airborne unit: within only eight hours of notification, the 504th developed and disseminated its tactical plan, prepared for combat, loaded aircraft and jumped onto its assigned drop zone to engage the enemy and turn the tide of battle.[14]

The 82nd Airborne Division was slated as a unit to be used in the invasion of Normandy the following year. However, Lieutenant General Clark, the Fifth Army commander, was unwilling to give up the division. During the next few weeks in fighting Italy, the 504th, reinforced with the 376th and 456th Parachute Field Artillery Battalions to create the 504th Parachute Regimental Combat Team, fought in difficult terrain against a determined enemy. On steep, barren slopes, the regiment assaulted one hill after another. Mule trains aided in the evacuation of wounded to some extent, but casualties were often carried for hours down the steep hillsides just to reach the road.[15]

Finally, the 504th, severely understrength, was pulled back to Naples on 4 January 1944 as rumors of another airborne mission spread. The operation was to be called Operation "Shingle", and it involved an airborne assault into a sector behind the coastal town of Anzio, 35 miles south of Rome. It seemed, however, that even the locals in Naples knew of the operation, so the 504th was glad that the beach would be assaulted from troop-carrying landing craft.[16]

The landing on Red Beach went smoothly—at least until enemy planes started their strafing runs on the landing craft. The unit disembarked under fire and was sent shortly thereafter to patrol in force along the Mussolini Canal. After several days of intense German artillery fire, the enemy launched his main drive to push the Allies back into the sea. The 3rd Battalion was committed with elements of the British 1st Infantry Division in the heaviest fighting, with the paratrooper companies, due to the severe fighting, being reduced in strength to between 20 and 30 men. H Company drove forward to rescue a captured British General and was cut off. I Company broke through to them with their remaining 16 men. For its outstanding performance from 8 to 12 February 1944, the 3rd Battalion, 504th was presented one of the first Presidential Unit Citations awarded in the European Theater of Operations (ETO).[17]

For the remainder of their eight-week stay in the Anzio beachhead, the men of the 504th found themselves fighting defensive battles instead of the offensive operations for which they were better suited and had been trained. For the first time the men were engaged in static trench warfare like that of World War I a generation before, with barbed wire entanglements and minefields in front and between alternate positions. It was during this battle that the 504th acquired the nickname "The Devils in Baggy Pants," taken from the following entry found in the diary of a Wehrmacht officer killed at Anzio:[18]

"American parachutists...devils in baggy pants...are less than 100 meters from my outpost line. I can't sleep at night; they pop up from nowhere and we never know when or how they will strike next. Seems like the black-hearted devils are everywhere..."[19]

On 23 March 1944, the 504th was pulled out of the beachhead by landing craft and returned to Naples. The campaign in Italy for the 504th had been costly, but enemy losses exceeded those of the regiment by over tenfold, and the Allies maintained control of the beachhead. Shortly thereafter, the 504th boarded the Cape Town Castle and steamed to England, arriving there on 22 April.[20]

The near-continuous fighting in Italy had cost the 504th dearly; just over 1,100 casualties were sustained.[21] Just under 600 of these, or 25 percent, were suffered during the fighting at Anzio alone and two of three battalion commanders had become casualties.

From England to the Netherlands Although Nazi broadcasters warned the 504th by radio that German submarines would never let the Cape Town Castle past the Straits of Gibraltar, the only danger the ship encountered came when all the troops rushed to the same side of the vessel as it pulled into Liverpool on 22 April 1944. The 82nd Airborne Division band greeted them with "We’re All American and proud to be...," and it was assumed that the 504th would rejoin the 82nd for the upcoming invasion of Normandy, scheduled for early June. Yet, as D-Day approached, it became apparent that the 504th would be held back due to a lack of replacements. Brigadier General Gavin, the ADC, urged that the 504th be substituted for the two regiments that had joined the 82nd, the 507th and 508th, taking replacements from either of those units. However, Major General Ridgway, the division commander, vetoed the idea. Later, when Gavin sought volunteers to serve as pathfinders, around 50 men of the 504th came forward.[22]

The 504th thus remained in England as "Dry Runs" came one after another. Missions were scheduled for France, Belgium, and the Netherlands and then canceled at the last moment. For three days the troopers waited for the fog to lift to allow them to drop into Belgium, but the wait proved long enough for Lieutenant General George Patton's U.S. Third Army to overrun the drop zones, thereby returning the 504th to its English garrison.[23]

Therefore, when the word came on 15 September for the 82nd Airborne Division, now commanded by Brigadier General Gavin (thus making Gavin, aged just 37, the youngest divisional commander in the U.S. Army), to jump in ahead of the British Second Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Sir Miles C. Dempsey, 57 miles behind enemy lines in the vicinity of Grave, in the Netherlands, few believed the mission would actually be conducted. The operation would require seizing the longest bridge in Europe over the Maas River and several other bridges over the Maas-Waal Canal. The men of the 504th became even more doubtful the mission would go when told that the planned flight was through the Scheldt Estuary (nicknamed "Flak Alley" by Allied bomber pilots) and that they were reportedly outnumbered by 4,000 of Hitler's Schutzstaffel (SS) troops and an unknown number of German tanks.[24]

No cancellation was received, however, and on 17 September 1944 at 12:31 hours, the pathfinders of the 504th landed on the drop zone, followed thirty minutes later by the rest of the regiment and C Company of the 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion, to become the first Allied troops to land in the Netherlands as part of Operation Market Garden—the largest airborne operation in history. By 18:00 hours, the 504th had accomplished its assigned mission (although the enemy had managed to destroy one of the bridges). In just four hours, the regiment had jumped, assembled, engaged the enemy, and seized its objectives.[25]

For the next two days, the regiment held its ground and conducted aggressive combat and reconnaissance patrols until the 2nd Battalion of the Irish Guards, part of the 5th Guards Armoured Brigade of the Guards Armoured Division, made the ground link-up, spearheading the advance of the British 30th Corps, commanded by Lieutenant General Sir Brian G. Horrocks, of the British Second Army. However, the Nijmegen road and rail bridges, which were the last remaining link to the British 1st Airborne Division fighting in Arnhem, remained in enemy hands, and the far bank was heavily defended by the Germans. An assault crossing of the river was necessary, but it was a seemingly impossible task. Gavin intended to make a pre-dawn crossing[26]after consulting with British Lieutenant General Horrocks and Lieutenant General Sir Frederick A. M. Browning, commander of the British 1st Airborne Corps (of which the 82nd formed a part), in the presence of senior officers of the Guards Armoured and 82nd Airborne Divisions, and Colonel Reuben Tucker of the 504th,[27]and during the night he drew up a plan, and alerted the troops at 06:00 in the expectation of the boats to be provided by the British XXX Corps.

However, the crossing did not commence until 15:00 after the guns of the 376th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion and 153rd (Leicestershire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, and two troops of the Grenadier Guards Sherman tanks opened fire on the northern (Lent) bank. The British provided 26 canvas boats, each 19 feet (5.8 m) long, that the 504th used to cross the 400 yards (370 m)-wide river. The 3rd Battalion's H and I companies, and some engineers from the 307th Airborne Engineers crossed in the first wave, 15 men to a boat, and they were immediately on leaving the far shore the target of German 88mm cannons, 20mm cannons, flak wagons, machine guns and riflemen. Nonetheless, the crossing was launched. With only 2-4 oars in each boat, the remaining men rowed with the rifle butts. Only 13 boats made it across, and only 11 of those were in condition to return across the river to deliver succeeding waves.

The 1st Battalion formed the second wave, and they established a firm bridgehead from which the units carried the battle to the enemy defending the old Fort Belvedere[28]and captured the bridge from the north side. Lieutenant General Dempsey, commander of the British Second Army, after witnessing the crossing, characterized the attack with a single word as he shook his head and said, simply, "Unbelievable."[29]Six crossings were made by 1900. It was there that Dempsey, upon meeting Brigadier General Gavin, shook him by the hand and said "I am proud to meet the commander of the greatest division in the world today."[30]Because only 11 boats returned from the first crossing, eight from the second and five from the third,[31]A Company that followed used locally sourced wooden fishing boats.[32]

France and Belgium, November 1944 After remaining in the front-line for the next few weeks, on 16 November 1944, the 504th arrived at Camp Sissone near Rheims in Northern France on British lorries, greeted again by the traditional "We’re All American..." of the 82nd band. Soon after, the 82nd moved to Camp Laon and began training with the new C-46 Commando aircraft, the first aircraft with two troop doors for parachute exits.[33]

At 2100 hours on the night of 17 December 1944, Colonel Tucker was summoned to the 82nd Airborne Division headquarters. There he learned that the Germans had broken through into Belgium and Luxembourg with a powerful armored thrust launched south of Aachen in what became known as the Battle of the Bulge.

The next morning the 504th paratroopers started for Bastogne, not in airplanes, but in large trucks. Along the way, their destination was changed to Werbomont—a point more seriously threatened. The Devils conducted a night movement on foot for eight miles to take up defensive positions. On 19 December Colonel Tucker was ordered to Rahier and Cheneux to link up with the 505th PIR at Trois Ponts. The 1st Battalion was ordered to take the towns Brume, Rhier, and Cheneux. At 1400 on 20 December 1944, 1st Battalion (less A Company) moved out toward Cheneux, where it was immediately engaged by a battalion of the SS-Obersturmbannführer Joachim Peiper's Kampfgruppe Peiper of the I SS Panzer Corps. Crossing an open 400-yard field laced every fifteen yards with barbed wire, the 1st Battalion faced the heaviest enemy fire the 504th had ever encountered, including heavy machine-guns, a 20mm gun, and a half-dozen German armored vehicles. Captain Jack M. Bartley was killed on 21 December 1944.[34]

The 504th deployed a captured German halftrack armed with a 70mm gun manned by two paratroopers with no training in its use. They were successful in knocking out several enemy positions. Still, the 504th took very heavy losses crossing the open field, and at 1700 were ordered to withdraw 200 yards (180 m) to the edge of a wood. Colonel Tucker ordered the 1st Battalion to engage in an assault on the German forces in Cheneux that night.[35][36]

The Devils pressed forward, and by nightfall had given the Germans their first defeat of the Battle of the Bulge.[37][38]Through heavy fire, Companies B and C wiped out an estimated five companies of German forces, as well as fourteen flak-wagons, six half-tracks, four trucks, and four 105mm howitzers.[39] However, the two companies were decimated, with 23 killed and 202 wounded; eighteen enlisted men remained in Company B, and thirty-eight men and three officers in Company C.[40]Company A of the 1st Battalion, 504th, as well as the first platoon of Company C of the 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion, were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for their outstanding performance during this action.[41]

Throughout the initial days of battle with experienced German troops, the regiment wore down the enemy and discovered the Germans had only poorly organized and inadequately equipped follow-on forces. Soon thereafter, the paratroopers received the orders they had been expecting—to attack the Siegfried Line. The regiment was positioned on the right flank of the U.S. First Army, and on 28 January 1945 the 504th advanced through the Belgian forest of Bullingen in columns of two along a deep snowy trail, meeting only spotty resistance along the way.[42]

While approaching Herresbach, the regiment encountered an enemy battalion in a head-on engagement that surprised both elements. The battle-wise paratroopers, without hesitation, accelerated their pace and moved on the enemy. The machine guns of the lead tank opened up on the Germans, while the men of the 504th fired their weapons from the hip at shooting-gallery speed. Within ten minutes, the enemy was overrun with more than 100 killed and 180 captured. Not a single 504th paratrooper was killed or wounded.[43]

Finally, on 1 February 1945, the order came to conduct the assault on the Siegfried Line through the Belgian Fort Gerolstein. The following day the 1st and 2nd Battalions jumped off on the attack. Moving cautiously from bunker to bunker, the troopers encountered heavy machine gun and small arms fire at all points. Ironically, the German Army's own Panzerfaust (a light anti-tank weapon with which the 504th was well equipped) was the regiment's most effective weapon against the German pillboxes. Despite the presence of thousands of mines and booby traps, only a small number of those disturbed actually detonated. Freezing temperatures, snow, ice and years of exposure had corroded the detonators. Vicious enemy counterattacks on 3 and 4 February were repulsed, and the unit was relieved. The regiment moved back to Grand Halleux where it spent several days before being trucked across the Belgian-German border. From Aachen, it moved by train back to Laon, France to await orders.[44]

On to Berlin Colonel Tucker and the advance detail left Laon on 1 April 1945 and traveled by jeep 270 miles to Cologne (Köln), Germany. Three days later the regiment arrived, mostly in "40 and 8s," and immediately took up positions along the west bank of the Rhine River. 504th patrols crossed nightly in small boats, engaging in brisk fire-fights almost every patrol. The enemy made a few attempts to cross to the regiment's side of the river, but all efforts were turned back.[45]

On 6 April 1945, A Company crossed the Rhine at 02:30 hours and immediately made contact with the enemy. Under heavy fire and in a minefield, the first wave of 504th troopers was split into two elements, each of which fought its way independently to the predesignated objective. There they rejoined forces, knocked out several machine gun nests, and established a roadblock. Using similar tactics, succeeding waves infiltrated the enemy and set up a defense in the village of Hitdorf. For a short time, all was calm[46] Company A was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation for its action during this engagement.[47]

Then the enemy counterattacked. The first counterattack was broken less than fifty yards from the perimeter, while the second was preceded by heavy artillery preparation. As enemy tanks and infantry closed in, the outnumbered and outgunned A Company fought its way back to the river's edge. The regiment sent I Company across to support the withdrawal. The 504th had lost only nine men to the enemy's 150, and 32 troopers were captured for 10 days and forced marched 100 km to Plettendorf, Germany then were liberated by elements of the 83rd Infantry Division. Whether the two companies achieved the higher aim of diverting enemy forces from a more important sector upstream is unknown. For the men involved, it was a small-scale "Dunkirk" with a hollow satisfaction achieved.[48]

The 504th was then relieved of its active defense of the Rhine and was directed to patrol the area north of Cologne until 1 May 1945. With little resistance to slow it down, the regiment established its command post in the town of Breetze, Germany on the west bank of the Elbe River. Although tanks had been attached to the unit, the 504th was outnumbered 100 to 1 by German troops clogging every road. Nevertheless, throughout the next several days, the Americans stood at 100-yard intervals collecting souvenirs by the jeep-load as almost never-ending columns of enemy forces poured through the regiment's lines to surrender.[49]

At 10:00 hours on 3 May 1945, a jeep full of I Company men grew tired of waiting for a Russian element to link up with them, so they drove down the south side of the Elde and then twelve more miles to the town of Eldenburg. There they were entertained by a company of Cossacks, whose specific unit designation none of the men could recall after partaking of the various toasts offered in honor of Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin.[50]

The war officially ended in Europe on 8 May 1945. The 504th returned briefly to Nancy, France until the 82nd Airborne Division, the British 11th Armoured Division and the 5th Cossack Division were called upon to serve as the occupation forces in Berlin. Here the 82nd Airborne Division earned the name, "America’s Guard of Honor," as a fitting end to hostilities in which the 504th had chased the German Army some 14,000 miles (23,000 km) across the European Theater.[51]

Following their occupation duty with the 82nd Airborne Division in Berlin, the Devils reported to Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Post World War II serviceEditOccupation and garrison Following their occupation duty with the 82nd Airborne Division in Berlin, the Devils reported to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The regiment remained at Fort Bragg until 1957, when the era of infantry regiments as tactical units ended and the Pentomic era began, in which designations were used to perpetuate lineages and honors. On 1 September of that year the lineage of Company A, 504 PIR was reorganized and redesignated as HHC, 1st Airborne Battle Group, 504th Infantry and remained assigned to the 82nd as one of five battle groups that replaced the three regiments previously assigned to the division. The lineage of Company B, 504 PIR was used to reflag existing elements of the 11th Airborne Division in Germany as HHC, 2nd Airborne Battle Group, 504th Infantry.

The 1st ABG, 504th Infantry remained assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division until 11 December 1958 when it rotated to Germany (along with 1-505th) to become part of the Airborne component of the newly reactivated 8th Infantry Division (Mechanized). Both 1-504th and 1-505th were replaced in the 82nd by 1-187th and 1-503rd, which rotated from the 24th Infantry Division in Germany to the 82nd. The colors of both remained with the 8th until the end of the Pentomic era, at which time (1 April 1963) they were reorganized and reflagged as 1st and 2nd battalions (Airborne), 509th Infantry, elements of the division's 1st Brigade (Airborne). The colors of 1-504th returned to the 82nd, and on 25 May 1963 they were reorganized and redesignated as 1st Battalion (Airborne), 504th Infantry, an element of the 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division.

The 2nd ABG, 504th Infantry remained with the 11th Airborne Division in Germany only until 1 July 1958, when its colors were inactivated and the unit was reflagged as a non-Airborne battle group and the division was reflagged as the 24th Infantry Division. The colors were relieved on 9 May 1960 from assignment to the inactive 11th Airborne Division and assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division and reactivated on 1 July 1960, and then reorganized and redesignated on 25 May 1964 as the 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 504th Infantry, joined 1-504th as an element of the 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division.

The Dominican Republic, April 1965 On 26 April 1965, the 82nd Airborne Division received orders to prepare to deploy forces to the Dominican Republic. Two days earlier, a revolution had erupted in the Caribbean nation which put the safety of almost 3,000 American citizens in jeopardy. The initial deployment of 82nd Airborne soldiers came on 30 April 1965, and the two battalions of the 504th followed on 3 May 1965, landing at San Isidro Air Base to perform both military and humanitarian missions in support of Operation Power Pack. The 504th conducted military operations to help establish and maintain control of Santo Domingo and to provide security along the All American Expressway that ran through the city.[52]

During these operations, the 504th was often subject to sniper fire and in repeated contact with enemy factions, as it contributed greatly to the establishment of security and to the distribution of food and medical supplies to those in need. Only five days after the arrival of the first U.S. forces, approximately 2,700 American citizens and 1,400 civilians from other nations were evacuated without injury. However, it became apparent that to restore stability to the Dominican Republic would require a continued U.S. presence, so the 504th remained as part of the Inter-American Peace Force for over a year, not returning to Fort Bragg until the summer of 1966.[53]

U.S. troops were opposed by forces loyal to Juan Bosch, the Cuban/Soviet puppet president who was committed to spreading the totalitarian communist revolution to other island nations.[54]

Operation Golden Pheasant, Honduras 1988 In March 1988, 1st and 2nd battalions, the 504th joined soldiers from the 7th Infantry Division (Light) at Fort Ord, California in a deployment to Honduras as part of Operation Golden Pheasant - The 7th ID was the first unit on the ground and went directly to protect the local population from attack by Cuban armed communist guerrillas - a deployment ordered by President Reagan in response to actions by the Cuban and Soviet-supported Nicaraguan Sandinistas that threatened the stability of Honduras' democratic government. On 17 March 1988, 1st Battalion, 504th landed at Palmerola, a Honduran Air Force Base (now known as Soto Cano Air Base) that is the headquarters for the U.S. military presence in Honduras. 2nd Battalion jumped onto La Paz Drop Zone a day later, and the troopers of the 504th began rigorous training exercises with orders to avoid the fighting on the border. Had those orders changed, the Devils were prepared to fight, but the invading Sandinista troops had already begun to withdraw. In only a few days, the Sandinistan government negotiated a truce with Contra leaders, and by the end of March the paratroopers of the 504th had returned to Fort Bragg.[55]

Parachutes in Panama, 1989 On 20 December 1989, the 504th was again sent into battle as part of Operation Just Cause. The intent of this operation was to protect U.S. civilians in Panama, secure key facilities, neutralize both the Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF) and the "Dignity Battalions," and restore the elected government of Panama by ousting General Manuel Noriega. The 3-504 PIR had been prepositioned at Fort Sherman two weeks prior to the operation and was under the control of the 7th Infantry Division. The battalion conducted air and sea assaults in northern and central Panama to seize the dam that controlled the water in the Panama canal, a prison, several police stations, several key bridges, a PDF supply point, the PDF demolitions school and an intelligence training facility. The operations were designed to neutralize the PDF while protecting U.S. nationals and the canal itself during the first few hours of the battle.[56]

The 1-504 PIR and 2-504 PIR, along with the 4th Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment (4-325 PIR) and the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment (1/75 RGR), conducted a parachute assault on the Omar Torrijos International Airport. Following the airborne assault, the paratroopers soon found themselves engaged in fierce combat in urban and rural areas. As a testament to the discipline of the soldiers, however, the unit achieved all key objectives while causing only minimal collateral damage.[57]

Devils in the desert, 1990 On 2 August 1990, the Iraqi Army (the world's fifth largest) attacked Kuwait. Paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division were quickly committed to Saudi Arabia and were positioned against an enemy that greatly outnumbered them. As diplomatic efforts failed, it became clear that the Iraqi Army would not withdraw. Plans were thus developed for Operation Desert Storm.

President Bush's warning to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait by 15 January 1991 went unheeded and on 27 January 1991 the air war began. Allied sorties pounded the enemy for more than a month as the XVIII Airborne Corps made a rapid movement westward to position its units to roll up the flank of the multi-echeloned Iraqi defense. In a powerful offensive lasting only 100 hours, the Allied forces—with the 82nd on the far western flank—crossed into Iraqi territory, devastated the Iraqi Army and captured thousands of enemy soldiers. The dangerous task of clearing countless enemy bunkers was quickly completed by the 82nd troopers, and the 504th returned to Fort Bragg in April 1991.[58]

Hurricane Andrew, 1992 In August 1992, 2nd Battalion, 504th PIR was alerted to deploy with a task force to the hurricane-ravaged area of South Florida to provide humanitarian assistance following Hurricane Andrew. For more than thirty days, the troopers provided the citizens with food, shelter and medical attention.[59]

Operation Uphold Democracy, Haiti 1994 Demonstrating its readiness again in September 1994, the regiment was called upon to take part in Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti. As the main effort of the 82nd Airborne Division, the 504th, along with 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, was tasked to conduct an airborne assault to seize Port-au-Prince International Airport and to secure key objectives in Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area to oust Jean Bertrand Aristide. Several months of rigorous training had been conducted prior to the invasion. Less than three hours from drop time, however, the mission was terminated, and the aircraft returned with the 82nd units to Pope Air Force Base.[60]

Global War on Terror (Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and Freedom's Sentinel) In July 2002, 1-504 PIR deployed to Afghanistan with the Task Force (TF) Panther (3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division) in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Areas of operation included Kandahar, Bagram Air Base, FOB Shkin, FOB Salerno, FOB Asadabad, and others. In December 2002 to January 2003, TF Devil (1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division), including both 2-504 PIR and 3-504 PIR replaced TF Panther. In January 2003, 2-504 PIR was operating from FOB Panther, Dora, Baghdad, while the 3-504 PIR was operating from Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The 1-504 PIR deployed again with TF Panther in September 2003 to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Areas of Operation included FOB Murcury, Fallujah, Abu Ghraib (surrounding environs) and al Karma. In January 2004, TF Devil deployed to Iraq with 2-504 PIR and 3-504 PIR. The 2-504 PIR conducted operations in southern Baghdad, while most of 3-504 PIR conducted security of Balad Air Base, and Company C, 3-504 PIR conducted security of Cedar II near Talil Air Base.

In July 2005, 2-504 PIR was operating in Afghanistan close to the Pakistan border.[61]In October 2005, 1st Battalion, 504 Parachute Infantry Regiment "Red Devils" deployed to Kurdistan in Northern Iraq in order to establish and run a maximum security detention facility for high risk detainees.

In September 2005, 3-504 deployed to Iraq to assist in providing security for the upcoming elections. The Blue Devils operated throughout the Al Anbar Province along the Euphrates River, in or near the cities of Haqlaniyah, Ramadi and Al Qaim. After the elections were complete the battalion was attached to USASOC in what was the first ever pairing of a battalion sized infantry unit to a USASOC task force and the beginning of the "Torch Mission." The battalion conducted combat operations in and around Ramadi in support of task force objectives. The Blue Devils redeployed to Ft Bragg in late January 2006. Five paratroopers were killed in action during this deployment. In June 2006 the battalion was reflagged as the 1st of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment in the newly formed Fourth Brigade of the division.

The 1-504 PIR with only one weeks' notice, deployed again in January 2007[62]to Baghdad as part of the surge and continued operations in Baghdad for 15 months.

The 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, minus the 1st Battalion, 504th PIR, deployed to Iraq in June 2007 and the Brigade (-) conducted operations in Southern Iraq for 14 months based at Talil Air Base and several smaller locations. The 2nd Battalion, 504th PIR, initially deployed to Al Asad Airbase and conducted area security operations until January 2008 when they joined the BCT at Talil Air Base to replace the Australian Battle Group. They conducted major operations in Basra and Al Amarah, Iraq until July 2008.

The 1st Brigade Combat Team, including both 1st and 2nd battalions of the 504th PIR, deployed again to Al Anbar Province, Iraq, in August 2009 as the first Advise and Assist Brigade (AAB) in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and redeployed in late July 2010. During the deployment, they trained and supported Iraqi Security Forces, helping to make the second national elections a success in Anbar, with few injuries and no loss of life. They also conducted parachute training jumps out of Al Asad Airbase.

Roughly 2,500 of the 3,500-strong 1st Brigade Combat Team deployed to Afghanistan from March to September 2012 to spearhead the last major clearing operation of the war, fighting insurgent forces in southern Ghazni Province. The brigade conducted nearly 3,500 patrols, killed or captured 400 enemy combatants, found nearly 200 roadside bombs and weapons caches, and engaged the enemy over 170 times. Seven paratroopers were killed in action, including two with 1-504 PIR and two with 2-504 PIR.

In February 2014 1-504 and 2-504 again deployed to Afghanistan. Most of 1-504 were stationed in Bagram Air Base as the Theatre Reserve Force for all of RC East. While A-1-504 was in FOB Ghazni conducting clearing operations and FOB defense patrols to disrupt Taliban forces while the retrograde was in full swing. 2-504 was in Kandahar Air Base providing Theatre Reserve Force for RC South and conducting security operations in RC West. 2 paratroopers from 1-504 were killed, with several others wounded. They re-deployed to Fort Bragg in November 2014.

During the summer of 2017, 2-504 deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel. In September 2017, they were joined by 1-504 as part of an increase in U.S. troop levels.[63]Both battalions redeployed to Fort Bragg in March 2018.

Decorations

  • Belgian Fourragere 1940
  • Presidential Unit Citation for Anzio
  • Presidential Unit Citation for Operation Market Garden at Nijmegen, Netherlands
  • Presidential Unit Citation for Cheneux, Belgium
  • Military Order of William for Nijmegen 1944
  • Netherlands Orange Lanyard
  • Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the Ardennes Offensive
  • Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in Belgium and Germany
  • Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for Southwest Asia
  • Valorous Unit Award for Operation Enduring Freedom 2003
  • Army Superior Unit Award 1996
  • Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) For Combat Operations in Afghanistan, 2017

Notable commanders

  • LTC William Westmoreland 
    • 21 July 1946 – 12 August 1947
  • COL David A. Bramlett 
    • 7 January 1983 – 21 October 1983
  • COL Henry H. Shelton 
    • 21 October 1983 – 22 October 1985
  • COL William M. Steele 
    • 22 October 1985 – 22 October 1987
  • COL Jack P. Nix Jr.
    • 28 September 1989 – 6 September 1991
  • COL John Abizaid 
    • 21 September 1993 – 12 June 1995
  • COL David Petraeus 
    • 12 June 1995 – 3 June 1997
  • COL Leo A. Brooks Jr. 
    • 22 June 1999 – 31 May 2001
  • COL John F. Campbell 
    • 31 May 2001 - 24 July 2002
  • COL Winston Dory Sealy
    • 24 July 2002 - 31 October 2004

Notable former members

  • Jimmy Goins, Vietnam War
  • Senator Jack Reed
2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment
3rd Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment
Alpha Company, 4th Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment[64]
3rd Battalion, 319th Field Artillery Regiment (FAR)
127th Brigade Engineer Battalion (BEB)
307th Brigade Support Battalion (BSB)

2ND BCT, 82ND AIRBORNE DIVISION

  • The mission of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team is to deploy worldwide on short notice, execute a parachute assault, conduct combat operations, and accomplish the nation's objectives.

About "Falcon" Brigade

The 2nd Brigade Combat Team, "Falcons" is an Airborne Infantry Brigade capable of deploying worldwide on short notice to accomplish any mission.

3RD BCT, 82ND AIRBORNE DIVISION

  • To deploy worldwide within 18 hours of notification, execute a parachute assault, conduct combat operations, and win. Specifically, the Regiment is able to conduct a forcible entry to seize a defended airfield, build up combat power as quickly as possible and condct follow-on military operations.

About the Panther Brigade

The 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment was activated under the Airborne Command, Fort Bragg, N.C., July 6, 1942, at Fort Benning, Ga. The regiment was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division Feb. 4 the following year. Read more about the brigade's history and heritage.


82ND COMBAT AVIATION BRIGADE

  • On order, the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade rapidly deploys in support of the Global Response Force to conduct decisive aviation operations worldwide to enable the ground force commander with air assault, air movement, attack, reconnaissance, and MEDEVAC capability.

About 'Pegasus' BrigadeThe 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade tactical moniker "Pegasus" is a name drawn from the historic June 6th, 1944 Allied invasion of mainland Europe. Specifically, Pegasus Bridge was the single most important piece of key terrain whose control was critical to the protection of thousands of British and Canadian soldiers during their early morning assault on the beaches of Sword and Juno. British paratroopers were inserted on six gliders around midnight, the first Allied company sized unit to begin the D-Day invasion. These paratroopers used gliders to conduct air land insertions

The 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade prides itself as part of the 82nd Airborne Division.

Formed in 1957 as the 82nd Aviation Company and then later reorganized as the 82nd Aviation Battalion in 1960. The battalion became the first combat aviation battalion assigned to a division-sized unit in the U.S. Army. In 1987 the 82nd Aviation Battalion would again reorganized as the 82nd Aviation Brigade.

Since then, the “Wings of the Airborne” has always answered the nations call. Supporting operations in Vietnam, Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Dominican Republic, Panama, Grenade, the mountains of Afghanistan and the streets of Iraq.

Today’s modern 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) took shape in January 15, 2006. As the U.S. Army sought to better consolidate combat power through the Brigade Combat Team construct for its land forces, the aviation brigades underwent similar realignment to increase its capabilities. As a result of the reorganization of the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, the formation included: Headquarters and Headquarters Company (Gryphon), 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment (Saber), 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion (Wolfpack), 2nd Assault Battalion (Corsair), 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion (Talon), and 122nd Aviation Support Battalion (Atlas).

Today we remain America’s emergency aviation response option as part of the aviation Global Response Force


82ND SUSTAINMENT BRIGADE

  • THE 82ND AIRBORNE DIVISION SUSTAINMENT BRIGADE PROVIDES SUSTAINMENT MISSION COMMAND OF AND SUPPORT IN THE AREAS OF MAINTENANCE, AERIAL DELIVERY, AMMUNITION, SUPPLY, WATER PRODUCTION, CARGO TRANSPORTATION, HUMAN RESOURCES, MORTUARY AFFAIRS, AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AT FORT BRAGG, NC WHILE POSTURING FORCES AND SUSTAINMENT CAPABILITIES TO MEET FORCIBLE ENTRY DEMANDS AND FUTURE CONTINGENCES AS THE GLOBALLY-ALIGNED SUSTAINMENT BRIGADE.


82ND AIRBORNE DIVISION ARTILLERY

  • On order, 82nd Airborne Division Artillery serves as the Division Force Field Artillery Headquarters and deploys to any area of operations to plan, synchronize, and execute combined, joint, and multinational fires in order to provide accurate, lethal destructive fires, deep strike and counter fire capabilities in support of 82nd Airborne Division unified land operations; provides mission command of attached Field Artillery Battalions.


82ND ABN DIV "ALL-AMERICAN" BAND AND CHORUS

  • The 82nd Airborne Division All-American Band and Chorus provide music to Fort Bragg and the local area ‘Telling the Army Story’ in support of Soldiers and their Families, community and recruiting initiatives and music education programs. Our capabilities include: Ceremonial Band, Brass Quintet, Woodwind Quintet, Jazz and/or Rock ensemble and Concert Band and the All American Chorus.

Former Tennant Units

18th Field Artillery Brigade / 18th Fires Brigade

18th Field Artillery Brigade plans, synchronizes, and employs long range precision strike fires and counterfires in support of the XVIII Airborne Corps, its subordinate Divisions, and to Special Operation Forces as required.

About 18th FA BDE

The 18th Field Artillery Brigade was first constituted on 1 October 1943 in the Army of the United States as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, XVIII Corps Artillery and activated on 9 October 1943 at Camp Cooke, California. XVIII Corps Artillery participated in 3 campaigns during the Second World War: Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe. After the end of the Second World War, the unit was inactivated on 15 October 1945 at Camp Cooke, California.

The unit was redesignated on 1 May 1951 as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, XVIII Airborne Corps Artillery and allotted to the Regular Army. It was activated on 21 May 1951 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In 1956, it was organized with 2 field artillery groups and a field artillery observer battalion. From 1956 to 1969, Corps Artillery went to a series of reorganizations, activating battalions, and deploying them to Vietnam. The unit's Headquarters and Headquarters Battery was never deployed. In 1969, the Corps Artillery began to take form and consisted of 3 cannon battalions. These units were the 1st Battalion, 321st Field Artillery Regiment; 3rd Battalion, 321st Field Artillery Regiment; and 1st Battalion, 377th Field Artillery Regiment.


On 16 September 1978, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, XVIII Airborne Corps Artillery was reorganized and redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 18th Field Artillery Brigade. The 3 battalions of the Brigade turned in their M114 Howitzers and received the M198 Howitzers. On 16 April 1984, B Battery (Target Acquisition), 26th Field Artillery Regiment joined the Brigade bringing with it the new AN/TPQ-36 Radar.

In March 1987, under the Army of Excellence initiative, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, XVIII Airborne Corps Artillery was reconstituted and activated as a separate unit from 18th Field Artillery Brigade. Assigned to it was the 18th Field Artillery Brigade and the 1st Field Artillery Detachment (Target Acquisition). In March 1988, the organization of XVIII Corps Artillery was completed when the 3rd Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment was activated as part of the 18th Field Artillery Brigade to provide the Corps with Long Range Multiple Launch Rocket System fires.

By 2000, the 18th Field Artillery Brigade was the only airborne general support field artillery brigade in the United States Army. The mission of the Brigade was to deploy designated artillery packages via parachute assault, air land, or over the shore to deliver conventional cannon, rocket, and missile fires in support of XVIII Corps world wide combat operations and crises response contingency missions.


The unit was reorganized and redesignated on 16 June 2007 as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 18th Fires Brigade. Also in 2007, XVIII Corps Artillery was inactivated and the 18th Fires Brigade was reassigned directly to XVIII Corps. As part of the reorganization, the 1st Battalion, 377th Field Artillery was reassigned to the 17th Fires Brigade, I Corps, while the unit also activated the 188th Brigade Support Battalion and the 206th Signal Company. A brigade level target acquisition battery, D Battery, 26th Field Artillery, was also assigned. On 16 July 2008, the 18th Fires Brigade fell under 82nd Airborne Division for training and readiness, though it remained technically subordinate to XVIII Corps.

In February 2010, the 18th Fires Brigade provided support for the XVIII Corps headquarters and 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division when those units began their rapid deployment to Haiti, as part of the disaster response following the devastating earthquake. Alerted in support of Operation Joint Endeavor, 18th Fires Brigade troops worked around the clock, guarding key nodes throughout Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base and rigging supplies for airdrops and air movement.

In March 2010, the Brigade headquarters traveled to the Republic of Korea and represented the XVIII Corps during the exercise Key Resolve.

Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB)
3rd Battalion, 321st Field Artillery Regiment (3-321st FAR) (HIMARS)
  • "Noli Me Tangere" (Don’t Tread On Me)
3rd Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment (3-27th FAR) (HIMARS)
188th Brigade Support Battalion (188th BSB)
206th Signal Company

The 82d Airborne Division Today

The 82d Airborne Division is an active-duty, modular airborne infantry division of the United States Army. The Division is stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, one of the largest military training areas in the world. The 82d trains for airborne assault operations into enemy-denied areas, with a specialization in airfield seizure. Currently under the command of the XVIII Airborne Corps, the 82d is the nation’s Global Response Force. Once ordered, it can mobilize, load, and land anywhere in the world in less than 36 hours to perform combat operations, assist U.S. allies, and provide humanitarian assistance.

The 82d Airborne Division: History

The 82d Division was constituted in the National Army on 5 August 1917 to support the United States’ entry into World War I. It was organized 25 August 1917 at Camp Gordon, near Atlanta, Georgia. Camp Gordon no longer exists, but a plaque commemorating the 82d Division and Camp Gordon is located on site at Peachtree Executive Airport. During World War I, many U.S. divisions decided upon a nick-name to help build esprit-de-corps and a bond among men. The 82d Division was no different.


The Commanding General, Brigadier General W. P. Burnham, held a contest in conjunction with the men of the Division, the citizens of Atlanta, and the Atlanta Georgian Newspaper. Thousands of suggestions poured into the newspaper, and it was up to the Governor Hugh Dorsey, BG Burnham, and Major R.E. Beebe to sift through them all and decide which entry would earn the honor of naming one of Uncle Sam’s fighting divisions.

The Division held a very diverse group of men training to become a fighting unit. Many were immigrants who spoke little to no English. But one fact arose, and Mrs. Vivienne Goodwyn saw it immediately. There were men from each of the 48 states in the 82d Division, which was unique for the time. Most divisions being organized for the war encompassed men from three to five states. Mrs. Vivienne, as she became known, submitted the winning selection, ‘The All American’ Division. The original Division shoulder sleeve patch of a red square with a blue circle in the middle would soon have Troopers sewing a double AA in the blue.


The 82d was one of the first seven U.S. divisions to arrive in England, and fight in France. The Division participated in the Battle of Lorraine 1918, and the campaigns of St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne 1918. The first All American killed in combat was Captain Jewett Williams, 326th Infantry, on the night of 9 June 1918. Two All Americans, LTC Emory J. Pike and Corporal Alvin C. York would receive the Medal of Honor for their actions in combat. General John J. Pershing called Corporal York one the greatest Soldiers of the war.


The 82d demobilized on 27 May 1919 at Camp Mills, New York, after returning home from World War I. It was reconstituted into the Organized Reserves as Headquarters, 82d Division, on 24 June 1921 and housed at the Federal Building in Columbia, South Carolina.

Airborne Designation & World War II

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Division was re-designated on 13 February 1942 as Division Headquarters, 82d Division. It was ordered into active service on 25 March 1942 at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, under the command of General Omar Bradley. Sergeant Alvin C. York addressed the men and inspired them to continue their history and service from World War I. General Bradley began a strict and physical training regimen, which was carried on by the next commander, Major General Matthew Bunker Rigdway.

Operation HUSKY

On 15 August 1942, the Division was reorganized and designated the 82d Airborne Division. The U.S. Army adopted and developed the airborne concept, and the 82d would be the first U.S. division to receive this designation. MG Ridgway would lead the Division to North Africa in May 1943, where it intensely trained for the airborne assault onto the island of Sicily for Operation HUSKY.

Operation AVALANCHE

In September 1943, General Mark Clark, Fifth Army, requested MG Ridgway send the 82d to drop onto the Salerno beachhead to help secure the Italian foothold established by the Allies. Operation AVALANCHE consisting of two, consecutive night jumps accomplished the mission and eliminated any doubt the Allies would be pushed back into the sea. Operation SHINGLE, a seaborne assault by the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, gave the Allies a further foothold on the Italian peninsula.

Operations NEPTUNE and OVERLORD

While the 504th stayed in Italy to fight, the rest of the 82d headed for England to prepare and train for Operation NEPTUNE, the airborne assault of Operation OVERLORD, the Allied offensive into Normandy, France. Joined by the 507th and the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiments, the 82d assaulted Normandy with 12,000 Parachute and Glider troops, 6 June 1944. Their mission was to destroy vital Germany supply bridges and capture causeways leading inland across the flooded areas behind the Normandy beaches where seaborne forces would land to gain control of roads and communications. The 82d fought for 33 days without relief or replacements, and once again successfully completed the mission.

Operation MARKET GARDEN

The final airborne assault for the 82d Airborne Division during World War II was into Holland in September 1944. Operation MARKET GARDEN would have the All Americans perform a day time jump into Nijmegen. Led by their new commander, BG James M. Gavin, the 82d’s objectives were to capture and hold the key bridges at Grave and Nijmegen, as well as some subsidiary bridges over a canal to the east of Grave.

The 82d successfully dropped and assembled at the Maas River Bridge at Grave and secured the structure within an hour. Gavin led his men in fighting and secured the approach to the bridge at Nijmegen, the second longest span in Holland and heavily fortified by the enemy. On the next day, 200 men of the 82d performed a daytime crossing of the fast moving Waal River in an attempt to secure the opposite end of the Nijmegen Bridge. German resistance was fierce, but the All Americans pushed through, secured the bridge, and opened a route to the Rhine River and into Germany.


The All Americans briefly rested after Holland, but the final German offensive in December 1944, the Battle of the Bulge, ended any reprieve. After being rushed into combat with little food, ammunition, and winter clothing, the 82d held their ground against German tanks and artillery, began to push back, and by February 1945 were pushing into Germany. During the drive to end the war, the Division liberated a work camp at Wobbelin, Germany. The 82d also received the unconditional surrender of 146,000 men of the 21st German Army at Ludwigstlust.


World War II ended in May 1945, and the 82d Airborne Division would receive the honor of Occupation Duty in Berlin. It is in Berlin where the Division received its second, and most famous nickname, “America’s Guard of Honor” from General George S. Patton, after he reviewed the Paratroopers. Four men would receive the Medal of Honor for their actions during the war, Private First Class Charles N. DeGlopper, Private Joe Gandara, Private John R. Towle, and First Sergeant Leonard A. Funk.

Cold War

Following World War II and into the early 1960s, the 82d Airborne Division trained hard during the Cold War to become the nation’s Strategic Reaction Force. They participated in numerous and varied exercises containing up to 60,000 men, within the U.S., and trained in Greenland, Alaska, South America, Turkey and Africa. The might and mettle of the 82d was tested time and time again.

Dominican Republic

In April 1965, twenty years after World War II, with communism attempting to emerge in the Western Hemisphere, the 82d Airborne Division deployed to support Operation POWER PACK in the Dominican Republic. The Paratroopers arrived and suppressed the communist rebellion, allowing democratic elections to proceed. Most of the Division returned home by the September 1965, but 1st Brigade stayed until September 1966.

Vietnam

In response the Tet Offensive of 1968, in the Republic of Vietnam, General Westmoreland, MACV commander, requested a brigade of the 82d Airborne Division be sent immediately to support U.S. operations. Within 24 hours, the Division organized men and equipment of the 3d Brigade, known as the Golden Brigade, and had them in route to Chu Lai. The 3d Brigade performed combat duties in the Hue-Phu Bai area of the I Corps sector. The brigade moved south to defend Saigon, fighting battles in the Delta, the Iron Triangle, and along the Cambodian border. After serving 22 months in Vietnam, 3d Brigade troopers returned to Fort Bragg in December 1969. Sergeant First Class Felix M. Conde-Falcon received the Medal of Honor for destroying five enemy bunkers at an enemy battalion command outpost.

Grenada

On 25 October 1983, the 82d was called back to the Caribbean, this time to the tiny island of Grenada to assist the nation’s democratic government to defeat a communist uprising. The first 82d unit to deploy in Operation URGENT FURY was a task force of the 2-325th Infantry. The troops were rigged for an airborne insertion, but two hours out of Pope Air Force Base, they air landed since the airfield was already secured. Operation URGENT FURY tested the division’s ability to deploy as a rapid deployment force. The first aircraft carrying division troopers touched down at Grenada’s Point Salines 17 hours after notification. The 82d was once again successful in defending democracy and American interests.

Panama

On December 20, 1989, the All Americans conducted their first combat jump since World War II onto Torrijos International Airport, Panama, to oust ruthless dictator, Manuel Noriega, and restore the duly elected government to power. The 1st Brigade comprising the 1st and 2nd Battalion, 504th Infantry along with the 4-325th Infantry, joined the 3-504th Infantry already prepositioned in Panama. After the night combat jump and seizure of the international airport, the 82d conducted follow on combat air assault missions in Panama City and in the surrounding areas, eventually dismantling the Noriega regime. The victorious paratroopers returned to Fort Bragg on January 12, 1990, in style, conducting a mass jump onto Sicily Drop Zone, Fort Bragg.

Desert Storm

With the 82d celebrating and congratulations still fresh in the minds of most paratroopers, the 82d Airborne Division was called upon once again to perform a rapid deployment mission. This time it was to draw a line in the sand.

Six days after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990, the 82d became the vanguard of the largest deployment of American troops since Vietnam. The first unit to deploy to Saudi Arabia on 8 August was a task force of the 2d Brigade. Soon after, the rest of the division followed. Their intense training began in anticipation of paratroopers fighting it out in the desert with the heavily armored Iraqi army.

Their training concentrated on chemical defense, anti-armor tactics and live-fire maneuver exercises. The battle cry picked up by the paratroopers was “The road home … is through Baghdad.” On 16 January 1991, Operation DESERT STORM began when an armada of Allied war planes pounded Iraqi targets. The ground war began six weeks later on 23 February, with the 82d conducted flanking movements deep inside Iraq. In the short 100 hour ground war, the vehicle-mounted 82d drove deep into Iraq capturing thousands of Iraqi soldiers and tons of equipment, weapons, and ammunition. After the liberation of Kuwait, the 82d began deployment back to Fort Bragg, with most of division returning by the end of April 1991.

Operation Enduring Freedom

When America was attacked on September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush called upon the American military to fight global terrorism. In June 2002, Task Force Panther, comprised of elements from the 505th Infantry and other 82d units, deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF). Task Force Devil, comprised of the 504th Infantry and support elements replaced Task Force Panther in January 2003.

Operation Iraqi Freedom

In February 2003, 2d Brigade, deployed with the Division Headquarters to Kuwait in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF). The Division conducted sustained combat operations throughout Iraq. The Division Headquarters returned to Fort Bragg, May 2003. The 2d Brigade remained in Iraq attached to the 1st Armored Division and continued to conduct combat missions. The Division Headquarters along with 3d Brigade and elements of Division Artillery, Division Support Command, and Aviation, returned to Iraq in August 2003 to continue command and control over combat operations in and around Baghdad.

The 1st Brigade deployed to conduct combat operations in OIF, January 2004. The 2d Brigade redeployed to Fort Bragg, North Carolina in February. The Division Headquarters was relieved by the 1st Marine Expeditionary Division in March 2004, and the remaining 82d forces in Iraq redeployed to Fort Bragg by the end of April 2004. For the first time in two years all of the Division’s units were home.

In September 2004, the 82d’s Deployment Ready Force, 1-505 deployed in support of OEF6, supporting Joint Task Force -76 and the Afghanistan elections. The TF redeployed in October 2004. In December 2004, the 82d’s 1-17th Cavalry, the 2d and 3d Battalions of the 325th Infantry deployed to Iraq to provide a safe and secure environment for the country’s first-ever, free national elections. Thanks in part to the efforts of 2d Brigade paratroopers, more than eight million Iraqis were able to cast their first meaningful ballots. In September 2005, Task Force 2-325 and Task Force 3-504 deployed to Iraq in support of the Iraqi national elections once again. The units redeployed in December 2005 and January 2006 respectively.

Hurricane Katrina

More than 3,600 Paratroopers from the 82d, conducted a no-notice deployment in support of Joint Task Force Katrina for Operation All American Assist on Sept. 3, 2005. While supporting relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Task Force led daily search-and-rescue operations in high water areas, resulting in more than 900 people and countless pets rescued. Additionally, they evacuated almost 5,000 residents from throughout New Orleans and the surrounding area.

Operation Iraqi Freedom

In June 2006, the Division was reorganized into a modular division structure. The Division’s major subordinate units now include the 1st Brigade Combat Team, the 2d Brigade Combat Team, the 3d Brigade Combat Team, the 4th Brigade Combat Team, the 82d Combat Aviation Brigade; and the Headquarter and Headquarters Battalion. The 2d Brigade Combat Team deployed to OIF, January 2007, as the lead brigade of General Petraeus’s Surge Strategy to reclaim Baghdad from insurgents. 1st Brigade Combat Team deployed to Iraq to provide theater security throughout the country.

Operation ENDURING FREEDOM VIII

The Division Headquarters and Division Special Troops Battalion (TF Gladius) and other Division elements deployed to Afghanistan in early 2007 for a 15-month assignment as Combined Joint Task Force 82 (CJTF-82) and the U.S. troop contribution to NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). During Operation ENDURING FREEDOM VIII, CJTF-82, commanded by MG David M. Rodriguez, served as the National Command Element for over 27,000 U.S. Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and civilians in Afghanistan. In 2009 2d Brigade Combat Team assumed the role as the ground component of the Global Response Force for the Department of Defense and in 2010 deployed to Haiti in support of humanitarian relief following a devastating earthquake.

Also in 2009, 3d Brigade Combat Team deployed to Iraq on a 15-month rotation. The 82d Airborne Division received orders from Forces Command on 2 March 2009 to prepare, once again, for deployment in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. They departed May 2009 for Regional Command – East (RC-E), Afghanistan, and accepted the transition of authority from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) on 3 June 2009. The 4th Brigade Combat Team of the division, along with 700 additional training and support personnel, arrived in country, August 2009, and took up positions in RC – West and South. CJTF-82’s mission was to support the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) in rebuilding the region’s security forces, social institutions, including governance, economics, and infrastructure, while neutralizing an insurgency hindering regional stability. This would prove to be no easy task, as RC-East’s operational area was 124,675 square kilometers that included 14 provinces, as well as securing 570 miles of Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

Operation NEW DAWN

In May 2011, 2d Brigade Combat Team deployed to Iraq in support of Operation NEW DAWN. The 2d BCT was the last brigade combat team to pull out of Iraq and successfully relinquished responsibility of the Anbar Province to the Iraqi government. They returned home to Fort Bragg, December 2011.

The Division returned from another year long deployment to Afghanistan in October 2012. They served as the Regional Command South headquarters with nearly 10,000 Paratroopers throughout Afghanistan, from Kandahar in the south to Afghanistan’s eastern border. When history looks back on Afghanistan in 2012 there will be one undeniable fact – the All American Paratrooper was once again on the ground, working shoulder to shoulder with those in a time of need.

Today, as they have in recent deployments and throughout the Division’s history, the troopers who wear the red, white and blue patch of the 82d Airborne Division are truly America’s Guard of Honor.

Made possible by

Disclaimer: The 82d Airborne Division Historical Society is not endorsed by DOD. “This is a non-federal entity. It is not a part of the department of defense or any of its components and has no governmental status.”

The Historical information provided is from the 82nd Airborne Division Museum [65]

Sources

  1. ↑ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5IoCJxoCNqQ
  2. ↑ Lineage and Honors Information: Headquarters, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82d Airborne Division." United States Army Center of Military History. 20 December 2011. Accessed 21 September 2017.[1] This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ↑ Lineage and Honors Information: Headquarters, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82d Airborne Division." United States Army Center of Military History. 20 December 2011. Accessed 21 September 2017.[2] This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ↑ Lineage and Honors Information: Headquarters, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82d Airborne Division." United States Army Center of Military History. 20 December 2011. Accessed 21 September 2017.[3] This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  6. ↑ "Historical account of the 82nd Airborne division". DDay-Overlord.com.[4]
  7. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  8. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  9. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  10. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  11. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  12. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  13. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  14. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  15. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  16. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  17. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  18. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  19. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  20. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  21. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  22. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  23. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  24. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  25. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  26. ↑ Nordyke, Phil (2010). All American, All the Way: A Combat History of the 82nd Airborne Division in World War II: From Market Garden to Berlin. Zenith Imprint. ISBN 978-0-7603-3823-0.[5]
  27. ↑ Nordyke, Phil (2006). The All Americans in World War II: A Photographic History of the 82nd Airborne Division at War. Zenith Imprint. p. 122. ISBN 978-1-61060-102-3.[6]
  28. ↑ Time Magazine, World Battlefronts: The Battle of Desperation, 2 October 1944 (US Edition)
  29. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  30. ↑ p.199, Stewart, Vance, Three against one: Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin vs Adolph Hitler, Sunstone Press, 2002
  31. ↑ Time Magazine, World Battlefronts: The Battle of Desperation, 2 October 1944 (US Edition)
  32. ↑ Jim Broadhead interview of his father, PFC Daren Broadhead, in early 2004. Daren served in the 2nd Platoon, A Company
  33. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  34. ↑ Nordyke, Phil (2010). All American, All the Way: A Combat History of the 82nd Airborne Division in World War II: From Market Garden to Berlin. Zenith Imprint. ISBN 978-0-7603-3823-0.[7]
  35. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  36. ↑ "Narrative of Action of the First Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry at Cheneux, Belgium"[8]
  37. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  38. ↑ "Narrative of Action of the First Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry at Cheneux, Belgium"[9]
  39. ↑ Nordyke, Phil (2008). More Than Courage: The Combat History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II (illustrated ed.). Zenith Press. p. 868. ISBN 978-0-7603-3313-6.[10]
  40. ↑ Nordyke, Phil (2008). More Than Courage: The Combat History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II (illustrated ed.). Zenith Press. p. 868. ISBN 978-0-7603-3313-6.[11]
  41. ↑ Nordyke, Phil (2008). More Than Courage: The Combat History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II (illustrated ed.). Zenith Press. p. 868. ISBN 978-0-7603-3313-6.[12]
  42. ↑ "Narrative of Action of the First Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry at Cheneux, Belgium"[13]
  43. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  44. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  45. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  46. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  47. ↑ "The 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment Unit Citations"[14]
  48. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  49. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  50. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  51. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  52. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  53. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  54. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  55. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  56. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  57. ↑ "Panama Deception"[15]
  58. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  59. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  60. ↑ "History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment"
  61. ↑ "2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment "White Devils""[16]
  62. ↑ "82nd Airborne battalion arrives, doubles FOB Loyalty's population". Stars and Stripes. 22 January 2007.[17]
  63. ↑ https://taskandpurpose.com/news/afghanistan-war-paratroopers-deployment[18]
  64. ↑ Light Armored Unit activated in the 82nd Airborne Division, Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, by SGT Gin-Sophie De Bellotte, dated 26 October 2018
  65. ↑ Chris Ruff; Curator and Rafael Alvarez; Museum Technician. 82D Airborne Division Museum Building C-6841 Ardennes ST 5108 Ardennes St Fort Bragg, North Carolina 28310[19]




Images: 10
82nd Airborne Division shoulder sleeve insignia
82nd Airborne Division shoulder sleeve insignia
504th flash
504th flash
1st Battalion, 504th Infantry Regiment
1st Battalion, 504th Infantry Regiment
2nd Battalion, 504th Infantry Regiment flash
2nd Battalion, 504th Infantry Regiment flash
2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment flash
2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment flash
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