504th Infantry Regiment (United States)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
504th Parachute Infantry Regiment | |
---|---|
504th Parachute Infantry Regiment Coat Of Arms |
|
Active | 1942– |
Country | USA |
Branch | Regular Army |
Type | Regiment |
Role | Vertical Envelopment |
Nickname | Devils in Baggy Pants |
Motto | Strike Hold |
Colors | Blue |
Battles/wars | Operation Avalanche, Battle of the Bulge |
Commanders | |
Current commander |
COL Patrick J. Donahue |
Notable commanders |
Reuben Tucker, William Westmoreland, John Abizaid |
During World War II, the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (504th PIR) was a regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army.
Contents |
[edit] Lineage
The regiment was initially Constituted on February 24, 1942 in the Army of the United States as the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. It was activated on May 1, 1942 at Fort Benning, Georgia, and was assigned to the US Army Airborne Command. Having completed its Regimental training, it was assigned August 15, 1942 to the 82d Airborne Division.
[edit] World War II serviceFor more information see: 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (World War II) This regiment moved from Fort Benning to Fort Bragg on September 30, 1942 to finish its training, fill its Table of Organization and Equipment, and prepare for its Staging Call. When the call came, it Staged at Camp Edwards on April 18, 1943, and it made its Port Call on May 10, 1943, when it departed the New York Port of Embarkation. It landed in North Africa on May 10, 1943, where it got acclimated, and prepared for service in the Sicilian Campaign. 504th PIR was air dropped onto Gela on July 9, 1943. 504th PIR then assaulted Salerno, and Operation Market Garden, as well as participation as "leg infantry" during the Italian campaign and in the Battle of the Bulge. Both the drops in Sicily and Salerno were inside friendly lines, though in Sicily the regiment suffered seriously from friendly fire and a total of 318 American troops were killed or wounded in the operation. At Salerno, oil drums filled with gasoline soaked sand were ignited every 50 yards to guide the pilots to a shrinking drop zone. This latter drop is referred to as the "Oil Can Drop" and the regiment was credited by General Mark Wayne Clark as being "responsible for saving the Salerno beachhead." Due to significant casualties suffered in Italy, the 504th was withheld from the Normandy invasion to reorganize. (The 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment was used in its place.) The regiment participated in Operation Market Garden, seizing key bridges over the Maas-Waal Canal. For his conduct during this action, Private John Towle[1] was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously. [edit] Post World War II Service[edit] Occupation and GarrisonFollowing their occupation duty with the 82d Airborne Division in Berlin, the Devils reported to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The Regiment remained at Fort Bragg until 1957, when it reorganized into the 1st, 2d and 3d Airborne Battle Groups, 504th Infantry. The 1st and 2d Airborne Battle Groups were reassigned to duty in Germany with the 8th Infantry Division and the 11th Infantry Division respectively, while the 3d Airborne Battle Group was inactivated. Although its battalions were not always co-located, the 504th remained as a strategic reserve for the United States during Korea, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Vietnam. [edit] The Dominican Republic, April 1965On April 26, 1965, the 82d 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 82d Airborne soldiers came on April 30, 1965, and the 504th followed on May 3, 1965, landing at San Isidro Air Base to perform both military and humanitarian missions in support of Operation Power Pack. The Regiment 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. 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. [edit] Operation Golden Pheasant, Honduras 1988In March 1988, 1st and 2d Battalions, 504th were joined by soldiers from the 7th Infantry Division at Fort Ord, California in a deployment to Honduras as part of Operation Golden Pheasant -- 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 March 17, 1988, 1st Battalion landed at Palmerola Airfield, a Honduran Air Force Base that was the headquarters for the U.S. military presence in Honduras. 2d Battalion jumped onto the airfield 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. [edit] Parachutes in Panama, 1989On December 20, 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 3d Battalion 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. The 1st and 2d Battalions, 504th, along with 4th Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment and the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, 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. [edit] Devils in the Desert, 1990On August 2, 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 January 15, 1991 went unheeded, and on January 17, 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 82d 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 82d troopers, and the 504th returned to Fort Bragg in April 1991. [edit] Hurricane Andrew, 1992In August 1992, 2d 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. [edit] Operation Uphold Democracy, Haiti 1994Demonstrating 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 82d Airborne Division, the 504th, along with 2d 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 82d units to Pope Air Force Base. [edit] Lineage[edit] Regiment
[edit] First Battalion
[edit] Second Battalion
[edit] Third Battalion
[edit] Honors[edit] Campaign Participation Credit[edit] World War II
[edit] Armed Forces Expeditions
[edit] Southwest Asia
[edit] Decorations
[edit] Former Commanders
[edit] See also504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (World War II) [edit] External links |