The 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment (507th PIR), now the 507th Infantry Regiment, is an

airborne Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. The regiment was initially assigned to the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

before transferring to the

17th Airborne Division The 17th Airborne Division, "The Golden Talons", was an airborne infantry division of the United States Army during World War II, commanded by Major General William M. Miley. It was officially activated as an airborne division in April 1943 bu ...

. Now 1st Battalion, 507th Infantry Regiment is part of the United States Army Infantry School, subordinate to its Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade, responsible for the Army's Basic Airborne School, Jumpmaster School, Pathfinder School, and the "Silver Wings" Command Exhibition Parachute Team.

History

World War II

The 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment was initially formed at

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

, Georgia on 20 July 1942, under command of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

George V. Millett. It would participate in three operations during

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

, the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

and Operation Varsity. As part of the 2nd Airborne Brigade alongside a sister unit, the

508th Parachute Infantry Regiment The 508th Infantry Regiment (508th PIR, 508th AIR, or 508th IR) ("Red Devils" or "Fury from the Sky") is an airborne infantry regiment of the United States Army, first formed in October 1942 during World War II. The 508th is a parent regiment u ...

, the 507th PIR was assigned to the veteran 82nd "All American" Airborne Division, commanded

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Matthew Ridgway, to replace the

504th Parachute Infantry Regiment 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 f ...

, which had suffered many casualties while serving, with distinction, in the fighting in Italy. The regiment arrived in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in late 1943, and began training and preparing for the

invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

, scheduled for the spring of 1944. Their

objective during

Mission Boston Mission Boston was a parachute combat assault at night by Major General Matthew Ridgway's U.S. 82nd "All American" Airborne Division on June 6, 1944, part of the American airborne landings in Normandy during World War II. Boston was a component e ...

, part of the American airborne landings in Normandy, was to help secure the

Merderet River The Merderet is a river in Normandy, France, which is tributary to the river Douve. It runs roughly north-south down the middle of the Cotentin peninsula from Valognes to the junction with the Douve at Beuzeville la Bastille. Hydrology The riv ...

crossings. Although their target was supposed to be in Drop Zone T, north of Amfreville, the confusion caused by clouds and flak resulted in a wide scattering of the unit. During this action, Private

Joe Gandara Joe Gandara (April 25, 1924 – June 9, 1944) was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II and recipient of the Medal of Honor. Gandara was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama in a March 18, 2014 ceremony in the White House. The awar ...

earned the Medal of Honor for single-handedly attacking three German machine-gun emplacements. Elements of the 3rd Battalion were involved in the Battle of Graignes. Colonel Millett, the regimental commander, was captured in Amfreville a few days after being deployed. Colonel

Edson Raff Colonel Edson Duncan Raff (November 15, 1907 – March 11, 2003) was a United States Army officer and writer of a book on paratroopers. He served as Commanding Officer (CO) of the first American paratroop unit to jump into combat, the 2nd Battali ...

, who had recently led the

509th Parachute Infantry Battalion The 509th Infantry Regiment (previously the 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment) is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry regiment of the United States Army. The unit was initially activated as a single battalion, the 504th Parachute Infantry B ...

, then took command of the regiment. The 507th PIR later became known as ''Raff's Ruffians''. The 507th continued to fight in the Battle of Normandy, sustaining heavy casualties (losing almost 200 men in two days shortly before being withdrawn), before returning to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in July. Soon after the return to England the 507th was permanently assigned to the

, because another of the 82nd's regiments, the 504th Parachute Infantry, had by then returned from fighting at Anzio. As part of the 17th Airborne, the 507th was not utilized in

Operation Market Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allies of World War II, Allied military operation during the World War II, Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a Salient (military), salient into G ...

in September 1944 and was still in England training with the new division when the

began in December 1944. The 507th redeployed to France on 25 December and was used in the counter-attacks against the Germans in January and early February 1945. Finally, the 507th Parachute Infantry dropped near

Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighove ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

on 24 March to spearhead the division's assault during Operation Varsity, the airborne crossing of the Rhine. During this action,

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

George Peters earned the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

for single-handedly attacking a German machine gun emplacement. The regiment subsequently spearheaded the division's advance into Germany, where it ended the war in May 1945. The 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment was shipped home to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and inactivated in September 1945.

Recent history

The regiment was briefly re-activated in the late 1940s, then again in 1985. On 23 October 1985, it was reorganized and redesignated as the 507th Infantry, a

parent regiment The Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS), was the method of assigning unit designations to units of some of the combat arms branches of the United States Army, including Infantry, Special Forces, Field Artillery, and Armor, from 1957 to 1981. A ...

under the

U.S. Army Regimental System The United States Army Regimental System (USARS) is an organizational and classification system used by the United States Army. It was established in 1981 to replace the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS) to provide each soldier with continu ...

, and transferred to the

U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command The United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) is a major command of the United States Army headquartered at Fort Eustis, Virginia. It is charged with overseeing training of Army forces and the development of operational doctrine. ...

. The 1st Battalion serves as the training unit for the U.S. Army Airborne School. Its Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) conducts the Jumpmaster and Pathfinder Courses. Companies A, B, and C conduct the Basic Airborne Course. (Company D, currently inactive, also conducted the Basic Airborne Course.) Company E is a Parachute Rigger Company. In 2004, two documentaries aired on the 507th. PBS aired the documentary, ''D-Day: Down to Earth — Return of the 507th''. This film connects the regiment's contribution to the war with their journey back to Normandy for the unveiling of a monument in 2002. On 1 June 2004, Investigating History aired, ''D-Day: The Secret Massacre''. The story focuses on the German massacre of French civilians, and wounded paratroopers of the 507th, in retaliation for battle at the village of Graignes.

References

* * * Blair, Clay (1985). ''Ridgway's Paratroopers: The American Airborne in World War II''. The Dial Press. .

External links

D-Day: Down to Earth — Return of the 507th
film website
Investigating History — D-Day: The Secret Massacre
film website {{TRADOC

507 __NOTOC__ Year 507 ( DVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Anastasius and Venantius (or, less frequently, year 1260 ...

Military units and formations established in 1942 Airborne infantry regiments

History

World War II

Recent history

See also

References

External links