511th Parachute Infantry Regiment (United States)
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The 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment (511th PIR) was an
airborne infantry Airborne forces, airborne troops, or airborne infantry are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop or air assault. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in air ...
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 ...
, first activated during
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 ...
under Colonel Orin D. "Hard Rock" Haugen. It formed the parachute infantry element of the
11th Airborne Division The 11th Airborne Division ("Arctic Angels") is a United States Army airborne formation, first activated on 25 February 1943, during World War II. Consisting of one parachute and two glider infantry regiments, with supporting troops, the div ...
. The full history of the regiment is the subject of the book, ''When Angels Fall: From Toccoa to Tokyo, the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II'' (2019) by author and historian Jeremy C. Holm whose grandfather served in the regiment's Company D during the war.


Activation and Training

The 511th PIR was formed at
Camp Toccoa Camp Toccoa (formerly Camp Toombs) was a basic training camp for United States Army paratroopers during World War II west of Toccoa, Georgia. Among the units to train at the camp was the 506th Infantry Regiment. The regiment's Company E ("Easy ...
, GA, in January 1943 and in March transferred to
Camp Mackall Camp Mackall is an active U.S. Army training facility located in eastern Richmond County and northern Scotland County, North Carolina, south of the town of Southern Pines. The facility is in close proximity to and is a sub-installation of Fort ...
, NC before heading to
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 ...
, GA, battalion by battalion for jump training. After the difficulties encountered by Allied airborne operations during
Operation Husky Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
in July 1943, from 6–10 December the 511th PIR took part in the successful Knollwood Maneuver that secured the future of American airborne units. After final examination at Camp Polk, LA, the regiment proceeded to
Camp Stoneman Camp Stoneman was a United States Army facility located in Pittsburg, California. It served as a major troop staging area for and under the command of the San Francisco Port of Embarkation (SFPOE). The camp operated during World War II and the Kor ...
, CA, and in May 1944 embarked for the Pacific on the troop transport SS ''Sea Pike''. It trained at Oro-Dobodura in New Guinea until November 1944, when it was sent to the Philippines to join the
Battle of Leyte A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
.


Philippines

Initially the regiment was tasked with a "reconnaissance en force" operation, but their orders changed to take and hold the passes through the mountains in the center of the island, and engage and reduce the Japanese forces in the area, ultimately in support of the battle of
Ormoc Ormoc (IPA: oɾˈmok, officially the City of Ormoc ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Ormoc; war, Syudad han Ormoc; fil, Lungsod ng Ormoc), is a 1st class independent component city in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 ce ...
which was simultaneously ongoing. The 511th successfully performed this mission during harsh monsoonal weather in the steep, heavily forested terrain, emerging shortly after Christmas of 1944 onto the Ormoc plain after suffering severe casualties. After a brief rest and resupply the regiment was sent to the island of Mindoro as the 11th Airborne was preparing for its part in the
Battle of Luzon The Battle of Luzon ( tl, Labanan sa Luzon; ja, ルソン島の戦い; es, Batalla de Luzón) was a land battle of the Pacific Theater of Operations of World War II by the Allied forces of the U.S., its colony the Philippines, and allies agai ...
. On 3 February 1945 the 511th on board 48 C-47 aircraft performed a combat jump on
Tagaytay Tagaytay, officially the City of Tagaytay ( fil, Lungsod ng Tagaytay), is a 2nd class component city in the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 85,330 people. It is one of the country's most pop ...
Ridge. Due to the shortage of planes, the regiment and its associated elements jumped in 3 echelons. Despite some misdrops, the 511th assembled successfully at its drop zone at the Manila Hotel Annex on Tagaytay Ridge and proceeded in battalions north towards Manila, encountering occasional Japanese resistance in the towns of Imus and Las Piñas before engaging the Japanese at the Parañaque River just south of Manila. During the Battle of Manila, the 511th fought through the Japanese Genko Line from 5–12 February, penetrating as far into Manila as the Dewey-Libertad area, before turning east to attack and recapture
Fort William McKinley Fort Andres Bonifacio (formerly named Fort William McKinley) is the site of the national headquarters of the Philippine Army (Headquarters Philippine Army or HPA) located in Metro Manila, Philippines. It is located near the national headquarter ...
(Fort Bonifacio, now
Bonifacio Global City Bonifacio may refer to: Places * Bonifacio, Corse-du-Sud, a town in Corsica, France * Strait of Bonifacio, separating Corsica from Sardinia * Bonifacio, Misamis Occidental, a municipality in the Philippines * Bonifacio Global City, a central bu ...
). On 23 February its 1st Battalion took part in the
Raid at Los Baños Raid, RAID or Raids may refer to: Attack * Raid (military), a sudden attack behind the enemy's lines without the intention of holding ground * Corporate raid, a type of hostile takeover in business * Panty raid, a prankish raid by male college s ...
, freeing over 2,000 foreign Allied civilians from a Japanese internment camp south of Manila, with its B Company performing a parachute jump on the camp itself. The regiment proceeded to clear a transport corridor from Manila to the towns of Lipa and
Batangas City Batangas City, officially the City of Batangas ( fil, Lungsod ng Batangas), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 351,437 people. Batangas City i ...
, which has an important port, and took the crossroads town of Santo Tomas. With the rest of the 11th Airborne it also engaged Japanese forces throughout the provinces of Laguna, Batangas, and Tayabas (modern Quezon); the regiment's 1st and 2nd battalions in Sixth Army reserve in the towns of Batangas and Bauan, its 3nd battalion in active fighting. From 27 to 29 April it engaged and eliminated the remaining Japanese forces entrenched in underground complexes in the Mount Malepunyo ( Malarayat) range east of Lipa. On 23 June elements of the regiment took part in the war's final combat jump at
Aparri Aparri ( ilo, Ili ti Aparri; tl, Bayan ng Aparri), officially the Municipality of Aparri, is a 1st class municipality in the province of , Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 68,839 people. It sits at the mouth of ...
in northern Luzon, part of the effort to seal off the retreat of Japanese commander General Yamashita. The regiment remained in the Lipa-Batangas area, training for the planned invasion of Japan, until
the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the onl ...
.


Japan

After the surrender of Japan, the 511th under Colonel Edward H. Lahti went with the 11th Airborne Division as the first Allied unit to land on Japan. After securing the Atusgi Air Base near Yokohama on 30 August 1945, for General Douglas MacArthur's arrival, the regiment took up defensive positions before being tasked with guarding the departure docks for the Surrender Ceremony on board the
USS Missouri Four ships of the United States Navy have been named USS ''Missouri'' in honor of the state of Missouri: *, a sidewheel frigate launched in 1841 and destroyed by fire in August 1843 *, a ''Maine''-class battleship in service from 1900 to 1922. *, a ...
. On 2 September the 11th Airborne's Division Band was on hand to greet the debarking 1st Cavalry Division with the strains of " The Old Grey Mare." The 511th was later sent to northern
Honshū , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separa ...
to perform occupation duty. On 16 September 1945 the 511th moved to
Morioka is the capital city of Iwate Prefecture located in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. On 1 February 2021, the city had an estimated population of 290,700 in 132,719 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . ...
, Japan to begin the occupation of Iwate and
Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, ...
s in Northern Honshu. In February 1949, the Regiment except for the 3rd Battalion departed Camp Haugen and returned to the United States via the
Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...
and arrived in New Orleans in March 1949, from where it moved to
Camp Campbell Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Divi ...
,
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
. The 3rd Battalion remained in Camp Haugen until April 1949, when it departed for the United States.


Germany

In March 1956 the 511th (as part of the 11th Airborne Division) crossed the Atlantic into Europe to replace the 5th Infantry Division at
Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...
,
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 ...
during
Operation Gyroscope Operation Gyroscope was a United States Army program implemented between 1955 and 1959 during the Cold War that modified the replacement system so that entire divisions were rotated out of overseas service together rather than as individuals. The p ...
.


Inactivation

In 1957 the 11th Airborne Division was reorganized into a Pentomic division, which included inactivating its three infantry regiments (188th, 503d and 511th) and replacing them with five battle groups, effective 1 March 1957. The battle groups were: * 1st Airborne Battle Group, 187th Infantry * 2d Airborne Battle Group, 502d Infantry * 1st Airborne Battle Group, 503d Infantry * 2d Airborne Battle Group, 504th Infantry * 2d Airborne Battle Group, 505th Infantry Like the 188th, the 511th was not active during the Pentomic era. This new configuration for the 11th Airborne Division lasted only until 1 July 1958 when it was reorganized and reflagged as the 24th Infantry Division. Three of the battle groups were reflagged with non-Airborne regimental designations while 1-187th and 1-503d temporarily remained assigned to the 24th. On 7 January 1959 1-503d was reassigned to the
82d Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops Magazine'', 25 November 2012. Archived from thorig ...
at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, followed by 1-187th on 8 February 1959. Both battle groups were replaced in the 24th with non-Airborne battle groups.


Air Assault

On 1 February 1963 the 11th Airborne Division was reactivated at Fort Benning, Georgia and on 15 February 1963 it was redesignated as the 11th Air Assault Division (Test). The division, formed as a test bed for the airmobile concept, not a deployable unit, included no more than three infantry battalions at a time: * 1st Battalion (Airborne), 187th Infantry (1 Feb 64 to 30 Jun 65) * 3d Battalion (Airborne), 187th Infantry (1 Feb 63 to 1 Feb 64) * 1st Battalion (Airborne), 188th Infantry * 1st Battalion (Airborne), 511th Infantry For larger exercises the 11th "borrowed" units from the 2d Infantry Division, also stationed at Fort Benning. At the end of June 1965 the personnel and equipment of the 11th AAD(T) and the 2d Infantry Division were merged to become the
1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
. Concurrently the colors of the 2d were transferred to Korea to reflag the existing 1st Cavalry Division as the 2d Infantry Division while the colors of the 1st Cavalry Division were transferred to Fort Benning. The 1st Battalion (Abn), 511th Infantry was reflagged as the 2d Battalion (Abn), 8th Cavalry, while the 1st Battalion (Abn), 188th Infantry was reflagged as the 1st Battalion (Abn), 8th Cavalry, and the 1st Battalion (Abn), 187th Infantry, was reflagged as the 1st Battalion (Abn), 12th Cavalry, all units of the 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.


Company A

On 1 June 1993, Company A, 511th Infantry was reactivated at
Fort Rucker Fort Rucker is a U.S. Army post located primarily in Dale County, Alabama, United States. It was named for a Civil War officer, Confederate General Edmund Rucker. The post is the primary flight training installation for U.S. Army Aviators and ...
,
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
to serve as pathfinders by reflagging the existing Company C, 509th Infantry. The company was inactivated in November 1995 and the pathfinder mission discontinued, along with the Air Assault course for which the company provided instructors, due to budget and manpower ceiling cuts. On 1 October 1997, Company A, 511th Infantry was reactivated as a test company for the Enhanced Fiber Optic Guided Missile (EFOGM) system, under the command of Captain Stephen Inouye at
Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...
,
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
. It was the first and only EFOGM company in the world. On 28 July 2005, Captain Mark Chandler cased the colors during the inactivation ceremony at Rose Field in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.


References

{{reflist


Other sources

*Flanagan, Lt. Gen. E. M., Jr. ''The Angels: A history of the 11th Airborne Division''. 1989 Presidio Press. *Holm, Jeremy C. "When Angels Fall: The 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II MacArthur’s Secret Weapon & Heroes of Los Baños" 2019 Amazon


External links


www.511pir.com - Regimental historical website11th Airborne
*http://users.owt.com/leodonna/511thHistory.htm

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