508th Infantry Regiment
Encyclopedia
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment (508th PIR or Red Devils) was a regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...

 of the 82d Airborne Division
U.S. 82nd Airborne Division
The 82nd Airborne Division is an active airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute landing operations. Based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the 82nd Airborne Division is the primary fighting arm of the XVIII Airborne Corps....

 which in turn became part of XVIII Airborne Corps of the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

.

World War II

The regiment was activated on 20 October 1942 at Camp Blanding
Camp Blanding
Camp Blanding Joint Training Center is the primary military reservation and training base for the Florida National Guard, both the Florida Army National Guard and certain non-flying activities of the Florida Air National Guard. The installation is located in Clay County, Florida near the city of...

, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. Lt. Col. Roy E. Lindquist formed the unit and remained its commander throughout World War II. After extensive training and maneuvers the unit embarked on 19 December 1943 in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and sailed on 28 December 1943 for Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

, arriving on 8 January 1944. After additional training at Cromore Estate, Portstewart, the unit was moved by ship to Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 and by train on the 13 March 1944 to Wollaton Park, Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Wollaton Park was shared as a base camp with the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

The unit participated in Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...

, jumping into Normandy on at 2:15 a.m. on 6 June 1944. Their immediate objectives were to capture Sainte-Mère-Église
Sainte-Mère-Église
Sainte-Mère-Église is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.-History:Founded in the eleventh Century, the earliest records include the name Sancte Marie Ecclesia, Latin for "Church of St. Mary", while a later document written in Norman-French mentions Saincte...

, secure crossings at the Merderet River near laFiere and Chef-du-Pont, and establish a defensive line north from Neuville-au-Plain to Breuzeville-au-Plain. There they were to tie in with the 502nd Infantry Regiment. Like most paratroop
Paratrooper
Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land...

 units in Operation Overlord, they were dropped in the wrong locations and had extraordinary difficulty linking up with each other.

Portions of the 508th regrouped and remained in contact with German forces until relieved on July 7 when they became the division reserve force. On July 13, they were transported back to England via two LST's and returned to their station at Wollaton Park. Of the 2056 troops who participated in the D-Day landings, only 995 returned. The regiment suffered 1061 casualties, of which 307 were killed in action.

For its gallantry and combat action during the first three days of fighting, the unit was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation (later re-designated as the Presidential Unit Citation), quoted in part below:
After their success in Normandy, the Regiment returned to its billet at Wollaton Park and prepared for its part in Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time....

, jumping on 17 September 1944. The regiment established and maintained a defensive position over 12000 yard in length, with German troops on three sides of their position. They seized a key bridge and prevented its destruction. Other units prevented the demolition of the Waal river Bridge at Nijmegen. The regiment additionally seized, occupied, organized and defended the Berg EN Dalkamp Hill mass, terrain which controlled the Groesbeek-Nijmegen area. They cut Highway K, preventing the movement of enemy reserves, or escape of enemy along this important international route.

The regiment later played a part in the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...

. Col. Lindquist relinquished command of the regiment to Lt. Col. Otho Holmes in December, 1945. The unit was inactivated on 25 November 1946.

Unit citations

The Regiment was recognized with the following citations:
  • Ste. Mere Eglise (Award of Croix de guerre
    Croix de guerre
    The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...

    ) June 6, 1946
  • London (King George VI Review, Great Britain's Victory Day) June 6, 1946
  • Belgian Fourragère
    Fourragère
    The fourragère is a military award, distinguishing military units as a whole, that is shaped as a braided cord. The award has been firstly adopted by France, followed by other nations such as the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal.- History :...

  • British Military Medal
    Military Medal
    The Military Medal was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land....

  • British Military Cross
    Military Cross
    The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....

  • Croix de guerre with Star
    Croix de guerre
    The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...

  • Croix de guerre with Palm
    Croix de guerre
    The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...

  • Croix de guerre Fourragère
    Croix de guerre
    The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...

  • Croix de guerre with Palm
    Croix de guerre
    The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...

    –Ste. Mere Eglise Battle Streamer
  • Croix de guerre with Palm
    Croix de guerre
    The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...

    –Cotentin Battle Streamer
  • Dutch Bronze Lion
    Bronze Lion
    The Bronze Lion is a high Royal Dutch award, intended for servicemen who have shown extreme bravery and leadership in battle favouring The Netherlands; in some special cases it can however be awarded to Dutch or foreign civilians. It was first created in 1944 and has since been issued 1210 times...

  • Dutch Bronze Cross
    Bronze Cross (Netherlands)
    The Bronze Cross of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was instituted on 11 June 1940 by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands while she was residing in London during the German occupation of the Netherlands...

  • Military Order of William

Individual awards

The following awards were received by individuals.
  • Medal of Honor
    Medal of Honor
    The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

    –1 (First Sergeant Leonard A. Funk, Jr.
    Leonard A. Funk, Jr.
    Leonard Alfred Funk, Jr. was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II...

    )
  • Distinguished Service Cross
    Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
    The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...

    –14
  • Silver Star
    Silver Star
    The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....

    –111
  • Bronze Star
    Bronze Star Medal
    The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...

    –341
  • Legion of Merit
    Legion of Merit
    The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...

    –3
  • Soldier's Medal
    Soldier's Medal
    The Soldier's Medal is a military award of the United States Army. It was introduced as Section 11 of the Air Corps Act, passed by the Congress of the United States on July 2, 1926...

    –7

Cold War

The 508th was reactivated as the separate 508th Airborne Regimental Combat Team 1951 at (Fort Benning, Ga) Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Fort Bragg is a major United States Army installation, in Cumberland and Hoke counties, North Carolina, U.S., mostly in Fayetteville but also partly in the town of Spring Lake. It was also a census-designated place in the 2010 census and had a population of 39,457. The fort is named for Confederate...

, served in Japan, and later moved to Fort Campbell
Fort Campbell
Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astraddle the Kentucky-Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee...

 where it once again inactivated in March 1957 as part of the reactivation of the 101st Airborne Division.

When the Army abandoned the Pentomic
Pentomic
Pentomic refers to a structure for infantry divisions adopted by the U.S. Army in 1957 in response to the perceived threat posed by tactical nuclear weapons use on the battlefield....

 battle group structure in the early 1960s, the 508th reorganized under the Combat Arms Regimental System as a parent regiment
Parent regiment
Many armies use different regimental systems. The United States Army, among others, uses the parent regiment system.In this system, adopted in 1957 under the Combat Arms Regimental System, or CARS, regiments are simply there to preserve units' lineage, and few regiments actually are complete...

 and at the same time was renamed the 508th Infantry. Within the 82nd Airborne Division, the former Company A, 508th PIR was reorganized and re-designated as HHC
Headquarters and Headquarters Company
In United States Army units, a headquarters and headquarters company is a company sized military unit, found at the battalion level and higher. In identifying a specific headquarters unit, it is usually referred to by its abbreviation as an HHC...

, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 508th Infantry, an element of the 3rd Brigade. The former Company B, 508th PIR was reactivated as HHC, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 508th Infantry, part of the 1st Brigade. The 1st and 2nd Battalions, 508th Infantry continued to serve in the 82d Airborne Division. They served in Operation Powerpack in the Dominican Republic in 1965 and 1966.

When the 3rd Brigade was sent to Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

 in response to the Tet Offensive in early 1968, 1-508th accompanied it. There it took part of the heavy fighting of Hue and Saigon. It was later awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. In 1983 both battalions served in the Operation Urgent Fury with the invasion of Grenada.

From 8 August 1962 to 26 June 1968, the lineage of Co C, 508 PIR was reactivated as HHC, 3-508th INF, and the unit served as an airborne battalion within the 193rd Infantry Brigade
193rd Infantry Brigade (United States)
The 193rd Infantry Brigade is a United States Army infantry brigade, which was originally constituted in the Army's organized reserves on 24 June 1922 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 193rd Infantry Brigade and assigned to the 97th Division. The brigade was reorganized and reconstituted in...

 in Panama. When the Airborne component of the battalion was reduced to a single company (Co A), the battalion was reflagged as the 3rd Battalion, 5th Infantry.

In October of 1983, the 2nd Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, also deployed to Grenada in Operation Urgent Fury.

The colors of 1st Battalion, 508th and 2nd Battalion, 508th Infantry departed the 82d Airborne Division during an Army-wide reflagging of combat units in the 1980s, leaving the division with battalions of the 325th, 504th, and 505th within the 2nd, 1st and 3d Brigades, respectively.

Operation Just Cause

The 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry was activated as part of the 193rd Infantry Brigade
193rd Infantry Brigade (United States)
The 193rd Infantry Brigade is a United States Army infantry brigade, which was originally constituted in the Army's organized reserves on 24 June 1922 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 193rd Infantry Brigade and assigned to the 97th Division. The brigade was reorganized and reconstituted in...

 from 1987 to 1995 in Panama. The 1st Battalion fought during Operation Just Cause, the invasion of Panama. It was inactivated with the parent 193d Infantry Brigade as US forces departed Panama in 1995.

Kosovo peacekeeping

The colors of 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry were reactivated in 1996 in Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

, Italy, by reflagging the existing 3rd Battalion, 325th Infantry, an airborne battalion combat team, and was expanded in 2000 to become the reactivated 173d Airborne Brigade. The battalion had elements training all over Europe and participated in the Kosovo peacekeeping mission from 1996 to 2006.

Invasion of Iraq

On March 26, 2003 1-508th conducted a combat jump into northern Iraq. On the northern front it operated with special operations forces and Kurdish allies in tying down Iraqi forces. After the fall of Saddam’s government, it continued to serve throughout Iraq. For its service in Iraq the 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry was awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation
Meritorious Unit Citation
The Meritorious Unit Citation is a collective group decoration awarded to members of Australian military units. It recognises sustained outstanding service in warlike operations...

.

Operation Enduring Freedom

In 2005-2006 the 1st Battalion, as part of the 173d Airborne Brigade, deployed to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom. As part of Task Force Fury, they were deployed to the border on Pakistan in RC East where it served under the Command of Joint Task Force Devil (1st Brigade, 82d Airborne Division) at Orgun-E. Units were located across RC East in company FOBs at Waza Kwha, C Company (Rock); Bermel, A Company (Sharks); Sharana, HHC (Workhorse), and B Company (Legion). In June 2005 Legion was redeployed to RC South (Kandahar) under Task Force Gun Devil (3d Battalion, 319th Field Artillery). The battalion returned from Afghanistan in February 2006. The colors of 1-508th left the 173rd when the battalion was reflagged as 1-503d Infantry in June 2006.

In January 2006, the colors of both the 1st Battalion and 2nd Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, were reactivated as infantry battalions in the newly-activated 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. In January 2007, 1-508th, 2-508th, and the 4-73 Cavalry (acting as the Brigade's Reconnaissance Squadron) deployed to Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In August 2009, the brigade returned to Afghanistan to support Operation Enduring Freedom.

Current unit organization

The Brigade Combat Team is composed of:
  • Headquarters and Headquarters Company
    Headquarters and Headquarters Company
    In United States Army units, a headquarters and headquarters company is a company sized military unit, found at the battalion level and higher. In identifying a specific headquarters unit, it is usually referred to by its abbreviation as an HHC...

    , 4th Brigade Combat Team
    Brigade combat team
    The brigade combat team is the basic deployable unit of maneuver in the US Army. A brigade combat team consists of one combat arms branch maneuver brigade, and its attached support and fire units. A brigade combat team is generally commanded by a colonel , but in rare instances it is commanded by...

  • 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment
    508th Infantry Regiment
    During World War II, the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment was a regiment of the 82d Airborne Division which in turn became part of XVIII Airborne Corps of the United States Army.-World War II:...

  • 2nd Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment
    508th Infantry Regiment
    During World War II, the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment was a regiment of the 82d Airborne Division which in turn became part of XVIII Airborne Corps of the United States Army.-World War II:...

  • 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment
    73rd Cavalry Regiment (United States)
    The 73rd Cavalry Regiment is a Cavalry Regiment in the U.S. Army first formed in 1941.-History:The 4 squadrons of the 73rd Cavalry Regiment provide reconnaissance, surveillance, & target acquisition to the Brigade Combat Teams of the 82nd Airborne Division...

     (RSTA)
  • 2d Battalion, 321st Field Artillery Regiment
  • Special Troops Battalion
    Special Troops Battalion
    A Special Troops Battalion is an organic unit of a modular brigade, Division , corps or higher echelon United States Army organization...

  • 782d Brigade Support Battalion

External links

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