The 501 Parachute Infantry Regiment (501 PIR) was
activated in Toccoa, GA in November 1942 where the young men who
volunteered for hazardous duty were given basic training. They earned
their paratrooper wings at Fort Benning in May, undertook unit training
at Camp MaCall in North Carolina throughout the summer and went on
maneuvers in Tennessee thereafter.
The 501 PIR, commanded by Colonel Howard Johnson (Jumpy Johnson), was
attached to the 101st Airborne Division during WWII. They made their
first jump into Normandy in the early morning hours of D-Day, June 6,
1944. After combat in Normandy, they returned to England to prepare for
the jump into Holland on September 17, 1944.
The 501 PIR dropped in at Veghel, 25 miles behind the German front
lines, to seize and hold the highway and railroad bridges across the
Willemsvaart Canal, a major water barrier on the route of Montgomery's
Second British Army to the "bridge too far" at Arnhem. This corridor is
known as Hell's Highway.
In late November, the 101st division was returned to France to receive
replacements, replace missing equipment and prepare for a Rhine
crossing in March. Three weeks later the German winter offensive in the
Ardennes erupted and the 101st was jammed into trucks for an overnight
rush to Bastogne in Belgium on Dec. 18th. The 501 PIR was the first
unit to arrive and moved out at dawn to meet the approaching German
column three miles beyond the town. It stopped the enemy cold and held
until the rest of the division could arrive. The 501 PIR staved off
elements of seven German divisions before Patton broke through the
encirclement on December 26th. The fighting became even heavier as the
Airborne then went on the offensive.
On January 20, 1945 the now tattered Airborne division was hurried to
Alsace where HitlerÕs "Operation Nordwind" offensive, under the
personal direction of Heinrich Himmler, was threatening a sector of the
Seventh Army front. The 501 PIR, now to 60% strength, occupied
defensive positions there until returning to France early in March.
As the war in Europe was nearing its end, the 101st division was sent
to the Ruhr pocket to help in mop-up operations. The 501st remained in
France, preparing to jump on POW camps if deemed necessary to rescue
American prisoners -- which it never was. In August the regiment was
detached from the 101st and sailed for home to be deactivated at Fort
Benning, GA.
In the course of the three campaigns, 517 members of the regiment were
killed or died of wounds in action among total casualties of 1751,
including wounded or missing in action, according to the 101'st
Airborne Division records. More information on the history of the 501
can be found at The Drop Zone -- 501 PIR History [Note: You can visit a
virtual museum also while at The Drop Zone]
Source:
501st PIR. ?History of the 501st PIR?.
