Short outline of the 101st Airborne
The 101st Airborne Division was originally activated on July 23, 1918 as part of the mobilization for World War I. Because weapons, ammunition and other supplies were in short supply at the time, the 101st was never fully organized or staffed as most divisions were. Once hostilities ceased, the 101st was demobilized. In 1921, as part of a build up of reserves, the 101st was reconstituted as the 101st Infantry Division with its first headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. For the most part, it was a only paper division with little in the way of fighting units, remaining that way until the United States entry into World War II.
In 1940, the US Army began testing the feasibility of parachute infantry units. The initial tests at Fort Benning, Georgia were so successful that the Army began forming parachute infantry battalions and regiments. Once the British Army proved the value of the parachute infantry in combat, the US Army put its organizational wheels in action and authorized the raising of two Airborne Infantry Divisions; the 82nd Airborne and the 101st Airborne.
The 101st Airborne Division for all intents and purposes, was “activated” in August 16, 1942 at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana and placed under the command of Major General William C. Lee. At the Division’s activation ceremony, General Lee observed that "The 101st. has no history, but it has a rendezvous with destiny." As it turned out, truer words were never spoken.
When the 101st was formed, its core units were the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), 327th and 401st Glider Infantry Regiments (GIR), three artillery battalions (the 377th Parachute Field Artillery, the 321st Glider Field Artillery, and the 907th Glider Field Artillery). Additional support units were the 326th Airborne Engineer Battalion, the 101st Signal Company, the 326th Airborne Medical Company, and the 426th Airborne Quartermaster Company. In October of 1942, the reconstituted 101st Airborne reported to Fort Benning Georgia to begin the training.
The blue of the shield is for infantry. The thunderbolt represents the regiments particular threat and technique of attack from the sky. The six parachutes represent that the 506th was the sixth parachute regiment activated in the United States Army. The green silhouette represents Currahee Mountain, site of the unit’s activation at Camp Toombs (later Camp Toccoa) Georgia. Currahee Mountain symbolizes the organizations strength, independence and ability to stand alone for which paratroopers are renowned. Significantly, Currahee is a Cherokee Indian word equivalent to “Stand Alone”.
Currahee Mountain further represents the foundation of the 506th’s training. It was on this tough, rugged little mountain that the men of the 506th were sufficiently hardened to enable them to break the world march record held by the Japanese Army. The 506 gained nationwide attention for this feat. Currahee was also the cry for the 506th paratroopers as they exited the door during their fist jump and continued to be the cry whenever they jumped into combat.
After the 101st was formed, only the toughest men were allowed to serve. The division needed men that could survive being dropped from an airplane behind enemy lines and still fight and win. Only 1 in 3 men passed the selection criteria to serve in the 101st, which included a 140-mile foot march in 3 days and rigorous airborne training. In September of 1943 after the Division had completed it's Airborne training, it moved to England to prepare for war. On June 5th, 1944 the Division prepared for its first combat operation, the airborne invasion of Normandy. The 101st would drop 6,700 soldiers behind enemy lines to disrupt the Germans before the massive allied beach assault on the coast of Normandy. As soon as the planes caring the soldiers of the 101st flew into France, they began receiving heavy antiaircraft fire from the Germans. The pilots took evasive action and broke formation to avoid being hit. As a result, soldiers jumped at an altitude of 300 feet at a speed of 200 mph instead of the planned 700 feet at 100 mph. This caused the division to be scattered all over Normandy. Soldiers landed far from their units, behind enemy lines, and alone. Many were killed before they hit the ground by Germans firing into the sky. By the end of the 1st day of the Normandy invasion, only 1 in 3 soldiers had found their unit. The scattered jump into Normandy confused the Germans just as much as it confused the Americans. The Germans did not know where to fight the Americans as there were no real front lines. Fighting consisted of small unit actions. During the 2nd day of the invasion the 101st began to regroup and receive resupplies by gliders, many of which crashed on landing. During the next 2 days of fighting the 101st took objectives behind Utah beach and turned south towards Carentan, which was key to controlling the peninsula. The Germans had been ordered to fight to the last man. After days of heavy fighting, the 101st took Carentan. The division held the town for 2 more days under a heavy German counter attack until reinforcements arrived. One month after jumping into Europe, the 101st mission in Normandy was complete, 1 in 4 men had been killed or wounded. In September 1944 the 101st jumped into Holland to conduct Operation Market Garden.
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