
(above insignia)515th PIR Pocket Patch
|
The 515th Parachute Infantry Regiment
Unit History
he 515th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR)"Jumping Wolves" was
constituted on 18 January 1943. It was activated 31 May 1943 at Fort Benning, Georgia under the command
of Colonel Julian B Lindsey to serve as an administrative agency for the pool of officers and enlisted
graduates of The Parachute School. Lt Colonel Harvey J Jablonsky (picture right)
was Executive Officer and the regiment initially included 184 non-coms from the 507th Parachute Infantry
Regiment. After training in the "Frying Pan" Area of Fort Benning in late 1943 the 515th PIR
moved to Camp Mackall, North Carolina in February, 1944. On 7 March 1944 the "Jumping Wolves" became
part of the 13th Airborne Division, replacing the 513th PIR. (Colonel Jablonsky
( above right) became Commanding Officer of the 515th PIR on 13 February 45)
The Spring of 1944 saw the majority of the Jumping Wolves best trained men reassigned
to the three airborne divisions in the field - the 82nd and 101st Airborne in Europe and the 11th Airborne in
the Pacific. Replacements came from the 541st PIR. This initiated a new round of strenuous air and
ground training in preparation for an assignment overseas.
Of special note is the development of an adjustable harness for the release of equipment
from each parachutists by Pvt P.L.Foreman of Headquarters Company, 515th PIR. The harness named JERD (Jumper's
Equipment Release Device) was attached to the body of the parachutist. It enabled the bundle of equipment
that rode on the chest and stomach of a trooper to be released and contained by using the reserve chute. In the
event of a parachute failure the reserve chute could still be used and the equipment jettisoned. The first
demonstration of this device was at Camp Mackall in December, 1944.
On January 18, 1945 the 515th PIR received orders to move to Camp Shank in New York.
Finally, on January 25th the unit received their overseas orders. On February 8th the men disembarked
at Le Harve France and boarded trains for Camp Lucky Strike near Ste Valery en Caux, France. A few
days later the 515th former XO, Colonel Harvey J Jablonsky, assumed command of the Jumping Wolves.
Although the unit prepared for combat in Operation Comet the fast moving Allied forces
continually counteracted the need for airborne operations as the German defenses crumbled. V-E finally
became a reality and the only hope for combat action was in the Pacific. Redeployment began on
July 18th, 1945 but by the time the Jumping Wolves reached New York the war in the Pacific was over.
The 515th Parachute Infantry Regiment was deactivated at Fort Bragg, North Carolina
on 25 February 1946.
( Sources: " 13th Airborne Regimental History - Editor: Lt Col William J Blythe)
The 515th Parachute Infantry Regiment - Pictures
books
R E L A T E D B O O K S
Ambrose, Stephen E D-DAY June 6,1944:
The Climatic Battle of WW II. 6/93, Simon & Shuster ISBN: 0671673343
Badsey , Stephen & Chandler, David G (Editor)
Arnhem 1944:
Operation "Market Garden" (Campaign No.24) 1993
96p. ISBN: 1855323028
Breuer, William B Geronimo! American
Paratroopers in WWII. New York: St. Martin Press, 1989 621 p. ISBN: 0-312-03350-8
Breuer, William B Unexplained
Mysteries of World War II. John Wiley & Sons, Sept 1998 256 p. ISBN:0471291072
D'Este, Carlo
Patton: A Genius for War 1024 pp ISBN: 0060927623
De Trez, Michel
At the Point of No Return : Pictorial History of the American Paratroopers in the
Invasion of Normandy 7/98, D-Day Pub, 200 p. ISBN: 2960017617
Gavin, James M.
On to Berlin : Battles of an Airborne Commander, 1943-1946 ISBN: 0670525170
Golden, Lewis Echoes From Arnhem Penguin
ISBN: 0718305213
Hicks, Anne The Last Fighting General: The Biography of Robert Tryon Frederick Schiffer Pub Ltd, 320pp, ISBN: 0764324306
MacDonald, Charles B A Time For
Trumpets: The Untold Story of the Battle of the Bulge Wm Morrow & Co
(P), 720 p. ISBN: 068151574
McKenzie, John
On Time, On Target Novato, CA: Presidio, May 15,2000. 304 p. ISBN: 089 141 714 1
Ryan, Cornelius
A Bridge Too Far 670p. ISBN: 0684803305
Wildman, John B All Americans 82nd
Airborne. Meadowlands Militaria, 6/83 ISBN:091 208 1007
The Center of Military History The War in the Mediterranean: A WWII Pictorial History Brasseys, Inc.,
465 p. ISBN:1574881302
|