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The 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment Unit History
During World War II, the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment
participated in seven major campaigns and four regimental airborne assaults.
n 6 July 1942, at Fort Benning, Georgia,
the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment was activated under the Airborne Command,
Fort Bragg, North Carolina. On 4 February 1943, the Regiment was assigned to the
82d Airborne Division. The Regiment arrived at Fort Bragg,
North Carolina on 12 February 1943
Sicily - Operation Husky On 9 July 1943, just over a year after it's activation the 505th made the
first regimental size combat parachute attack as part of Operation Husky l.
Under the capable leadership of Colonel James M. "Slim Jim" Gavin
(above left) the 505th was organized into a
Regimental Combat Team which included the 3rd Battalion of the 504th.
As a staff officer in Airborne Command under General Lee,
Colonel Gavin wrote "Instructional Pamphlet for Airborne Operations". These theories
and observations would now be put to the test.
Their objective was to parachute behind enemy lines into an
egg-shaped area around Gela, Sicily. They would then close off roads leading to
beaches and secure the drop zone for further use. Especially important near the
DZ was enemy-held Objective Y - a series of 16 concrete "pillboxes"
from which German gunners controlled movement
on nearby roads. However, Mother Nature did not cooperate.
(picture above right: Colonel James M Gavin, Commanding Officer of the 505th PIR gives his men last minute instructions before
Operation Husky I.
(^^ Click Picture to Enlarge ^^))
On July 9th Colonel Gavin was informed that wind velocity in the
landing area was 35 miles per hour but the invasion was underway and there was
no turning back. It was under these harrowing conditions that the 505th had its
first trial-by-fire. Only 15% of the combat team had been delivered to the
correct DZ. Nevertheless, small groups of lost Paratroopers cut every phone
line that they found which devastated the communications of the Axis forces.
Ambushes were conducted and even Objective Y, the deadly pillboxes, (picture right) were
secured. By continuing to fight in small groups the 505th led the Germans
and Italians to overestimate the number of airborne invaders thus impeding any
meaningful counterattacks. The German Herman Goering Panzer Division was another
matter. Even though outmanned and outgunned, the 505th used raw courage and
fighting spirit to block the steel behemoths of this Division from advancing
toward the Allied landings on the beachhead. With Sicily secure, the Allies
continued attack on the Axis powers with landings on the Italian mainland.
Salerno - Operation Avalanche
A landing on mainland Italy took place in the early morning of 12 September 1943
at Salerno under General Mark Clark. Within 72 hours German Field Marshal Kesselring
was poised to drive the Allies back into the sea. This set the stage for the
505th's second combat jump. On the night of 14 September 1943, Jim Gavin's 505th Parachute
Infantry totaling roughly 2100 combat hardened paratroopers dropped onto the tenuous
Salerno beachhead. It was an encore performance of the previous night's precise parachute
jump by the 504th and no less spectacular. Within 24 hours these two units of the
82nd Airborne had jumped on short notice and shored up the faltering Salerno beachhead.
Two weeks later on 29 September the 505th had probed into the outskirts of
Naples thereby capturing the first major European city for the Allies.
On 9 December 1943 Colonel Gavin was promoted to Brigadier General and assumed the duties of the Assistant Division
Commander of the 82nd Airborne while Lt Col Herbert Batchellor assumed command of the 505th. During the
early months of 1944, the Division was moved to England as the allies were
preparing for the assault on Western Europe. The regiment again changed commanders. Lt Col William Ekman
assumed command on 22 March 1944 and would lead the 505th through the remainder of the war.
D-Day The largest combined military operation in history,"D-Day", was to be
spearheaded by the 82d and 101st Airborne Divisions. Visibility was hampered by poor
weather conditions as the C-47's crossed the English Channel during the first hours of
the 6th of June 1944. When the troop carriers finally did made landfall on the
Cherbourg Peninsula they came under heavy German flak scattering many of the troop
carrier flights. It was 0300 hours on 6 June 1944, when the 505th were given the green
light to jump. Some Pathfinders were able to signal their dropzones. However,
many of the troop carriers missed their dropzones and the All-Americans of the 505th began
landing across a large swath of the countryside around
Normandy.
( Picture above right: Troopers of machine gun platoon D Company 505th PIR )
(^^ Click Above Picture to Enlarge ^^)
Nevertheless, the 505th PIR was one of the first airborne units to hit the ground and
despite the subsequent confusion surrounding the landing, were able to use it to their advantage
mustering enough troops under the command of the 2nd Battalion Commander, Lt. Col.
Benjamin Vandervoort to liberate the first town in France, - St. Mere-Eglise.
The paratroopers jumped prior to the actual start of the invasion "H-Hour".
Because of the tradition of being the first into the fight, the 505th Regimental motto
is "H-MINUS". For their performance in the invasions the 505th was awarded the Presidential
unit citation, the unit equivalent of the Medal of Honor awarded to individual soldiers.
In the words of author Clay Blair, the paratroopers emerged from Normandy with the reputation
of being a pack of jackals; the toughest, most resourceful and bloodthirsty in Europe.
( Movie above right: reenactment and interviews with D-Day paratroopers. )
Operation Market Garden On 9 September 1944 Field-Marshal Montgomery proposed a plan,
called Operation Market Garden, to secure a bridgegehead across the Rhine.
The operation called for a combined armor and airborne assault to seize and hold key
bridges and roads deep behind German lines in Holland. The airborne phase of the
operation consisted of capturing five bridges ahead of the armored force.
On 17 September 1944, as part of Operation Market Garden,
the 505th made its fourth jump at Groesbeck, Holland, the largest airborne assault in history.
During that fierce combat, two lightly armed platoons, at most 80 men, were
surrounded by an entire German Infantry Battalion supported by tanks. The
paratroopers fought back three savage German assaults and held their ground
until relieved. The 505th received a second Presidential unit citation.
( Picture above right: Troopers of G Company 505th PIR at Suippe, France after Operation Market Garden )
(^^ Click Above Picture to Enlarge ^^)Its success, however, was short-lived because of the defeat of other Allied units at Arnhem.
The gateway to Germany would not open in September 1944, and the 82nd was ordered back to
France.
Battle of the Bulge - The Ardennes Offensive Suddenly, on December 16, 1944, the Germans launched a surprise offensive through
the Ardennes Forest which caught the Allies completely by surprise. Two days later the
82nd joined the fighting and quickly blunted General Von Runstedt's northern penetration
of the American lines above Bastogne.
Meanwhile, on the morning of 19 December the 501st PIR of the 101st Airborne Division was digging in at Bastogne, as the Germans
quickly infiltrated and cut off the road between the two elements and the "Battle of the Bulge"
offensive flowed around the two airborne units.
Despite a lack of cold weather equipment once again airborne spirit, courage, and hard-nosed
determination won the day as the 505th withstood the bleak winter and stopped the fanatic
German attacks at Ste Vith and the Salm River.
(picture above right: Men of the 505th PIR, Company E, Ft Bragg - 1942.
(^^ Click Picture to Enlarge ^^) )
For its valor in the seven major campaigns of the European Theatre of Operations, the 505th
was awarded two Distinguished Unit Citations and three Foreign decorations: the French
Forragere, Netherlands Military Order of William, and Belgium Forragere.
Occupation The war offically ended in Europe on 8 May 1945 and the 82nd
Airborne Division was called upon to serve as the occupation force in the American Sector of
Berlin. Here the 82nd Airborne Division earned the name, "America's
Guard of Honor," as a fitting end to hostilities in which the "All-Americans" had
chased the German Army some 14,000 miles across the European Theater.
Pathfinders - 505th PIR
- Photo of 505th PIR Pathfinders of Plane 11 in England on June 5 1944 preparing for D-Day invasion. (Cpl Hegedus is 3rd from left front row standing.)
(Photo
courtesy of Cheryl Nolin)
A Company 505th PIR
- Photo of A Company 1st Battalion of the 505th PIR at Ft Bragg NC (undated).
(Photo courtesy of Rick Stone)
B Company 505th PIR
- Photo of Company B, 505th PIR April 1943 at Fort Bragg under the command of Capt Dale A Roysdon. Picture taken shortly before deploying to North Africa.
(Photo
courtesy of
David Holmes Jr)
D Company 505th PIR
- Photo of Company D, 505th PIR in Quorn, England circa Spring 1944. (TOP ROW: [left to right] John Whitee ,John Daly ,Ed Olszewski , [Next 3 men unknown - all 6 KIA Normandy ,Holland & Belgium]. BOTTOM ROW: [left to right] Shelby Irwin ,Julius Eisner ,George Morris ,McKouch and MacGroth - in the background near the tent) (Photo
courtesy of
Julius Eisner)
D Company 505th PIR
- Post-War photo of Company D, 505th PIR at Fort Bragg on 28 April 1948.
G Company 505th PIR
- Photos of Company G, 505th PIR from the personal collection of Cpl Francis X Schweikert. (Suippes, France December 1944)
(Photos and newspaper clippings
courtesy of
Robert Schweikert)
H Company 505th PIR
- Photo of Company H, 505th PIR at Fort Bragg NC circa Spring 1943 prior to deployment to North Africa. (Names included at bottom of photo.) (Photo
courtesy of
Les Cruise)
H Company 505th PIR
- Photos of Company H, 505th PIR from the personal collection of S/Sgt Alex Burns Jr. (SEE Inscriptions for trooper identification)
(Photos
courtesy of
Kevin E Burns)
H Company 505th PIR
- Additional photos of Company H, 505th PIR from the personal collection of S/Sgt Alex Burns Jr. (Photos
courtesy of
Kevin E Burns)
H Company 505th PIR
- Photos of Company H, 505th PIR during June, 1944 from the personal collection of S/Sgt Alex Burns Jr.
(Photos
courtesy of
Kevin E Burns)
H Company 505th PIR
- Photos of Company H, 505th PIR during June, 1944 of various destroyed vehicles from the personal collection of S/Sgt Alex Burns Jr.
(Photos
courtesy of
Kevin E Burns)
H Company 505th PIR
- Photo of Company H, 505th PIR in Sicily circa August 1943. ( (left to right) Pvt D.C.Munkagaard ,Pvt J.D.McGillivray ,Lt I. Woods ,Pvt D.B.Mason ,Pvt S.E.Smith ,and Pvt C.B.Wigle - stooping) (Photo
courtesy of
Les Cruise)
H Company 505th PIR
- Photo of Company H Platoon Leaders, 505th PIR on duty in Naples,Italy circa October 1943. (Lt J J McNeil (KIA) ,Lt C M Stoehr, Lt D D Moxley and Lt R C Coupe) (Photo
courtesy of
Les Cruise)
H Company 505th PIR
- Photo of Company H Troopers, 505th PIR on pass in Naples,Italy circa October 1943. (D M Schultz , J T Stehn , R D McConnell and E P Newsome) (Photo
courtesy of
Les Cruise)
H Company 505th PIR
- Photo of Company H 2nd Platoon, 505th PIR on patrol in Naples,Italy circa October 1943. (S/Sgt John J Sabo ,and Cpl Harold Eatman) (Photo
courtesy of
Les Cruise)
H Company 505th PIR
- Photo of Company H 3rd Platoon, 505th PIR in Quorn, England circa February 1944. (J.N. Wright ,E.D. Barney ,M. Bulhack (KIA- Holland), A.E.Palmquist and R.P. Haener) (Photo
courtesy of
Les Cruise)
H Company 505th PIR
- Photo of Company H, 505th PIR in England circa May 1944 standing Retreat prior to D-Day. (SEE Photo for trooper identification)
(Photo
courtesy of
Les Cruise)
H Company 505th PIR
- Photo of Company H, 505th PIR in St Sauveur le Vicomte area of Normandy on 18 June 1944. ( (left to right) L. P. Cruise Jr ,F.B. Gawan and K.W. Roddy.) (Photo
courtesy of
Les Cruise)
H Company 505th PIR
- Photo of Company H, 505th PIR in Suckau Germany circa May 1945. ( (left to right) Sgt D.B.Mason ,Pvt R. Warr ,Sgt R. Hart ,Pvt K.R. Ferrell ,and Pvt L.J. Peone. ) (Photo
courtesy of
Les Cruise)
I Company 505th PIR
- Photo of Company I, 505th PIR platoon circa March 1945 before practice jump. (Crouching: 3rd from left Pfc Edwin H Diveley. [Standing: 2nd from left Sgt William T Dunfee; 2nd from right Sgt Joe Novak. Both troopers made 4 combat jumps.])
(Photo
courtesy of
Jo Schwarz)
I Company 505th PIR
- Photo of Company I, 505th PIR Officers in England. {Standing (left to right): Lt Meath; 1/Lt W.B.Kroener; Capt H.H. Swingler (KIA) & Lt Vande Jegt. Kneeling (left to right):Lt S.O. Irwin; 2/Lt R. F. Howell; 1/Lt William J Brunsman & 1/Lt George E Clark Jr.}
(Photo
courtesy of
Greg Brunsman)
HQ3 Company 505th PIR
- Photo of Company HQ3, 505th PIR troopers circa Berlin 1945. (Standing: right Pfc Walter B Robinson; Other troopers unknown.) (Photo
courtesy of
Bruce Robinson)
n 6 July 1942, at Fort Benning, Georgia,
the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment was activated under the Airborne Command,
Fort Bragg, North Carolina. On 4 February 1943, the Regiment was assigned to the
82d Airborne Division. The Regiment arrived at Fort Bragg,
North Carolina on 12 February 1943
(^^ Click Picture to Enlarge ^^))
Ambushes were conducted and even Objective Y, the deadly pillboxes, (picture right) were
secured. By continuing to fight in small groups the 505th led the Germans
and Italians to overestimate the number of airborne invaders thus impeding any
meaningful counterattacks. The German Herman Goering Panzer Division was another
matter. Even though outmanned and outgunned, the 505th used raw courage and
fighting spirit to block the steel behemoths of this Division from advancing
toward the Allied landings on the beachhead. With Sicily secure, the Allies
continued attack on the Axis powers with landings on the Italian mainland.
