World War II The 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment was initially formed at
Fort Benning,
Georgia on 20 July 1942, under command of
Colonel George V. Millett. It would participate in three operations during
World War II:
D-Day, the
Battle of the Bulge and
Operation Varsity. As part of the
2nd Airborne Brigade alongside a sister unit, the
508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, the 507th PIR was assigned to the veteran
82nd "All American" Airborne Division, commanded
Major General Matthew Ridgway, to replace the
504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which had suffered many casualties while serving, with distinction, in the
fighting in Italy. The regiment arrived in the
United Kingdom in late 1943, and began training and preparing for the
invasion of Normandy, scheduled for the spring of 1944. Their
D-Day objective during
Mission Boston, part of the
American airborne landings in Normandy, was to help secure the
Merderet River crossings. Although their target was supposed to be in Drop Zone T, north of
Amfreville, the confusion caused by clouds and flak resulted in a wide scattering of the unit. During this action, Private
Joe Gandara earned the Medal of Honor for single-handedly attacking three German machine-gun emplacements. Elements of the 3rd Battalion were involved in the
Battle of Graignes. Colonel Millett, the regimental commander, was captured in Amfreville a few days after being deployed. Colonel
Edson Raff, who had recently led the
509th Parachute Infantry Battalion, then took command of the regiment. The 507th PIR later became known as ''Raff's Ruffians''. The 507th continued to fight in the
Battle of Normandy, sustaining heavy casualties (losing almost 200 men in two days shortly before being withdrawn), before returning to
England in July. Soon after the return to England the 507th was permanently assigned to the
17th Airborne Division, because another of the 82nd's regiments, the 504th Parachute Infantry, had by then returned from
fighting at Anzio. As part of the 17th Airborne, the 507th was not utilized in
Operation Market Garden in September 1944 and was still in England training with the new division when the
Battle of the Bulge began in December 1944. The 507th redeployed to France on 25 December and was used in the counter-attacks against the Germans in January and early February 1945. Finally, the 507th Parachute Infantry dropped near
Wesel,
Germany on 24 March to spearhead the division's assault during
Operation Varsity, the airborne crossing of the Rhine. During this action,
Private George Peters earned the
Medal of Honor for single-handedly attacking a German machine gun emplacement. The regiment subsequently spearheaded the division's
advance into Germany, where it ended the war in May 1945. The 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment was shipped home to the
United States and inactivated in September 1945.
Recent history The regiment was briefly re-activated in the late 1940s, then again in 1985. On 23 October 1985, it was reorganized and redesignated as the 507th Infantry, a
parent regiment under the
U.S. Army Regimental System, and transferred to the
U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. The 1st Battalion serves as the training unit for the
U.S. Army Airborne School. Its Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) conducts the Jumpmaster and Pathfinder Courses. Companies A, B, and C conduct the Basic Airborne Course. (Company D, currently inactive, also conducted the Basic Airborne Course.) Company E is a Parachute Rigger Company. In 2004, two documentaries aired on the 507th. PBS aired the
documentary,
D-Day: Down to Earth — Return of the 507th. This film connects the regiment's contribution to the war with their journey back to Normandy for the unveiling of a monument in 2002. On 1 June 2004, Investigating History aired,
D-Day: The Secret Massacre. The story focuses on the German massacre of French civilians, and wounded paratroopers of the 507th that were taken prisoners, in retaliation for
battle at the village of Graignes. ==See also==