The 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment was constituted on 26 December 1942 in the
United States Army, assigned to the
13th Airborne Division, and activated on 11 January 1943 at
Fort Benning,
Georgia. It then moved to
Fort Bragg before being assigned to
Camp Mackall,
North Carolina, in January 1944, but was transferred to the Tennessee Maneuver Area and, in March 1944, assigned to the
17th Airborne Division, commanded by
Major General William "Bud" Miley. The 513th PIR was not sent overseas until after the
D-Day landings, which took place on June 6, 1944, and was still in training in England during
Operation Market Garden in September. During the crisis of the
Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, the division was flown into
Reims, France and moved by truck into
southern Belgium. In January 1945, the 513th Parachute Infantry was sent into the assault on Flamierge. During this fight,
Staff Sergeant I.S. "Izzy" Jachman raced through heavy fire, picked up a
bazooka from a fallen comrade and drove off two tanks, damaging one. His
Medal of Honor citation concludes, "S/Sgt. Jachman's heroic action, in which he suffered fatal wounds, disrupted the entire enemy attack, reflecting the highest credit upon himself and the
parachute infantry." Another Medal of Honor recipient from the regiment was
Private First Class Stuart Stryker. s of the
6th Guards Tank Brigade carrying American paratroopers of the 513rd Parachute Infantry Regiment through Dorsten, Germany, 29 March 1945. After the conclusion of the Ardennes campaign, the division was withdrawn in preparation for
Operation Varsity. The regiment dropped with the rest of the division into Germany near
Wesel in its only combat drop. In April 1945, units of the 513th were carried into action around Munster by
British tanks from the
Guards Armoured Division. After conducting occupation duty the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment returned to the United States on and was inactivated on the same date at
Camp Myles Standish,
Massachusetts. On 18 June 1948, it was redesignated the 513th Airborne Infantry Regiment, allotted to the
Regular Army, and activated on 6 July 1948 at
Camp Pickett, Virginia. It was inactivated from 31 March-10 May 1949 at Camp Pickett. ==Notable members of the 513th==