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Español509TH INFANTRY REGIMENT (UNITED STATES)
(Redirected from 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion)
During World War II, the '509th Parachute Infantry Battalion' ('509th PIB') was the first combat paratrooper unit of the United States Army.
The 509th was originally constituted on 14 March 1941 as the 504th Parachute Battalion and activated on 5 October 1941 at Fort Benning, GA. It was reorganized and redesignated on 24 February 1942 as the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment. It was again reorganized and redesignated on 2 November 1942 as the 2nd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment. (The 2nd Battalion was the only active element of the 509PIR. In the 503PIR, a new 2nd Battalion, with different honors and lineage, was formed.) The unit was again reorganized and redesignated on 10 December 1943 as the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion, a designation it retained for the remainder of the war.
The battalion was the first US airborne unit to ship to England early in 1942, and was assigned to the British 1st Airborne Division for further training. Although it was a non-divisional unit for most of the war, it was part of the provisional 1st Airborne Task Force (organized 15 July 1944 in Rome, Italy, and discontinued 23 November 1944 in France) for the invasion of southern France in August 1944 and it was attached to the 101st Airborne Division from 22 November to 18 December 1944.
The 509th carried out the first US combat drop during the invasion of North Africa. The transport planes flew all the way from English airfields to the African coast. This first operation was a fiasco, with the planes widely scattered. Some later, smaller jumps during the campaign were more effective.
Later, the 509th saw two more combat jumps in Italy and Southern France. After landing, they were often used as elite mountain infantry in the Italian mountains and French Alps. Paul B. Huff, a member of the 509th, was the first American Paratrooper awarded the Medal of Honor on 29 February 1944 for action at Anzio, Italy.
During the Battle of the Bulge, the 509th fought in Belgium to blunt the German attack. An account of this battle is described in the book "Bloody Clash at Sadzot." The war ended for the 509th at the end of January 1945 near Sankt Vith, with only about 50 survivors of the 700 who entered the battle. At this time, the 509th was disbanded, and the men left were used as replacements for the 82d Airborne Division.
A complete history of the unit in World War II can be found in the book, "Stand in the Door! The wartime history of the 509th Parachute Infantry" by Charles H. Doyle and Terrell Stewart, both 509th veterans. It is available from Phillips Publications, P.O. Box 168, Williamstown, NJ 08094. An anecdotal, first-person history of the 509th was published in "A Corporal Once" by Leo C. Inglesby, published by Xlibris Corporation and available on Amazon.com.
After World War II, the colors of the 509th remained inactive until 1963, when Co A, 509PIB was reactivated as HHC, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 509th Infantry, and Co B, 509PIB was reactivated as HHC, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 509th Infantry. Since 1958 the 8th Infantry Division in Germany had had an Airborne component consisting of the 1st Airborne Battle Group, 504th Infantry, and the 1st Airborne Battle Group, 505th Infantry, as well as other supporting elements on jump status. When the division reorganized from the Pentomic structure to the new structure using brigades and battalions, 1-504th and 1-505th were replaced by 1-509th and 2-509th, respectively, located at Lee Barracks in Mainz-Gonsenheim, Germany. These two battalions formed the infantry component of the 1st Brigade (Airborne), 8th Infantry Division (Mechanized).
In 1973, as the division's 1st Brigade jump status was ending, a new unit with the designation of 3rd Battalion (Airborne), 509th Infantry (bearing the lineage of WW II's Co C, 509PIB) was activated to form an Airborne battalion combat team (ABCT) from elements of the existing Airborne forces within the brigade. This unit moved to Vicenza, Italy, as a separate ABCT, and the colors of 1-509th and 2-509th were reflagged as 2-28th and 2-87th. Shortly after its arrival in Italy, 3-509th was reflagged as 1-509th.
On 1 July 1975 the lineage of Co C, 509PIB was reactivated at Fort Rucker as the separate Co C (Pathfinder), 509th Infantry. The company was created by reflagging the existing 5th Infantry Detachment (Pathfinder), which had served at the post since 24 June 1963. (A pathfinder presence at Fort Rucker can be traced back to about 1960 with the activation of the Pathfinder Team, Company A, 2nd Battle Group, 31st Infantry, to support the Aviation Center.) Contrary to some erroneous accounts, C-509th was not created by transferring C-1-509th from Italy to Fort Rucker. There had already been a pathfinder presence at Fort Rucker for 15 years. Even if the 5th Infantry Detachment had not existed, the Army would not have reduced the strength of its only forward-deployed Airborne battalion in Europe when sufficient manning was available in CONUS. Additionally, the organization and manning of a line Airborne infantry company is different from that of a pathfinder company conducting training support.
In 1983, 1-509th in Italy was reflagged as 4-325th to align it with elements of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg under an Army-wide combat arms battalion rotation program. The lineage of 1-509th was reactivated in 1987 to serve as the OPFOR at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. In 1993, 1-509th moved with the Joint Readiness Training Center to Fort Polk, Louisiana.
On 31 May 1993, the separate C-509th at Fort Rucker was reflagged as A-511th, reactivating the colors of a unit that had served with the long-inactive 11th Airborne Division and the short-lived (1963-65) 11th Air Assault Division (Test). The era of a pathfinder unit at Fort Rucker ended on 31 October 1995 when A-511th was inactivated to meet budget cut ceilings.
In mid-2004, 1-509th deployed to Iraq. With the expansion of the Airborne force from a single battalion (1-501st) at Fort Richardson, Alaska to a brigade (4th Brigade, 25th Infantry Division), the lineage of C-509th was reactivated on 16 Sep 2005 as HHC, 3-509th and assigned to Fort Richardson. The battalion deployed with 4th Brigade in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in October 2006.
★ Constituted 14 March 1941 in the Army of the United States as the 504th Parachute Battalion
★ Activated 5 October 1941 at Fort Benning, Georgia
★ Reorganized and redesignated 24 February 1942 as the 2d Battalion, 503d Parachute Infantry
★ Reorganized and redesignated 2 November 1942 as the 2d Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry
★ Reorganized and redesignated 10 December 1943 as the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion
★ Disbanded 1 March 1945 in France
★ Reconstituted 12 May 1947 in the Regular Army as the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion
★ Reorganized and redesignated 1 April 1963 as the 509th Infantry, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System
★ Withdrawn 16 January 1986 from the Combat Arms Regimental System and reorganized under the United States Army Regimental System
★ Transferred 2 October 1988 to the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command
★ Withdrawn 31 May 1993 from the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command
★ Activated 16 September 2005 at Fort Richardson, Alaska, as part of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division
★ Redesignated as 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment on 01 October 2005
★ Deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom on 06 October 2006
★ World War II:
# Algeria-French Morocco (with arrowhead);
# Tunisia (with arrowhead);
# Naples-Foggia (with arrowhead);
# Anzio (with arrowhead);
# Rome-Arno;
# Southern France (with arrowhead);
# Rhineland;
# Ardennes-Alsace
★ Global War on Terror:
# Operation Iraqi Freedom V
# Presidential Unit Citation for LIEGE, BELGIUM
# Presidential Unit Citation for CARANO, ITALY
# Superior Unit Award for 1993-1994
# French Croix de Guerre with Silver Star, World War II for MUY EN PROVENCE
# Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the ARDENNES
# Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at ST. VITH
# Personnel authorized to wear the insignia of the French 3d Zouaves Regiment
★ Veterans' Home Page
★ U.S. Airborne website data
★ Lineage of the 509th Infantry from the U. S. Army Center of Military History
During World War II, the '509th Parachute Infantry Battalion' ('509th PIB') was the first combat paratrooper unit of the United States Army.
| Contents |
| Beginnings |
| WWII battles |
| Post-WWII |
| Operation Iraqi Freedom |
| Lineage |
| Honors |
| Campaign Participation Credit |
| Decorations |
| External links |
Beginnings
The 509th was originally constituted on 14 March 1941 as the 504th Parachute Battalion and activated on 5 October 1941 at Fort Benning, GA. It was reorganized and redesignated on 24 February 1942 as the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment. It was again reorganized and redesignated on 2 November 1942 as the 2nd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment. (The 2nd Battalion was the only active element of the 509PIR. In the 503PIR, a new 2nd Battalion, with different honors and lineage, was formed.) The unit was again reorganized and redesignated on 10 December 1943 as the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion, a designation it retained for the remainder of the war.
The battalion was the first US airborne unit to ship to England early in 1942, and was assigned to the British 1st Airborne Division for further training. Although it was a non-divisional unit for most of the war, it was part of the provisional 1st Airborne Task Force (organized 15 July 1944 in Rome, Italy, and discontinued 23 November 1944 in France) for the invasion of southern France in August 1944 and it was attached to the 101st Airborne Division from 22 November to 18 December 1944.
WWII battles
The 509th carried out the first US combat drop during the invasion of North Africa. The transport planes flew all the way from English airfields to the African coast. This first operation was a fiasco, with the planes widely scattered. Some later, smaller jumps during the campaign were more effective.
Later, the 509th saw two more combat jumps in Italy and Southern France. After landing, they were often used as elite mountain infantry in the Italian mountains and French Alps. Paul B. Huff, a member of the 509th, was the first American Paratrooper awarded the Medal of Honor on 29 February 1944 for action at Anzio, Italy.
During the Battle of the Bulge, the 509th fought in Belgium to blunt the German attack. An account of this battle is described in the book "Bloody Clash at Sadzot." The war ended for the 509th at the end of January 1945 near Sankt Vith, with only about 50 survivors of the 700 who entered the battle. At this time, the 509th was disbanded, and the men left were used as replacements for the 82d Airborne Division.
A complete history of the unit in World War II can be found in the book, "Stand in the Door! The wartime history of the 509th Parachute Infantry" by Charles H. Doyle and Terrell Stewart, both 509th veterans. It is available from Phillips Publications, P.O. Box 168, Williamstown, NJ 08094. An anecdotal, first-person history of the 509th was published in "A Corporal Once" by Leo C. Inglesby, published by Xlibris Corporation and available on Amazon.com.
Post-WWII
After World War II, the colors of the 509th remained inactive until 1963, when Co A, 509PIB was reactivated as HHC, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 509th Infantry, and Co B, 509PIB was reactivated as HHC, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 509th Infantry. Since 1958 the 8th Infantry Division in Germany had had an Airborne component consisting of the 1st Airborne Battle Group, 504th Infantry, and the 1st Airborne Battle Group, 505th Infantry, as well as other supporting elements on jump status. When the division reorganized from the Pentomic structure to the new structure using brigades and battalions, 1-504th and 1-505th were replaced by 1-509th and 2-509th, respectively, located at Lee Barracks in Mainz-Gonsenheim, Germany. These two battalions formed the infantry component of the 1st Brigade (Airborne), 8th Infantry Division (Mechanized).
In 1973, as the division's 1st Brigade jump status was ending, a new unit with the designation of 3rd Battalion (Airborne), 509th Infantry (bearing the lineage of WW II's Co C, 509PIB) was activated to form an Airborne battalion combat team (ABCT) from elements of the existing Airborne forces within the brigade. This unit moved to Vicenza, Italy, as a separate ABCT, and the colors of 1-509th and 2-509th were reflagged as 2-28th and 2-87th. Shortly after its arrival in Italy, 3-509th was reflagged as 1-509th.
On 1 July 1975 the lineage of Co C, 509PIB was reactivated at Fort Rucker as the separate Co C (Pathfinder), 509th Infantry. The company was created by reflagging the existing 5th Infantry Detachment (Pathfinder), which had served at the post since 24 June 1963. (A pathfinder presence at Fort Rucker can be traced back to about 1960 with the activation of the Pathfinder Team, Company A, 2nd Battle Group, 31st Infantry, to support the Aviation Center.) Contrary to some erroneous accounts, C-509th was not created by transferring C-1-509th from Italy to Fort Rucker. There had already been a pathfinder presence at Fort Rucker for 15 years. Even if the 5th Infantry Detachment had not existed, the Army would not have reduced the strength of its only forward-deployed Airborne battalion in Europe when sufficient manning was available in CONUS. Additionally, the organization and manning of a line Airborne infantry company is different from that of a pathfinder company conducting training support.
In 1983, 1-509th in Italy was reflagged as 4-325th to align it with elements of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg under an Army-wide combat arms battalion rotation program. The lineage of 1-509th was reactivated in 1987 to serve as the OPFOR at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. In 1993, 1-509th moved with the Joint Readiness Training Center to Fort Polk, Louisiana.
On 31 May 1993, the separate C-509th at Fort Rucker was reflagged as A-511th, reactivating the colors of a unit that had served with the long-inactive 11th Airborne Division and the short-lived (1963-65) 11th Air Assault Division (Test). The era of a pathfinder unit at Fort Rucker ended on 31 October 1995 when A-511th was inactivated to meet budget cut ceilings.
Operation Iraqi Freedom
In mid-2004, 1-509th deployed to Iraq. With the expansion of the Airborne force from a single battalion (1-501st) at Fort Richardson, Alaska to a brigade (4th Brigade, 25th Infantry Division), the lineage of C-509th was reactivated on 16 Sep 2005 as HHC, 3-509th and assigned to Fort Richardson. The battalion deployed with 4th Brigade in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in October 2006.
Lineage
★ Constituted 14 March 1941 in the Army of the United States as the 504th Parachute Battalion
★ Activated 5 October 1941 at Fort Benning, Georgia
★ Reorganized and redesignated 24 February 1942 as the 2d Battalion, 503d Parachute Infantry
★ Reorganized and redesignated 2 November 1942 as the 2d Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry
★ Reorganized and redesignated 10 December 1943 as the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion
★ Disbanded 1 March 1945 in France
★ Reconstituted 12 May 1947 in the Regular Army as the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion
★ Reorganized and redesignated 1 April 1963 as the 509th Infantry, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System
★ Withdrawn 16 January 1986 from the Combat Arms Regimental System and reorganized under the United States Army Regimental System
★ Transferred 2 October 1988 to the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command
★ Withdrawn 31 May 1993 from the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command
★ Activated 16 September 2005 at Fort Richardson, Alaska, as part of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division
★ Redesignated as 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment on 01 October 2005
★ Deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom on 06 October 2006
Honors
Campaign Participation Credit
★ World War II:
# Algeria-French Morocco (with arrowhead);
# Tunisia (with arrowhead);
# Naples-Foggia (with arrowhead);
# Anzio (with arrowhead);
# Rome-Arno;
# Southern France (with arrowhead);
# Rhineland;
# Ardennes-Alsace
★ Global War on Terror:
# Operation Iraqi Freedom V
Decorations
# Presidential Unit Citation for LIEGE, BELGIUM
# Presidential Unit Citation for CARANO, ITALY
# Superior Unit Award for 1993-1994
# French Croix de Guerre with Silver Star, World War II for MUY EN PROVENCE
# Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the ARDENNES
# Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at ST. VITH
# Personnel authorized to wear the insignia of the French 3d Zouaves Regiment
External links
★ Veterans' Home Page
★ U.S. Airborne website data
★ Lineage of the 509th Infantry from the U. S. Army Center of Military History
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