506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division

506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. “Currahee” (Stands Alone). Activated on 20 July 1942 at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) came on line under the command of Colonel Robert F. Sink, who remained commander throughout its service. Early in its training near Currahee Mountain in Georgia, the Regiment adopted that mountain's Cherokee name as its motto because it exemplified the unit's ability to operate independently. After completing parachute training at Ft. Benning, Georgia, the 506th PIR joined the new 101st Airborne Division on 1 June 1943 and participated in large-scale Tennessee Maneuvers before deploying overseas. , , Some two months later, the Regiment crossed the Atlantic on the SS Samaria and docked at Liverpool, England, on 15 September 1943. For the next eight months, extensive training to prepare the unit for its role in the invasion of France continued until curtailed by the receipt of orders to move to pre-invasion staging areas in southern England. , , Transport aircraft carrying the 506th PIR departed from England early on 6 June 1944. Darkness, clouds, and enemy anti-aircraft fire caused the aircraft to scatter badly, so only a fraction of the Regiment's paratroopers jumped into their planned drop zones (DZs). The 3rd Battalion, the one unit that did drop close to its intended DZ, was immediately engaged by German defenders and soon lost both the battalion commander and his executive officer. Other members of the Regiment fought the enemy wherever they encountered him and succeeded in capturing two key bridges over the Douve River. Embodying the motto, individuals and ad hoc fire teams destroyed enemy artillery units, defeated German counterattacks, and seized critical high ground that enabled rapid movement of seaborne forces onto the Cotentin Peninsula. , , The 506th PIR remained in Normandy through June and into July, with many of its members distinguishing themselves by displays of exceptional courage. In recognition of its superior combat record in Normandy, the 506th PIR received a Presidential Unit Citation and the French Croix de Guerre with Palm. Returned to England to refit, the unit reintegrated the recovered wounded, took on new replacements, and prepared for another deployment, which came in September 1944 when the Regiment jumped into Holland as part of Operation Market Garden. In December, the 506th fought heroically during the defense of Bastogne, Belgium, where it earned a second Presidential Unit Citation and the Belgian Croix de Guerre with Palm. Having made a major contribution to the Allies' victory in Europe, the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment was inactivated in November 1945 , , In memory of Cpl. Norman L. Sandefur of Shelbyville, Indiana, Medic, Co. A, 1st Bn., 506th PIR (Bronze Star with V with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters,Purple Heart with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Combat Infantryman Badge), who jumped into Normandy on the night of 5-6 June 1944 with the 506th PIR and also saw action in Holland and at Bastogne. Given by Bob Tibbetts and Bill Barrett.