501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division

501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. “Geronimo”. With Colonel Howard R. "Jumpy" Johnson commanding, the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) was constituted and activated at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, on 15 November 1942. Under Col. Johnson, the unit participated (with paratroopers crying out "Geronimo" on exiting the aircraft) in many large-scale maneuvers during 1943. Deploying to the United Kingdom in January 1944, the 501st PIR was attached to the 101st Airborne Division. As part of the 101st Airborne, the new "Screaming Eagles" continued their demanding training to prepare for their first combat mission, the invasion of France. , , For D-Day, the 501st PIR planned to land north and east of Carentan and had orders to seize important canal locks at La Barquette, destroy bridges over the Douve River, and link-up with 4th Infantry Division units landing at Utah Beach. In the event, the 501st jumped into multiple locations on the Cotentin Peninsula, with only a few planeloads or sticks landing on their designated Drop Zones. Though dispersed, the men collected themselves, found paratroopers from their own and other units, and took the fight to the Germans wherever they could. Despite the loss of a battalion commander and several company commanders, the Regiment's members distinguished themselves in fierce combat actions, with many earning decorations for bravery. , , One especially noteworthy achievement was accomplished by a small force: the seizure of a critical causeway at Pouppeville that allowed the 4th Infantry Division's soldiers to move rapidly inland. Mostly from the 3rd Battalion of the 501st PIR, that force of about 100 paratroopers included Major General Maxwell D. Taylor, the 101st Airborne Division Commander. Suffering some 900 casualties during more than a month of combat, the 501st PIR received orders to stand down on 11 July 1944 and return to England to prepare for future airborne assaults. The 501st PIR earned a Presidential Unit Citation and the French Crois de Guerre with Palm for its gallant combat service in Normandy. , , Back in England, 501st PIR reintegrated recovered wounded, took on replacements, and began training for their next assignment (Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands) which came in September 1944. In December, the unit distinguished itself during the 101st Airborne Division's heroic stand at Bastogne, Belgium, earning another Presidential Unit Citation and the Belgian Croix de Guerre. War's end found the 501st PIR deployed in the Alps of southern Germany. Disbanded in August 1945, this proud unit significantly advanced the doctrine of airborne operations and made major contributions to the success of the Allies in Europe. , To remember the valor, fidelity, and sacrifice of the Allied Expeditionary Force on D-Day. Given by Mr. William and Mrs. William Hazel to mark the 65th anniversary of the Normandy landing.