#508th Infantry Regiment

[carbone14]

Des hommes de la HQ Company du 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division commandé par le capitaine Kenneth Johnson progressent aux abords du cimetière de Saint-Marcouf - Manche - Normandie - France - Opération Boston - Opération Overlord - 6 juin 1944

[captain-price-unofficially]

US Army snipers from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, provide overwatch security during a town meeting with locals in Dey Yak, Afghanistan

[vietnamwarera]

A Company, 1/508 Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division leaving a village.

The 508th Infantry Regiment had the nickname of “Red Devils.”

From the source:

Back to work. Heading out! Stay safe. Note the Red Devil Head painted on the last helmet. Photo by Craig Forrester. — at Vietnam 1968-69.

[tendie-defender]

In July 1943 Jim Schmidt jumped into Sicily with the 82nd Airborne Division during WWII. He and other paratroopers of the 504th parachute Infantry Regiment were part of Operation Husky. During the jump Schmidt injured his shoulder, his mother was in aware he had enlisted in the Army. She then wrote a letter to President Roosevelt asking why they had allowed her 14 year old to fight in war. Not long after Jim was shipped back to the states.

The day after his return he went to the Navy recruiter office. Being 6’0 200lbs there were no questions about his age. Months later the Navy discovered his age and booted him out.

Once he turned 18 he re-enlisted in the Army and was assigned to the 508th parachute infantry regiment. Served in Germany and then sent to japan to part of the Korean campaign. He also served in Laos in 62 and Vietnam in 67.

Jim Schmidt woke up at the age of 14 and chose violence.

[military1st]

A paratrooper from 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment during exercise Operation Askari Storm in Kenya.

Photo by SPC John Lytle (2018).

[rwood2477]

US Paratrooper Harry Hudec (1922-2007) of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment 82nd Airborne Division. Circa 1944.

#HBH

[greatworldwar2]

• 82nd Airborne Division

The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army established in 1917, shortly after the American entry into World War I. Specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areas.

The 82nd Division was first constituted as an infantry division on August 5th, 1917 during World War I in the National Army. It was organized and formally activated on August 25th, 1917 at Camp Gordon, Georgia. The division consisted entirely of newly conscripted soldiers. The citizens of Atlanta held a contest to give a nickname to the new division. Major General Eben Swift, the commanding general, chose "All American" to reflect the unique composition of the 82nd, as it had soldiers from all 48 states. It sailed to Europe to join the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), commanded by General John Pershing, on the Western Front. In early April, the division embarked from the ports in Boston, New York and Brooklyn to Liverpool, England, where the division fully assembled by mid-May 1918. During the first world war the Division participated in the St. Mihiel offensive, and Meuse-Argonne offensive. During the later campaign the division suffered 7,000 killed and wounded. A second 82nd soldier, Alvin C. York, received the Medal of Honor for his actions during this campaign. The division suffered 995 killed and 7,082 wounded, for a total of 8,077 casualties. Following the war's end, the division moved to training areas near Prauthoy, where it remained through February 1919. It returned to the United States in April and May, and was demobilized and deactivated at Camp Mills, New York, on May 27th. For the next 20 years the 82nd Division existed as a unit of the Organized Reserve. It was reconstituted in June 1921 establishing headquarters at Columbia, South Carolina, in January 1922.

The 82nd Division was redesignated on February 13th, 1942 during World War II, just two months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the German declaration of war, as Division Headquarters, 82nd Division. It was recalled to active service on March 25th, 1942, and reorganized at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, under the command of Major General Omar Bradley. During this training period, the division brought together three officers who would ultimately steer the U.S. Army during the following two decades: Matthew Ridgway, James M. Gavin, and Maxwell D. Taylor. On August 15th, 1942, the 82nd Infantry Division, now commanded by Major General Ridgway, became the first airborne division in the history of the U.S. Army, and was redesignated as the 82nd Airborne Division. The division initially consisted of the 325th, 326th and 327th Infantry Regiments, and supporting units. The 327th was soon transferred to help form the 101st Airborne Division and was replaced by the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, leaving the division with two regiments of glider infantry and one of parachute infantry.

In February 1943 the division received another change when the 326th was transferred to the 13th Airborne Division, being replaced by the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, under James M. Gavin, then a colonel, who was later destined to command the division. In April 1943, after several months of tough training, its troopers deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, under the command of Major General Ridgway to take part in the campaign to invade Sicily. The division's first two combat operations were parachute assaults into Sicily on July 9th and Salerno on September 13th, 1943. The initial assault on Sicily, by the 505th Parachute Regimental Combat Team, under Colonel Gavin, was the first regimental-sized combat parachute assault conducted by the United States Army. Glider troopers of the 319th and 320th Glider Field Artillery Battalions and the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment (and the 3rd Battalion of the 504th PIR) instead arrived in Italy by landing craft at Maiori (319th) and Salerno (320th, 325th).

In January 1944, the 504th, commanded by Colonel Reuben Tucker, which was temporarily detached to fight at Anzio, adopted the nickname "Devils in Baggy Pants", taken from an entry in a German officer's diary. The 504th was replaced in the division by the inexperienced 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment, under the command of Colonel George V. Millet, Jr.. While the 504th was detached, the remainder of the 82nd Airborne Division moved to the United Kingdom in November 1943 to prepare for the liberation of Europe. With two combat drops under its belt, the 82nd Airborne Division was now ready for the most ambitious airborne operation of the war so far, as part of Operation Neptune, the Allied invasion of Normandy. The division conducted Mission Boston, part of the airborne assault phase of the Operation Overlord plan. In preparation for the operation, the division was significantly reorganized. To ease the integration of replacement troops, rest, and refitting following the fighting in Italy, the 504th PIR did not rejoin the division for the invasion. Two new parachute infantry regiments (PIRs), the 507th and the 508th, provided it, along with the veteran 505th, a three-parachute infantry regiment punch. The 325th was also reinforced by the addition of the 3rd Battalion of the 401st GIR, bringing it up to a strength of three battalions. On the 5th and 6th of June these paratroopers, parachute artillery elements, and the 319th and 320th, boarded hundreds of transport planes and gliders to begin history's largest airborne assault at the time (only Operation Market Garden later that year would be larger). During the June 6th assault, a 508th platoon leader, First Lieutenant Robert P. Mathias, would be the first U.S. Army officer killed by German fire on D-Day. On June 7th, after this first wave of attack, the 325th GIR would arrive by glider to provide a division reserve. In Normandy, the 82nd gained its first Medal of Honor of the war, belonging to Private First Class Charles N. DeGlopper of the 325th GIR. By the time the division was relieved, in early July, the 82nd had seen 33 days of severe combat and casualties had been heavy. Losses included 5,245 troopers killed, wounded, or missing, for a total of 46% casualties.

Following Normandy, the 82nd Airborne Division returned to England to rest and refit for future airborne operations. The 82nd became part of the newly organized XVIII Airborne Corps, which consisted of the 17th, 82nd, and 101st Airborne Divisions. Ridgway was given command of the corps but was not promoted to lieutenant general until 1945. His recommendation for succession as division commander was Brigadier General James M. Gavin, previously the 82nd's ADC. Ridgway's recommendation met with approval, and upon promotion Gavin became the youngest general since the Civil War to command a U.S. Army division. On August 2nd, 1944 the division became part of the First Allied Airborne Army. In September, the 82nd began planning for Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands. The operation called for three-plus airborne divisions to seize and hold key bridges and roads deep behind German lines. The 504th PIR, now back at full strength, was reassigned to the 82nd, while the 507th was assigned to the 17th Airborne Division, at the time training in England. On September 17th, the "All American" Division conducted its fourth (and final) combat jump of World War II. Fighting off German counterattacks, the division captured its objectives between Grave, and Nijmegen. The division failed to capture Nijmegen Bridge when the opportunity presented itself early in the battle. When the British XXX Corps arrived in Nijmegen, six hours ahead of schedule, they found themselves having to fight to take a bridge that should have already been in allied hands. In the afternoon of Wednesday September 20th, 1944, the 82nd Airborne Division conducted a successfully opposed river assault on the river crossing of the Waal river. The Market Garden salient was held in a defensive operation for several weeks until the 82nd was relieved by Canadian troops, and sent into reserve in France.

On December 16th, 1944, the Germans launched a surprise offensive through the Ardennes Forest, which became known as the Battle of the Bulge. In SHAEF reserve, the 82nd was committed on the northern face of the bulge near Elsenborn Ridge. On December 20th, 1944, the 82nd Airborne Division was assigned to take Cheneux where they would force the Waffen SS Division Leibstandarte's Kampfgruppe Peiper into a fighting retreat. On December 22nd,1944, the 82nd Airborne faced counterattacks from three powerful Waffen SS divisions which included the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich, and the 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen. The Waffen SS efforts to relieve Kampfgruppe Peiper failed due to the stubborn defense of the 82nd Airborne. On December 23rd, the German divisions attacked from the south and overran the 325th GIR holding the Baraque- Fraiture crossroads on the 82nd's southern flank, endangering the entire 82nd Airborne division. The 2nd SS Panzer's objective was to outflank the 82nd Airborne. It was not an attack designed to reach Peiper, but it was his last chance, nonetheless. If it did outflank the 82nd, it could have opened a corridor and reached the stranded yet still powerful Kampfgruppe. But the attack came too late. On December 24th, 1944, the 82nd Airborne Division with an official strength of 8,520 men was facing off against a vastly superior combined force of 43,000 men and over 1,200 armored fighting and artillery vehicles and pieces. Due to these circumstances, the 82nd Airborne Division was forced to withdrawal for the first time in its combat history. The Germans pursued their retreat with the 2nd and 9th SS Panzer Divisions. On January 3rd, 1945, the 82nd Airborne Division conducted a counterattack. On the first day's fighting the Division overran the 62nd Volksgrenadiers and the 9th SS Panzer's positions capturing 2,400 prisoners. The 82nd Airborne suffered high casualties in the process. The attached 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion was all but destroyed during these attacks. Of the 826 men who went into the Ardennes, only 110 came out. Having lost its charismatic leader Lt. Colonel Joerg, and almost all its men either wounded, killed, or frostbitten, the 551 was never reconstituted. The few soldiers who remained were later absorbed into units of the 82nd Airborne. For the 82nd Airborne Division the first part of the Battle of the Bulge had ended.

After helping to secure the Ruhr, the 82nd Airborne Division ended the war at Ludwigslust past the Elbe River, accepting the surrender of over 150,000 men of Lieutenant General Kurt von Tippelskirch's 21st Army. Following Germany's surrender, the 82nd Airborne Division entered Berlin for occupation duty, replacing the 2nd Armored Division in August 1945. In Berlin General George S. Patton was so impressed with the 82nd's honor guard he said, "In all my years in the Army and all the honor guards I have ever seen, the 82nd's honor guard is undoubtedly the best." Hence the "All-American" became also known as "America's Guard of Honor". During the war the 82nd Division suffered 9,073 total casualties with 1,619 being killed in action and 6,560 wounded.

The division returned to the United States on January 3rd, 1946 on the RMS Queen Mary. In New York City it led a big Victory Parade, January 12th, 1946. In 1957, the division implemented the pentomic organization (officially Reorganization of the Airborne Division (ROTAD)) in order to better prepare for tactical nuclear war in Europe. In April 1965, the "All-Americans" entered the civil war in the Dominican Republic. Spearheaded by the 3rd Brigade, the 82nd deployed in Operation Power Pack. The 82nd later participated in the Vietnam War, and was stationed to deal with riots in Detroit in the 1967 Detroit Riot. After 11 September attacks on the United States in 2001, the 82nd's 49th Public Affairs Detachment deployed to Afghanistan in October 2001 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom along with several individual 82nd soldiers who deployed to the Central Command area of responsibility to support combat operations. More recently, the 82nd Airborne has been conducting operations in Iraq, advising and assisting Iraqi Security Forces.

[j-r-macready]

New Jersey National Guard by The National Guard Via Flickr: New Jersey National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from 1st Battalion, 114th Infantry Regiment, 508th Military Police Company, 108th Wing, and 177th Fighter Wing arrive near the Capitol to set up security positions in Washington, D.C., Jan. 12, 2021. National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from several states have traveled to Washington to provide support to federal and district authorities leading up to the 59th Presidential Inauguration. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Matt Hecht)

[warfaretoday]

Paratroopers Jump for Swift Response 18

Paratroopers Jump for Swift Response 18

US and British Army Paratroopers Participate in Baltic Region NATO Exercise

US Army paratroopers with the 82nd Airborne Division deployed near Rukla in Lithuanua to take part in an interoperability/readiness exercise with NATO allies and other US partners.

Elements of the 82nd division flew non-stop aboard a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft from their home at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Lithuania…

[georgemcginn]

DOD Featured Photos

Combined Training Paratroopers assigned to the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Te… Photo Details > Joint Effort Paratroopers assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigad… Photo Details > Saber Strike Paratroopers assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigad… Photo Details…

[carbone14]

Les Pathfinders 17 du 508e PIR de la 82e Division aéroportée américaine et les membres d'équipage posent devant leur Douglas C-47 avant le départ pour la France – Opération Boston – Débarquement de Normandie – Base aérienne de la RAF à North Witham – Angleterre – 5 juin 1944

Les éclaireurs (pathfinders) de la 82e Division aéroportée comme ceux de la 101e Airborne étaient équipées de balises radio au sol Eureka qui communiquaient avec un émetteur/récepteur Rebecca embarqué dans les appareils de parachutage. Le système de guidage indiquait au pilote la distance et l'alignement de son appareil le séparant de la zone de parachutage. Les Pathfinders décollent d'Angleterre depuis la base de la RAF North Witham et sont les premiers soldats à toucher le sol français en vue de baliser les zones de largage (DZ) des deux divisions de parachutistes américains : la 82nd et la 101st.

La composition type d'une équipe de Pathinders est la suivante :

1 officier chef d’équipe, de grade Lieutenant

1 officier assistant chef d’équipe

2 opérateurs de la balise EUREKA

2 assistants opérateur de la balise

1 chef de section lampe holophane

7 hommes équipés chacun de deux lampes holophanes

4 à 6 hommes pour protéger la DZ

[newsgurus24]

U.S. Paratroopers test IVAS goggle during EDGE 21

U.S. Paratroopers test IVAS goggle during EDGE 21

The U.S. Army announced that last week Paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division, 1st Battalion 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, trained with a prototype of the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) during Experimental Demonstration Gateway Exercise 2021 at Dugway Proving Ground, Utah. According to an Army statement, the training familiarized the 1-508 Paratroopers with the system and…

[tommycthompson57]

R.I.P. Comrade

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — A paratrooper with Fort Bragg's 82nd Airborne Division was killed in action Tuesday in Afghanistan, the U.S. Army said Friday.

Spc. Krystal M. Fitts, 26, of Houston, died when her combat outpost came under enemy fire in the Zharay district of Kandahar Province.

She was a member of the Female Engagement Team assigned to Echo Company, 782nd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team and further attached to Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

Fitts joined the Army in 2009 and was assigned to the 82nd Airborne in May 2010.

[wluera]

Memorial Day weekend: Hero Workout 1 - "Loredo" RX 32:56 #Crossfit 6 Rounds For Time 24 Air Squats 24 Push-Ups 24 Walking Lunges 400 meter Run U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Edwardo Loredo, 34, of Houston, Texas, assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was killed on June 24, 2010 in Jelewar, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He is survived by his wife, First Sergeant Jennifer Loredo; his daughter, Laura Isabelle; his stepdaughter, Alexis; and his son, Eduardo Enrique. (at Seaward CrossFit) https://www.instagram.com/p/CAic20BJwUK/?igshid=122xyvma7dacn

[military1st]

A paratrooper from 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, during the Operation Askari Storm, a multinational training exercise in Kenya.

Photo by SPC John Lytle (2018).

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

The Treadstone Resurrection by Joshua Hood

What if you had worked for Uncle Sam for years, been a lethal human weapon and finally decided to return to  normal live to spend time with your family? What if the life you had lead in the military had made it difficult to be as you once were but you were doing everything in your power to return to a simpler more loving life with wife and son and then one day it all fell apart and every skill you had put behind you was suddenly required again? That happened ot Adam Hayes in this first book of a new series based on the training ground Bourne went through in the trilogy about him written long ago.

Having read the trilogy I was interested to see what a spin-off book might be like written by a man with military skills in his arsenal and set in the present. And, I am glad I read this book though sometimes for some reason it reminded me of the movies Expendables and A-Team. It is my opinion that when reading fiction one sometimes has to leave reality, believability and plausibility behind and just enjoy the ride and not dissect whether or not one man could realistically do all that Hayes did.

What I liked:

* Adam Hayes: He seemed like a good man who had been given a raw deal. I would love for him to have a nice safe life with his wife and son but it seems highly unlikely in the series this book introduces

* Deano & his wife: wonderful people that were good friends to Adam

* The introduction of Waters and JT – they might show up in future books in the series

* Some of the people introduced that played parts in the story: Boggs, Ford, Izzy, Shaw

* That good prevailed over evil

* The action scenes were believable

* That when the book ended I wondered what would happen next

What I wanted to know

* How Hayes get all of the gear to Venezuela when he parachuted in

* How many others from Treadstone might be around to show up in future books

* More of Hayes’s backstory

What I didn’t like:

* The bad guys I was meant not to like

Did I enjoy this book? Yes

Would I read more in this series? Yes

Thank you to Head of Zeus & Midas Public Relations  for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4 Stars

BLURB

The first novel in an explosive new series inspired by Robert Ludlum's Bourne universe, The Treadstone Resurrection introduces an unforgettable hero and the shadowy world that forged him…

Treadstone made Jason Bourne an unstoppable force, but he's not the only one.

Operation Treadstone has nearly ruined Adam Hayes. The top-secret CIA Black Ops program trained him to be an all but invincible assassin, but it also cost him his family and any chance at a normal life. Which is why he was determined to get out. Working as a carpenter in rural Washington state, Adam thinks he has left Treadstone in the past, until he receives a mysterious email from a former colleague, and soon after is attacked by an unknown hit team at his job site.

Adam must regain the skills that Treadstone taught him--lightning reflexes and a cold conscience--in order to discover who the would-be killers are and why they have come after him now. Are his pursuers enemies from a long-ago mission? Rival intelligence agents? Or, perhaps, forces inside Treadstone? His search will unearth secrets in the highest levels of government and pull him back into the shadowy world he worked so hard to forget.

AUTHOR BIO

Joshua Hood graduated from the University of Memphis before joining the military and spending five years in the 82nd Airborne Division, where he was team leader in the 3-504 Parachute Infantry Regiment. In 2005, he was sent to Iraq and conducted combat operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2005–2006. From 2007 to 2008 he served as a squad leader in the 1-508th Parachute Infantry Regiment and was deployed to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom. Hood was decorated for valor in Operation Furious Pursuit. He is currently a member of a full time SWAT team in Memphis, Tennessee, and has conducted countless stateside operations with the FBI, ATF, DEA, Secret Service, and US Marshals.

LINKS:

Website: http://www.joshuahoodbooks.com

Twitter: Joshuahoodbooks

Facebook: @joshuahoodbooks

Simon & Schuster: https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Joshua-Hood/487588357#sthash.9o8liuhw.dpuf