507^th Parachute Infantry Regiment

The 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment was activated at Fort Benning, Georgia, on July 20, 1942. It deployed to England in December 1943 and fought first under the 82nd Airborne Division. On June 6, 1944, the regiment parachuted into Normandy west of the Merderet River. Scattered drops and flooded terrain disrupted the planned assembly, but the regiment fought around La Fiere, the Merderet bridgehead, and the westward drive toward St. Sauveur-le Vicomte before returning to England in July.

Attached to the 17th Airborne Division in August 1944, the 507th moved to France in December during the Ardennes crisis. It crossed into Belgium on December 25 and fought in the division's January attacks northwest of Bastogne. On January 14, the regiment secured Bertogne while the 194th Glider Infantry took Givroulle, and both moved toward the Ourthe River. In February, the 2d Battalion crossed the Our River north of Dasburg during the division's assault toward the German border. The bridgehead came under heavy pressure and could not be expanded before relief by the 6th Armored Division.

The regiment's second airborne assault came on March 24, 1945, in Operation Varsity. One battalion dropped off target near Diersfordt, while the other two landed on their assigned zone. The regiment captured German antiaircraft and artillery positions, fought through Diersfordt and its castle, consolidated along the woods line, and contacted British commandos in Wesel. On March 25 it attacked across the Issel Canal with the 194th Glider Infantry, and on March 28 it overran Wulfen.

In April the 507th fought in the Ruhr campaign. It crossed the Rhein-Herne Canal, cleared toward the Berne Canal, entered Essen without opposition on April 10, gained a small bridgehead at Mulheim on April 11, and received the formal surrender of Duisburg the next day.