507th TIMELINE
JULY 20, 1942
507th Parachute Infantry Regiment is activated at Fort Benning, Georgia. Colonel George V. Millett, Jr., commanding SEPTEMBER 1942 The 507th is moved to the Alabama Training Area near Uchee Creek for 22 weeks of training. OCTOBER 30, 1942 Nine officers of the 507th make an experimental water landing at Lower King's Pond, Georgia. NOVEMBER 1, 1942 The first issue of the 507th newspaper Boots & Wings is published. JANUARY 20, 1943 General George P. Howell of the 2nd Airborne Infantry Brigade reviews the 507th. JANUARY 23, 1943 The 507th Spiders basketball team plays the New York Celtics and wins 42-39. FEBRUARY 27, 1943 The 507th Spiders basketball team closes their season with 24 out of 26 wins, defeating the best colleges in the Southeast and the best pro team in the East. MARCH 7, 1943 The 507th is flown from Fort Benning to Barksdale Field to prepare for the Louisiana Maneuvers. MARCH 11, 1943 Colonel Millett is ordered to commit the 507th to the Louisiana Maneuvers. MARCH 14, 1943 The 1st and 3rd Battalions of the 507th air assault a pair of drop zone locations. The 2nd Battalion and Regimental HQ reinforces them the following morning. MARCH 20, 1943 The 507th arrives at the Army Air Base in Alliance, Nebraska. APRIL 4, 1943 The 507th marks their arrival in town with a mass jump before 20,000 spectators in Alliance. The jump is followed by a parade and review down Box Butte Avenue in downtown Alliance. APRIL 14, 1943 The First Airborne Infantry Brigade is activated, with the 507th forming the nucleus. MAY 23, 1943 Geronimo and sixteen 507th troopers jump for 25,000 spectators in Omaha. Geronimo receives his sergeant's stripes and silver wings. The jump is done in conjunction with the Field Club Dog Show. JULY 1943 The 507th jumps for a crowd of 18,000 in Gregory, South Dakota. JULY 3, 1943 250 paratroopers of the 507th jump on the Denver Municipal Airport in front of 150,000 spectators. JULY 10, 1943 After a successful season, the boxing team wins a featherweight title won by Red Grant in Denver, Colorado at the 7th Service Command All Service Boxing Tournament. JULY 20, 1943 The 507th celebrates its first birthday with a BBQ in Alliance. AUGUST 23, 1943 The Alliance Army Air Field celebrates its official dedication with a 507th reenactment of the jump on Sicily. SEPTEMBER 1943 The 507th bivouacs at Stockdale Lake in Custer State Park in the Black Hills. SEPTEMBER 24, 1943 The 3rd Battalion of the 507th participates in a mock assault on Sedalia Army Air Field in Missouri. OCTOBER 23, 1943 The 507th is reviewed for the last time before being sent overseas. NOVEMBER 23, 1943 The 507th arrives by rail to Camp Shanks, New York. DECEMBER 5, 1943 The 507th boards the Strathnaver at the New York Port of Embarkation. DECEMBER 16, 1943 The 507th arrives at Liverpool and travels by rail to Scotland. The 507th then boards the SS Susan B. Anthony for travel to Northern Ireland and arrives by rail to the resort town of Portrush. JANUARY 14, 1944 The 507th is attached to the 82nd Airborne Division. MARCH 1944 The 507th travels from Portrush to Glasgow to Nottingham, England to be bivouacked before the invasion. MAY 12, 1944 The 82nd Airborne Division participates in Operation Eagle with a mass jump of the entire division. MAY 26, 1944 The 82nd Airborne Division headquarters completes all plans for Operation Overlord. MAY 24-28, 1944 The men of the 507th are issued their reinforced and gas impregnated M42 jumpsuits. JUNE 3, 1944 The 507th begin rigging their C-47s with equipment bundles. JUNE 4, 1944 The 507th learns they will be jumping that night but receive word that the operation is postponed. JUNE 5, 1944 The 507th departs for Normandy from Fulbeck and Barkston-Heath Airfields and drops on DZ T. JUNE 9, 1944 Colonel Millett is captured and Lt. Col. Arthur A. Maloney assumed command. JUNE 15, 1944 Colonel Edson D. Raff, formerly of the 509th PIR, is given command of the 507th. JULY 13, 1944 The 507th returns to England. AUGUST 17, 1944 The 507th is attached to the 17th Airborne Division. DECEMBER 23-25, 1944 The 507th is flown to Reims and the 17th Airborne is attached to the 3rd Army. JANUARY 3, 1945 The 17th Airborne is moved to Morhet, Belgium to relieve the 28th Infantry Division. FEBRUARY 10, 1945 The 507th returns to its base camp at Chalons sur Marne, France. MARCH 24, 1945 The 507th jumps on DZ W northwest of Wesel, Germany as part of Operation Varsity. APRIL 10, 1945 The 507th captures Essen and continues to clear the Ruhr. SEPTEMBER 16, 1945 The 507th is inactivated at Camp Myles Standish. 507th UNIT AWARDS Presidential Unit Citation - Cotentin Peninsula French Croix de Guerre w/ Palm - Ste Mere Eglise French Croix de Guerre w/ Palm - Cotentin Peninsula French Croix de Guerre Fourragere |