1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment (Air Assault)
"Red Currahee"
The 1-506 IN was redesignated to the 506 RCT at Fort Campell as part of the Army's transformation towards a modular force in September, 2005.
Currahee is the Regiment Motto and is the American aboriginal Cherokee Indian equivalent for "Stands Alone." The 506th was the sixth parachute regiment constituted in the US Army.
The 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment was activated on 20 July 1942 at Mount Currahee, Camp Toccoa, Georgia, as part of the newly formed 101st Airborne Division. Currahee is a Cherokee Indian word meaning "Stands Alone," a phrase which later became the Regiment's motto. Led by their Regimental Commander, COL Robert F. Sink, the Regiment conducted a 137-mile forced march from Camp Toccoa to Fort Benning to begin Airborne training. They were the first Parachute Infantry Regiment to complete Airborne training as a unit.
Their training continued in England until 5 June, 1944 when the 506th suited up for a different kind of parachute jump. At 0100 hours, 6 June 1944, the Regiment jumped into the skies over France as the lead element of the massive Allied D-Day invasion. Their objective was to seize the high ground immediately behind the Normandy beach. By the evening of 6 June, the Regiment had secured its objectives, and had linked up with other elements of the invasion force who had established a beachhead at Normandy. For its exploits at Normandy, the 506th Infantry Regiment received a Presidential Unit Citation, and 25 of its members received the Distinguished Service Cross.
After ten weeks of refitting and training the 506th was once again called upon to parachute into combat, this time into Holland as part of Operation MARKET GARDEN. The Regiment went on to liberate the town of Eindhoven on 18 September, and aided in the withdrawal of the beleaguered British 1st Airborne from Arnhem on 7 October.
On the morning of 18 December the unit was hastily loaded onto trucks and transported to the vicinity of Bastogne to stem a major German attack on this critical city. The mission of the 506th was to hold the town of Neville, four miles to north. The Regiment successfully resisted the vicious German assaults, and earned its second Presidential Unit Citation for its actions at Bastogne.
The final significant event of World War II occurred when the Regiment drove into southeastern Germany and overran Hitler's famed "Eagle's Nest" and accepted the surrender of the German 82nd Corps from its commander, General Tolsdorff, at Gestein. When U.S. soldiers pressed into Hitler’s mountain hideaway near the end of World War II, they found jewels beyond comprehension. Hitler’s grounds in Berchtesgarden on the Austria and Germany border were rife with liquor, fancy cars and weapons. Allied soldiers — including the French and British — were both clamoring to be the first inside his lair. It was Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment — part of the 101st Airborne Division — who made it there first and plundered the spoils, sampling Hitler’s stash of food and booze.
Easy Company’s trials, which included D-Day action and bursting into Hitler’s home, are the subject of a 10-part HBO miniseries produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. Based on the book "Band of Brothers" by Stephen E. Ambrose, the series was broadcast over two months in the United States and was shown on American Forces Network.
For their bravery, the regiment was decorated with two Presidential Unit Citations with 25 Curahees earning the Distinguished Service Cross for their actions in Normandy. In November 1945, the 506th Infantry was inactivated at Auxerre, France.
The Regiment was reactivated on 25 August 1950 as part of the Korean War buildup. The 506th remained in the States as a training unit throughout the Korean War and was inactivated again on 1 December 1953. On 25 April 1957, the 506th was reactivated, once again as part of the 101st Airborne Division, at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. In addition to being an Airborne unit, it tested new Army airmobile concepts, and was part of the Army's strategic reserve.
In December 1967, the 506th arrived in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. While in Vietnam, the Regiment was converted from Airborne to Airmobile Infantry. Here they would serve for four years, earn twelve more battle streamers, and be awarded a third Presidential Unit Citation for action at Dong Ap Bia Mountain (Hamburger Hill) in the Ashau Valley.
The 506th soon found itself involved in thwarting the Tet Offensive. The Regiment prevented the Viet Cong from seizing Phan Thiet. It was also during this action that SP4 Gordon R. Roberts earned the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in the Thua Thien Province on 11 July 1969, and four others, 2LT John Harrison, SGT Alan Mayfield, and SP4 John Milguard all were awarded the Silver Star for gallantry during the execution of a night patrol to recover the bodies of fallen comrades. The Regiment participated in numerous actions during the period of Vietnamization; and in December 1971, the 506th redeployed to Fort Campbell and was deactivated in May 1984.
The 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry was reactivated on 15 April 1987 at Camp Greaves, Republic of Korea (with A Company at Camp Liberty Bell), where it was assigned to the 2 BDE of the 2 ID. Its mission was to man the guard posts along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), provide quick reaction forces, and patrol the United Nations Command MACHA "B" sector of the DMZ during the harsh Korean winter months of December through February. During the other nine months of the year, the battalion trained and remained ready to relieve the DMZ battalion in place in the event of an armed contingency with the North Koreans. In September of 1991, DMZ responsibilities were transferred to the ROKA 1st Infantry Division, and A Company was relocated to Camp Giant in 1992.
For many years the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment (Air Assault) was one of the most forward deployed combat units in the United States Army. Camp Greaves is located across Freedom Bridge, about 2 miles from the Demilitarized Zone in South Korea. Four battalions of the 2nd ID patrol the US Sector of the DMZ, and the 506th was tasked during the winter time because of its close location. There are three phases to the "Mission," patrolling, guardpost duty, and training.
T-hour, T-day, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry (Currahee) secures enclaves, uploads, and attacks to clear NW portion of TAA to prevent enemy interdiction of DISCOM and Aviation Brigade TAA occupation. On order, reinforces JSA and secures artillery logistics assets, 2ID Main, and Aviation Brigade to protect critical assets and evacuate noncombatants; Be prepared to attack or defend to achieve assigned missions.
The 1-506th stood alone as the only American combat force north of the Imjin River, permanently stationed less than three kilometers from the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). During their one-year tour, Currahee soldiers eventually grew used to sleeping at night against the blare of North Korean propaganda loud-speakers.
Unlike stateside units, the 506th had the advantage of a continuous training cycle to refine our warfighting ability. The Unification Bridge over the Imjin River is the primary route from South Korea up to Panmunjom on the DMZ, where meetings and negotiations between North and South Korea take place. This bridge is symbolic to the Korean people of ultimate reunification of the two Koreas, and it is guarded by the 506th.
During its relatively short history, the 506th Infantry fought in two wars on two continents, participating in sixteen campaigns. The 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry has been decorated twelve times. Each of these honors serves as a distinct reminder of the unit's proud heritage, and its dedication to the preservation of freedom.
The Hybrid Electric Humvee, which can operate in silent mode on battery power alone, was run through a number of field assessments Sept. 26 to Oct. 3, 2005 by Soldiers at Fort Campbell, Ky. Soldiers drove the Humvee for six miles on only battery power, convoyed in the hybrid (electric-diesel) mode, and used the vehicle’s electrical system to power a battalion tactical operations center. It was the first phase of the vehicle’s Military Utility Assessment, conducted during a training exercise by Soldiers of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1/501st Infantry, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
The hybrid vehicle is a bit heavier than a normal Humvee; it runs quiet on electric power and can go 10 kilometers on battery power alone. One of the limitations of the vehicle is that it can’t ford a deep stream because the power-generating batteries are located low on the vehicle’s frame.
The Hybrid Electric Humvee is being developed by the US Army Tank-Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center in Warren, Mich. Two prototypes participated in the exercise at Fort Campbell, and another was on display the following week at the annual meeting of the Association of the US Army in Washington, DC. Two of the Soldiers who participated in the Humvee’s assessment at Fort Campbell were on hand at AUSA to help man the display and explain how the vehicle operates.
