4th Brigade, 101st Airborne Division
506th Infantry Regiment (Air Assault) "Currahee"
When directed, 4th Infantry BCT rapidly deploys by air, land, or sea to conduct full spectrum operations in support of the Regional Combatant Commander's Requirements.
The Department of the Army confirmed in late May 2004 that the 101st Airborne Division would have another brigade by the end of the year. The addition of the brigade, also known as a "unit of action," comes as the Army is realigning its basic internal structure to form a brigade-focused force. By the end of 2006, 10 more modular brigades (in addition to the original 33) are expected to be in place throughout the Army. Under the new modular design, some division-level assets will be allocated at the brigade level.
The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) officially kicked off its transformation effort on 16 September 2004. As of 2006, the division had reorganized into four BCT (UA)s, two aviation BCT (UA)s and a support UA. The 4th Brigade Combat Team was activated in August of 2004 as part of the Army initiative to add a forth combat brigade to each division. 4th BCT is formed of six battalions that include two Infantry, one Reconnaissance, one Field Artillery, a Brigade Troops Battalion, and the Brigade Support Battalion along with the Headquarters Company for the brigade.
The 4th Brigade Combat Team started from scratch in forming the newest unit to hit the streets of Fort Campbell. Although the unit was new to the area, many of its Soldiers are not. In an effort to get the unit up and running, battalion and company commanders from the three existing brigades called for volunteers, about 200 per brigade, to join the ranks of 4th. Since then, many unit commanders and senior enlisted settled under the brigade colors.
Besides getting new Soldiers and equipment, 4th is also had to create new subordinate units. As an example, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Brigades received an artillery battalion each from the old Division Artillery. Fourth created a new artillery battalion from a slice of each of the old battalions. The remaining question was one of identity. Regimental affiliation was ironed out at the Department of the Army.
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. 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.
During its relatively short history, the 506th Infantry fought in two wars on two continents, participating in sixteen campaigns. Each of these honors served as a distinct reminder of the unit's proud heritage, and its dedication to the preservation of freedom.
