2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment (Air Assault)
"Renegades"
The 2-506 IN was redesignated to the 506th 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 U.S. 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 has fought in two wars on two continents, participating in sixteen campaigns. Each of these honors serves as a distinct reminder of the unit's proud heritage, and its dedication to the preservation of freedom.
