3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry (Airborne)
As the war in South-East Asia drew down, forces began to return to USAREUR. In January 1973, the 3rd Battalion of the 509th Infantry was activated. At the same time, the existing 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 509th Infantry were designated as dual-capable, mechanized and airborne. They were later discontinued and replaced with two battalions (2d/28th Infantry and 2d/87th Infantry) which brought the 8th Infantry Division to fully mechanized status and provided it with the ability to defend Central Europe, its primary task. To provide greater mobility to the Mediterranean area, the 3rd Battalion of the 509th Infantry was redesignated as the 1st Battalion of the 509th Infantry (Airborne Battalion Combat Team) and assigned to Italy.
The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved on 30 Sep 1963. It was amended on 18 Nov 1963 to correct the wording of the blazon. The stylized yellow (gold) figure of a parachutist on a black ground is adapted from the device worn by the regiment during World War II and by which it was known throughout the Mediterranean Theater. The red field alludes to the red berets worn by the British 1st Airborne Division and the close association between it and the regiment during World War II in England and North Africa. The nebuly (heraldic delineation for water) white and blue bars (the colors blue and white are used for Infantry) refer to the record breaking parachute flight from England to North Africa on 8 November 1942. The 2 segments of the wavy blue bar simulate the streamers of the Distinguished Unit Citations awarded for the gallant actions at Carano, Italy and Liege, Belgium, and in being a heraldic symbol of water refers to the amphibious landing on the Anzio-Nettuno beachhead on 22 January 1944. The black pile simulates a parachute jump and in also being a heraldic symbol used frequently for Engineers, the two sides refer to the ground defense the organization participated in during the Anzio and Ardennes-Alsace (Battle of the Bulge) Campaigns. The five arrowheads are for the five assault landings made by the regiment in World War II.
509th Infantry Lineage was constituted 14 March 1941 in the Army of the United States as the 504th Parachute Battalion. Activated 5 October 1941 at Fort Benning, Georgia. Reorganized and redesignated 24 February 1942 as the 2d Battalion, 503d Parachute Infantry. Reorganized and redesignated 2 November 1942 as the 2d Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry. Reorganized and redesignated 10 December 1943 as the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion. Disbanded 1 March 1945 in France. Reconstituted 12 May 1947 in the Regular Army as the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion. Reorganized and redesignated 1 April 1963 as the 509th Infantry, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System. Withdrawn 16 January 1986 from the Combat Arms Regimental System and reorganized under the United States Army Regimental System. Transferred 2 October 1988 to the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. Withdrawn 31 May 1993 from the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command.
