The 511th PIR arrived at Fort Benning's Frying Pan and found that due to their high-level of physical training they would skip Phase A of Jump School and go on to finish Phases B, C and D before heading back to Camp Mackall. After learning to jump, tumble, PLF-land, slip and collapse chutes and much more, the men took their five qualifying jumps from C-47s and nearly burst their buttons when the Silver Badge of Courage, their jump wings, were pinned on their chests.

Commander: Colonel Orin D. "Hardrock" Haugen - Jan. 1943 - Feb. 1945

The boys of the 511th PIR enjoyed Camp Mackall's superior facilities when not out on several-day bivouacs or long marches. Out of 12,000 volunteers, only 2,176 remained, having passed (i.e. survived) Colonel Orin Haugen's strict acceptance guidelines. At Mackall the soldiers practiced field problems and got to know the other units in their mother organization, the 11th Airborne Division under Major-General Joseph May Swing.

Commander: Colonel Orin D. "Hardrock" Haugen - Jan. 1943 - Feb. 1945

Given the conflicting results of the Allied airborne operations in North Africa and Italy, American military leadership questioned the need for airborne divisions and instead favored regimental-sized combat teams. The 11th Airborne's MG Joseph Swing (above, third from left) disagreed, as did Airborne Command, so Swing chaired The Swing Board, a group of officers that created the doctrine for large-scale airborne operations. To test their proposals, the Knollwood Maneuvers were held near Fort Bragg around the Knollwood Army Auxiliary Airfield (now Moore County Regional Airport) wherein Swing's 11th Airborne "battled" a reinforced 17th Airborne. Swing's men were so successful with their drops and taking of their assigned objectives that American leadership changed their tunes and decided to keep airborne divisions intact.

Commander: Colonel Orin D. "Hardrock" Haugen - Jan. 1943 - Feb. 1945

The Angels' time at Camp Polk was not one they remembered with fondness. It was cold, rainy and the post's armored units clashed with the paratroopers who knew they were the superior soldiers. Fights broke out and the Angels' leadership took their men out on long marches and field problems in the freezing rain and mud. Defense Department inspectors also made sure they had all their shots and dental work done, so the young Angels gladly packed up to board the train on April 20.

Commander: Colonel Orin D. "Hardrock" Haugen - Jan. 1943 - Feb. 1945

While at Camp Stoneman, the 511th PIR (which had to remove all their jump boots, wings and unit insignia for secrecy) trained for boarding and disembarking from naval vessels and broke the post's prior twelve-mile march record by forty-five minutes. Frustrated that they could not announce their success, the paratroopers were infuriated when they encountered armored units wearing, of all things, jump boots! Fights broke out across the post and the Angels left their mark on both base and other units until they left and headed towards the ocean for departure.

Commander: Colonel Orin D. "Hardrock" Haugen - Jan. 1943 - Feb. 1945

If Camp Polk was miserable, life onboard the merchant marine SS Sea Pike was hell. For three weeks, the 511th PIR crossed the Pacific onboard the Sea Pike, alone, enduring stiffing conditions below decks and long lines for their two daily meals. The food was awful (so they stole the crew's), the holds smelled and as D Company's 1st Lieutenant Andrew Carrico III exclaimed, the men were "Bored as hell." Gambling was common and many Angels slept on deck at night to enjoy the cooler air. The paratroopers grew to detest the merchant marine crew and by the time they reached New Guinea, the Angels called the Sea Pike "The Kaiser's Revenge."

Commander: Colonel Orin D. "Hardrock" Haugen - Jan. 1943 - Feb. 1945

Glad to get off the Sea Pike, the 511th PIR boarded DUKWs and headed inland to Dobodura airstrips for six months of intense jungle training. They erected pyramidal tents by companies, built "kitchens" and relaxation areas and headed into the hills and mountains of the Owen Stanley Range to learn bushcraft and how to hunt the Japanese. The Angels stole food, weapons and equipment, including vehicles, from nearby units and consistently snuck into the nearby WAAC compound, bypassing the MPs on the way. The paratroopers enjoyed USO shows, gambled late into the night, and continued to hone their already deadly skills with countless practice jumps, field problems, firing drills and more. They then boarded ships for a 2,100 mile journey to Leyte.

Commander: Colonel Orin D. "Hardrock" Haugen - Jan. 1943 - Feb. 1945

The Angels quickly unloaded their AKAs and APAs on Bito Beach, forty miles south of Tacloban. Moving inland, the division relieved the 7th Infantry Division before heading up into Leyte's mountains to destroy the island's main Japanese supply line. Carrying their ammunition and 3 days rations, the Angels headed into "The Green Hell" and over the next thirty days they endured hunger, monsoon rains, mud, steep terrain, volcanic rock and banzai attacks out of the night's darkness. Countless paratroopers became deathly sick with malaria and/or dysentery while they fought the Japanese further into the mountains, carrying their wounded with them. Coming down from the mountains on Christmas Day, the Angels marched into Ormoc after destroying 5,760 of the enemy and earning 96 Silver Stars, 6 Soldier’s Medals, 90 Air Medals and 423 Bronze Stars.

Commander: Colonel Orin D. "Hardrock" Haugen - Jan. 1943 - Feb. 1945

The majority of the 11th Airborne landed amphibiously at Nagsubu on Luzon and pushed inland through fierce enemy resistance outside Aga. On February 3 the 511th PIR jumped on Tagaytay Ridge and once the rest of the division arrived, the Angels pushed up towards southern Manila where they encountered and destroyed the intimidating Genko Line, the enemy's defensive line that utilized concrete pillbox, machine gun nests, naval and anti-aircraft guns, mines, and other deadly obstacles. With minimum artillery support, the Angels fought into the city and liberated Cavite, Fort McKinley, Nichols Field, and more. The division then turned east and then south to eliminate heavy areas of enemy resistance around Los Banos, Mt. Malepunyo and ultimately the Angels participated in Task Force Aparri, the last combat airborne operation of the war. In the fighting, the 11th Airborne earned 2 Medals of Honor, 9 Distinguished Service Crosses, 1 Distinguished Service Medal, 10 Legion of Merit medals, 326 Silver Stars, 1,126 Bronze Stars, 27 Air Medals and 884 Purple Hearts.

Commander: Colonel Orin D. "Hardrock" Haugen - Jan. 1943 - Feb. 1945
Commander: Lieutenant Colonlel Edward H. "Big Ed" Lahti - Feb. 1945 - Aug. 1947

The decimated 511th PIR received an influx of reinforcements on Luzon before being given FOUR hours to pack and head to the airstrips for flights to Okinawa. There the Angels waited for Japan and Allied Leadership to finalize the empire's surrender so the paratroopers visited friends in other units (and their kitchens), stole Jeeps to ride around the island and otherwise enjoyed the overly-crowded island (it was a main staging area for the invasion of Japan). Then orders came down for the 11th Airborne to get ready for another move; they were to be the first full Allied unit to land on mainland Japan.

Landing at Atsugi, the Angels quickly secured the airfield for the arrival of Generals Robert Eichelberger and Douglas MacArthur, for whom the 11th Airborne provided an Honor Guard until after the Surrender Ceremonies onboard the USS Missouri on September 1. The Angels also guarded MacArthur's Yokohama HQ at the New Grand Hotel before the division was spread throughout northern Honshu for occupation duty. The division became noted for its good behavior and positive examples of democracy and compassion and helped solidify the bond between the United States and Japan that exists today.

Commander: Colonel Edward H. "Big Ed" Lahti - Feb. 1945 - Aug. 1947
Commander: Colonel Reynolds Condon - Aug. 1947 - Sept.1949

Following over five years overseas, America's mighty 11th Airborne Division finally returned home to the United States in April of 1949. The Angels, including the 511th PIR/AIR, were sent to then-Camp Campbell, Kentucky, a post that following World War II had slowly been closing down. The 11th Airborne revitalized Campbell and remained there until news camp in 1956 that they would Gyroscope to Germany. During that time the Paratroopers of the 511th watched their brothers in the 187th Airborne Infantry head off to Korea (many in the 511th AIR transferred to the 187th for the move and fought with the 187th RCT). Those who remained at Campbell helped train over 13,000 replacements for Korea and helped further develop airborne tactics and techniques following the war's end.

Commander: Colonel Reynolds Condon - Aug. 1947 - Sept.1949
Commander: LTC M.M. Lyons - Sept.1949 - Dec. 1949
Commander: LTC Ben Harrell - Dec. 1949 - July 1950
Commander: COL Aubrey S. Newman - Aug. 1950 - Apr. 1951
Commander: LTC Warren T. Hannum Jr. - Apr. 1951 - May 1951
Commander: COL Broadus McAfee - May 1951 - May 1952
Commander: LTC William M. Haycock - May 1952 - July 1952
Commander: COL Curtis J. Herrick - July 1952 - Jan. 1953
Commander: COL Robert L. Walton - Jan. 1953 - June 1953
Commander: LTC Ralph D. Burns - June 1953 - June 1953
Commander: COL John D. Cone - June 1953 - June 1954
Commander: LTC Ralph D. Burns - June 1954 - July 1954
Commander: COL Patrick F. Cassidy - July 1954 - June 1955
Commander: LTC Gordon K. Smith - June 1955 - Aug. 1955
Commander: COL Herman W. Dammer - Aug. 1955 - July 1956

As part of America's Operation Gyroscope, in March 1956, the 11th Airborne Division crossed the Atlantic on their way to Europe to replace the 5th Infantry Division, in Augsburg, Germany. On April 14, Division Commander MG Derrill M. Daniel restricted the entire division to post after a series of bar-room brawls across Munich to maintain good relations with the German people. I imagine there are some good stories about that one!

The Angels became "The Shield of Bavaria" and continued developing goodwill relations with West Germany during their time overseas, becoming Ambassadors of Democracy just as they had done during the Occupation of Japan between 1945-1949. However, in 1957 the 11th Airborne Division was reorganized into a Pentomic division (organizations designed to fight on nuclear and conventional battlefields) which included inactivating its three infantry regiments (188th, 503rd and 511th) and replacing them with five battle groups, effective March 1, 1957.

The battle groups were:

• 1st Airborne Battle Group, 187th Infantry
• 2d Airborne Battle Group, 502d Infantry
• 1st Airborne Battle Group, 503d Infantry
• 2d Airborne Battle Group, 504th Infantry
• 2d Airborne Battle Group, 505th Infantry

Then on August 1, 1958, the 11th Airborne Division itself was officially reorganized and reflagged as the 24th Infantry Division.Commander: Colonel Herman W. Dammer - Aug. 1955 - July 1956
Commander: LTC Cameron Knox - July 1956 - Sept. 1956
Commander: COL D.E. Munson - Sept.1956 - 1957

On February 1, 1963, after Defense Secretary Robert McNamara authorized an expansion of the Army, from 960,000 to 975,000 to accommodate the building of the air assault formation from scratch. The 11th Air Assault Division (Test) was formed at Fort Benning, Ga., the training area site for many soldiers of the original division. Originally 3,800 personnel and 175 aircraft were authorized.

During its brief, two year tenure, the division conducted studies developing the concept of helicopters and the use of air mobility. When tests were completed, the division was once again deactivated on July 1, 1965, when 11th Air Assault Division (Test) was re-flagged as the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). 27 days later, President Lyden B. Johnson ordered the Airmobile division to Vietnam.

The 511th Infantry was part of HHC, 1st Brigade, 11th Air Assault Division (Test):

• 1st Battalion (Airborne), 188th Infantry
• 1st Battalion (Airborne), 511th Infantry
• 1st battalion (Airborne), 187th Infantry

Commander: -

On June 1, 1993, Company A of the 511th Infantry was reactivated at Fort Rucker, Alabama, and assigned to the 1st Aviation Brigade to serve as pathfinders by reflagging the existing Company C, 509th Infantry. The unit's lifetime was shortlived, however, and Company A was inactivated in November 1995. Additionally, the pathfinder mission was discontinued, along with the Air Assault course for which the company provided instructors, due to budget and manpower ceiling cuts.

Commander: -

On October 1, 1997, Company A, 511th Infantry was reactivated as a test company for the Enhanced Fiber Optic Guided Missile (EFOGM) system, under the command of Captain Stephen Inouye at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It was the first and only EFOGM company in the world. Then, on July 28, 2005, Captain Mark Chandler cased the 511th's colors during the inactivation ceremony at Rose Field in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Commander: Captain Stephen Inouye - Oct. 1997 -
Commander: Captain Mark Chandler - July 2005

I have high hopes that the Army will see the error of its ways and reactivate the mighty 511th Infantry Regiment once more when the nation needs another company of such great men and women to serve.

I've heard that Alaska, especially Fort Wainwright, is nice this time of the year...

-Jeremy C. Holm