Company D, 511 PIR

1926 -

Unit Nickname: "The Kid" or "Kid"

The youngest Angel in D Company joined the 511th Parachute Infantry while the regiment was at Camp Toccoa, Georgia in early 1943. Although his underage-status was discovered, Billy was allowed to stay and completed Jump School at Fort Benning. He then went on to fight with distinction on Leyte and Luzon and ultimately flew to Japan with the 11th Airborne Division to take part in Occupation Duty.

He and I have enjoyed long phone conversations about the history of the 511th PIR and the 11th Airborne in World War II. While dementia has taken its toll on this American hero, Billy's mind is still sharp about many details of the Angels in World War II.

Billy then stayed in the Army and served in Europe, Korea and stateside with the Cuban Missile Crisis before retiring as a Major on February 3, 1963. Pettit worked in the newspaper and hospital administration industries before retiring and traveling to forty-six of America’s fifty states with his wife Gwen, plus Canada, Japan (again), England, Scotland, Turkey, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, and Turkey.

When the Pettits attended the Division’s Atlanta, GA, reunion in, D Company's CO Cpt. Steven Cavanaugh looked at Billy and said with a smile, “You were a pain in the ass.”

1st Lt. Andrew Carrico, III, then added, “Billy, you were just a kid!”

If you would  like to learn more about Billy's exploits within and the history of the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II, please consider purchasing a copy of the book WHEN ANGEL'S FALL: FROM TOCCOA TO TOKYO, THE 511TH PARACHUTE INFANTRY REGIMENT IN WORLD WAR II, available in the regimental online store, on Amazon or wherever military history books are sold.