The 132 enlisted men and eight officers who comprised Easy Company, 506th Parachute lnfantry Regiment, first came together in the summer of 1942 at an Army training base in Georgia called Camp Toccoa. Each of these men had volunteered to be airborne infantry soldiers.
They knew the job was dangerous, the training extraordinarily hard and the challenges ahead completely unknown, especially those to be encountered on the battlefield.
Colonel Robert Sink, their regimental commander, would soon prove to them that training to be a paratrooper was harder than anything they had yet encountered in life…
Fifty-eight hundred men tried to meet the physical and mental tests that Colonel Sink set for his regiment, only 1,948 made the grade. Sink's task was to put his men through basic training, harden them, teach them about infantry tactics, prepare them for jump school and lead them in for combat.
At Toccoa there was a prominent terrain feature, actually a big hill, called Mount Currahee. Sink ran his troops up and down the thousand foot hill until they were as hard as nails. If you couldn't run the mountain, you couldn't be a trooper with Bob Sink. Mount Currahee dominated the life of the 506th in those early weeks of training. Indeed, Currahee, an American Indian word meaning, "we stand alone", became the regiment's battle cry. It symbolized the intense desire of every soldier in the 506th to become a paratrooper, to wear the coveted silver jump badge and special jump boots, and to put a parachute insignia on their hats. And it didn't hurt to receive $50.00 extra each month as "jump pay".
The 506th was now an elite unit, one that would fulfill the role outlined by Army Chief of Staff George Marshall for airborne units-they would be the "point of the sword".
Next came Fort Benning, Georgia and the grueling weeks of jump school. Then the paratroopers of the 5O6th traveled to Fort Bragg to join the 1O1st Airborne Division in July
1943.
Bob Sink's old boss, Major General William C. Lee, commanded the 1O1st, known as the "Screaming Eagles" for the eagle's head on their shoulder patch. Lee was preparing his Division for the greatest challenge of World War II, the invasion of Europe.
Deployment to England came at the end of 1943; and the training became even more intense.
On June 6, 1944, D-Day, the men of Easy Company had their "rendezvous with destiny" as they jumped into the night sky over Normandy, France. The liberation of Europe was underway. From France through Holland, the Battle of the Bulge and then deep into Germany, the men of Easy Company fought long, bitter battles with Hitler's Army, proving conclusively that the Germans were not the "master race".
The story of E Company 506th is one of courage, sacrifice and victory; it is a story that must never be forgotten.
Glossary of Airborne Terms
Airborne Training in the UK,
before D-Day.
Airborne Training in the UK,
before D-Day.
Airborne Training in the UK,
before D-Day.
AIRBORNE
A term used to identify soldiers, units, or
equipment that are delivered to the battlefield by use of aircraft. In WWII,
airborne meant both parachute and glider forces.
PARATROOPER
Soldier trained to jump using a parachute
into combat.
COMBAT GLIDER
Half of an airborne Division, about 6,000
troops, went to battle on gliders. The American CG-4A Glider could carry 13
troops, or a combination of troops and artillery pieces, jeeps, trailers,
supplies or engineering equipment. Usually towed by a C-47 airplane.
C-47A
"SKYTRAIN"
Primary troop transport, jump, and glider tow
aircraft of WWII. A military version of a DC-3, capable of carrying 18
combat equipped paratroopers and/or towing up two gliders.
INFANTRY
Soldiers trained to fight on foot.
INFANTRY
REGIMENT
A combat formation of 1,800 soldiers carried
to the battlefield by troop transport aircraft or glider. Easy Company was
part of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, wich in turn
was part of the 101st Airborne Division.
AIRBORNE
DIVISION
By 1944 the U.S. Army had organized five
airborne divisions, each comprised of three to four infantry regiments,
three artillery battalions, an air defense/anti-tank battalion, a combat
engineer battalion and supporting medical, military police and logistic
units. Total strength was around 12,500 troops.
JUMP WINGS
Sterling silver parachute qualification badge
awarded to soldiers after making five training jumps. Glider troops did not
have a qualification badge until after D-Day.
JUMP BOOTS
Boots designed especially for paratroopers.
They feature increased ankle support and distinctive "capped toe".
D-DAY
The date fixed for a major combat assault,
such as the 6 June 1944 Allied attack on the Germans.
BATTLE OF THE
BULGE
The last major offensive by the German Army
in WWII. A counterattack against the Allied invasion in the Ardennes region
of Belgium. So named because the German achieved only a bulge in the Allied
lines before being repulsed.
GREEN LIGHT
As an airplane flies over the drop zone, a
light by the door turns from red to green to alert the paratroopers that it
is time to jump.
DROP ZONE
The designated area for paratroopers to land
and assemble in combat.
RAF Airfield in the UK, before D-Day, spring 1944.
People
FRANKLIN D.
ROOSEVELT
President of the United States during most of
WWII.
WINSTON
CHURCHILL
Prime Minister of Great Britain during most
of WWII, he was also a famous writer.
BENITO
MUSSOLINI
Fascist dictator of Italy during WWII, called
himself "il Duce", shot by partizans at the end of WWII.
ADOLPH HITLER
Leader of the Nazi party, ruling WWII Germany
as a dictator, also known as "der Fuhrer", committed suicide in Berlin in
May 1945.
EMPEROR
HIROHITO
Emperor of Japan during WWII.
MAJOR GENERAL
WILLIAM LEE
"Father of the Airborne" and first commander
of the 101st Airborne Division.
MAJOR GENERAL
MAXWELL TAYLOR
Second commander of the 101st Airborne
Division, Taylor was in command for the Division's combat in Europe.
COLONEL
ROBERT SINK
Commander of the 506th Parachute Infantry
Regiment from it's activation through WWII. A hard but fair man, Sink was
idolized by the man in his command. Like Lee and Taylor, he has become a
legend in the airborne world.
Places
CAMP TOCCOA
506th receives infantry training. Location of
Mount Currahee. Located 100 miles north east of Atlanta, Georgia.
FORT BENNING
Location of Parachute Test Platoon, still
houses the Airborne School, responsible for training paratroopers. 100 miles
south of Atlanta.
CAMP MACKALL
Home station of three of the original five
airborne divisions (11th, 13th and 17th) during WWII. Located just west of
Fort Bragg.
FORT BRAGG
Home station of the 82nd and 101st Airborne
Divisions during WWII. The 82nd, the only remaining airborne division, is
still stationed there. Located in Fayetteville, eastern central North
Carolina.
FT. CAMPBELL
Located 50 miles north west of Nashville on
the Kentucky/Tennessee border, Ft. Campbell has been the home of the 101st
Airborne Division (Air Assault) since 1956.
SICILY
An island located off the coast of Italy, but
part of that country. Sight of major U.S. airborne invasion during the
summer and fall of 1943.
NORMANDY
A province of northern France, and the
location of the June 6, 1944 D-Day invasion by combined Allied troops. The
invasion force left southern England and crossed the English Channel,
spearheaded by airborne units.
Airborne in the Normandy boccage
(Don Burgett at right!)
HOLLAND
A country in northern Europe, above Belgium
with the Ardennes, bordering Germany. Holland was the sight of Operation
Market-Garden, one of the largest airborne assaults during WWII.
RHINE RIVER
River that runs south to north through
Europe, predominately in Germany. The Rhine forms the German border with
France.
BERCHTESGADEN
AND ALDERSHORST
Important southern German cities during WWII.
Aldershorst is the sight of Hitler's mountain hideaway, the "Eagles Nest".
Airborne History Timetable, World War II in Europe
MAY 1940
Germany invades Western Europe using airborne
forces as the vanguard.
JULY 1940
U.S Army sets up a Parachute Test Platoon at
Fort Benning.
OCTOBER 1940
The 501st Parachute Infantry Battalion
activated.
FEBRUARY 1941
Provisional Parachute Group activated.
DECEMBER 1941
U.S. enters WWII.
MARCH 1942
Airborne Command activated at Fort Bragg.
JULY 1942
506th Parachute Infantry Regiment activated.
AUGUST 1942
82nd and 101st designated the Army's first
airborne divisions.
NOVEMBER 1942
509th Parachute Infantry Battalion jumps into
North Africa, the U.S. Army's first combat jump.
JULY 1943
506th PIR becomes part of the 101st Airborne
Division.
82nd Airborne leads the assault on German
forces in Sicily.
SEPTEMBER
1943
82nd jumps at Salerno, Italy.
JUNE 6, 1944
D-Day: 82nd and 101st lead the D-Day attack
in France.
SEPTEMBER
1944
82nd and 101st lead the assault into Holland
DECEMBER 1944
Battle of the Bulge.
MARCH 1945
17th Airborne Division jumps across the Rhine
River.
