US AIRBORNE

Edson Raff

The 509th Parachute Battalion went through several designations before it received its final number.

Its creation dates back to October 5, 1941, when the 504th Parachute Infantry Battalion was established at Fort Benning, Georgia. The 504th was then sent to Fort Bragg in February 1942 to join the 503rd Battalion and together form the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, with the 504th becoming the 2nd Battalion on February 24, 1942.

As the 2nd independent battalion, the 2/503 sailed to Scotland in June 1942, becoming the first airborne unit to be deployed. It was attached to the British 1st Parachute Division for training. Its final redesignation occurred just days before Operation Torch, when it was called the 2/509.

The first American operation on the European theater was Operation Torch. The idea came from Churchill, to attack the "soft underbelly of Europe" before attempting to cross the English Channel. The objective was French North-West Africa. For political reasons, it was to be an American operation led by the newly appointed General Dwight D. Eisenhower. The airborne phase required a 2400 km move from England to capture two French airfields near Oran.

Major William P. Yarborough was chosen to handle the airborne logistics, and the 509th PIB was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Edson D. Raff (later commander of the 507th PIR).

The airborne phase was launched on November 8, 1942, but it was a fiasco. As the aircraft approached the DZ, the French signaled their cooperation. However, some units were unaware, and others changed their minds and turned against the paratroopers. This led to massive confusion among the American ranks as they tried to identify who were "friends" and who were "enemies."

A week later, on November 15, the 509th participated in a second jump, combined with the objective of capturing the airfield at Youk-les-Bains near the Tunisian border. From there, the battalion carried out operations with various French forces against the Afrika Korps in Tunisia.

From December 1942 to June 1943, the 2/509th trained in Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco in preparation for the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943.

For the invasion of Sicily, the 2/509th PIB was attached to the 82nd Airborne as a reserve unit, and therefore did not engage in combat during that campaign.

In September 1943, the invasion of Italy at Salerno took place. The 2/509th started as a reserve unit in the 82nd Airborne and stationed in Sicily until the beachhead was in danger. On September 14, as the 82nd Airborne was parachuted into the beachhead to reinforce it, the 509th PIB was dropped behind enemy lines to cut their supply lines. This was their third combat jump at Avellino, Italy. Unfortunately for them, their DZ was already occupied by the 6th German Panzer Division. The 2/509th then operated entirely independently for about two weeks behind enemy lines, using small company or section-sized units to disrupt German rear areas. Units sourced supplies from the locals until they were finally gathered at Salerno on September 28, 1943. The losses amounted to 123 killed or captured, including the commander and all of the HQ personnel.

William P. Yarbourough

On December 10, 1943, the battalion was reorganized and redesignated once again as the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion and recognized as an independent unit. Colonel William P. Yarborough took command after Colonel Raff left the unit to join the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment. During the period from October to December 1943, the battalion fought alongside Colonel Darby's Rangers above Venafro.

On January 21, 1944, the 509th PIB, still alongside the Rangers, participated in the amphibious assault at Anzio as the first assault wave. The Rangers sent two battalions against an elite German armored division while the 509th PIB was assigned a critical sector to defend at all costs, which they did despite heavy losses.

Paul B. Huff

For its heroic actions in stopping the German counterattacks at Carano, the 509th received the Presidential Unit Citation. In addition to the battalion's reward, Charlie Company received a second Presidential Unit Citation for leading a night attack on March 14, and Corporal Paul B. Huff became the first paratrooper to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.

After Anzio, the 509th PIB participated in Operation Dragoon as part of the First Airborne Task Force, where it fought as mountain troops.

In December 1944, the 509th PIB was attached to the 82nd Airborne during the Battle of the Bulge. The battalion defended Sadzot, Belgium, from December 22 to 30 against two battalions of Panzer Grenadiers and two German mechanized elite units, earning their second Presidential Unit Citation.

In January, the battalion was tasked with an offensive mission on the heights of St. Vith in Belgium, capturing and holding a pass for the 7th Armored Division. These battles marked the end of the battalion, with only 7 officers and 48 men remaining.

Towards the end of the war, independent battalions were no longer needed, and on March 1, 1945, the order came to dissolve the 509th PIB. The "survivors," battle-hardened and toughened, were incorporated into the 82nd Airborne for the remainder of the war.