508th Infantry Regiment ( United States ) During World War II , the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment ( 508th PIR or Red Devils ) was a regiment of the 82d Airborne Division which in turn became part of XVIII Airborne Corps of the United States Army . World War II . The regiment was activated on 20 October 1942 at Camp Blanding , Florida . Lt . Col . Roy E . Lindquist formed the unit and remained its commander throughout World War II . After extensive training and maneuvers the unit embarked on 19 December 1943 in New York and sailed on 28 December 1943 for Belfast , Northern Ireland , arriving on 8 January 1944 . After additional training at Cromore Estate , Portstewart , the unit was moved by ship to Glasgow , Scotland and by train on 13 March 1944 to Wollaton Park , Nottinghamshire , England . A sister Regiment , the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment , who were part of the 2nd Airborne Brigade with the 508th , were camped less than 10 miles away at a former Country Hotel called Tollerton Hall , Nottinghamshire . The unit participated in Operation Overlord , jumping into Normandy on at 2 : 15 a . m . on 6 June 1944 . Their immediate objectives were to capture Sainte - Mère - Église , secure crossings at the Merderet River near laFiere and Chef - du - Pont , and establish a defensive line north from Neuville - au - Plain to Breuzeville - au - Plain . There they were to tie in with the 502nd Infantry Regiment . Like most paratroop units in Operation Overlord , they were dropped in the wrong locations and had extraordinary difficulty linking up with each other . During the June 6th assault , a 508th platoon leader , Lt . Robert P . Mathias , would be the first American officer killed by German fire on D - Day . Portions of the 508th regrouped and remained in contact with German forces until relieved on 7 July when they became the division reserve force . On 13 July , they were transported back to England via two LST ' s and returned to their station at Wollaton Park . Of the 2056 troops who participated in the D - Day landings , only 995 returned . The regiment suffered 1061 casualties , of which 307 were killed in action . For its gallantry and combat action during the first three days of fighting , the unit was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation ( later re - designated as the Presidential Unit Citation ) , quoted in part below : After their success in Normandy , the regiment returned to its billet at Wollaton Park and prepared for its part in Operation Market Garden , jumping on 17 September 1944 . The regiment established and maintained a defensive position over in length , with German troops on three sides of their position . They seized a key bridge and prevented its destruction . Other units prevented the demolition of the Waal river Bridge at Nijmegen . The regiment additionally seized , occupied , organized and defended the Berg EN Dalkamp Hill mass , terrain which controlled the Groesbeek - Nijmegen area . They cut Highway K , preventing the movement of enemy reserves , or escape of enemy along this important international route . The regiment later played a part in the Battle of the Bulge . Col . Lindquist relinquished command of the regiment to Lt . Col . Otho Holmes in December , 1945 . The unit was inactivated on 25 November 1946 . Unit citations . The regiment was recognized with the following citations : Individual awards . The following awards were received by individuals . Cold War . The 508th was reactivated as the separate 508th Airborne Regimental Combat Team 1951 at ( Fort Benning , Ga ) Fort Bragg , North Carolina , served in Japan , and later moved to Fort Campbell where it once again inactivated in March 1957 as part of the reactivation of the 101st Airborne Division . When the Army abandoned the Pentomic battle group structure in the early 1960s , the 508th reorganized under the Combat Arms Regimental System as a parent regiment and at the same time was renamed the 508th Infantry . Within the 82nd Airborne Division , the former Company A , 508th PIR was reorganized and re - designated as HHC , 1st Battalion ( Airborne ) , 508th Infantry , an element of the 3rd Brigade . The former Company B , 508th PIR was reactivated as HHC , 2nd Battalion ( Airborne ) , 508th Infantry , part of the 1st Brigade . The 1st and 2nd Battalions , 508th Infantry continued to serve in the 82d Airborne Division . They served in Operation Powerpack in the Dominican Republic in 1965 and 1966 . When the 3rd Brigade was sent to Vietnam in response to the Tet Offensive in early 1968 , 1 - 508th accompanied it . There it took part of the heavy fighting of Hue and Saigon . It was later awarded the Presidential Unit Citation . In 1983 both battalions served in the Operation Urgent Fury with the invasion of Grenada . From 8 August 1962 to 26 June 1968 , the lineage of Co C , 508 PIR was reactivated as HHC , 3 - 508th INF , and the unit served as an airborne battalion within the 193rd Infantry Brigade in Panama . When the Airborne component of the battalion was reduced to a single company ( Co A ) , the battalion was reflagged as the 3rd Battalion , 5th Infantry . In October 1983 , the 1st Battalion , 508th Infantry Regiment , also deployed to Grenada in Operation Urgent Fury . The colors of 1st Battalion , 508th and 2nd Battalion , 508th Infantry departed the 82d Airborne Division during an Army - wide reflagging of combat units in the 1980s , leaving the division with battalions of the 325th , 504th , and 505th within the 2nd , 1st and 3d Brigades , respectively . Operation Just Cause . The 1st Battalion , 508th Infantry was activated as part of the 193rd Infantry Brigade from 1987 to 1995 at Ft . Kobbe , Panama . The 1st Battalion fought during Operation Just Cause , the invasion of Panama . It was inactivated with the parent 193d Infantry Brigade as US forces departed Panama in 1995 . During Operation Just Cause , HHC , A co . , and B co . , were assigned to secure and hold Ft . Amador . C co . , was given a separate assignment , to secure and hold La Commandancia alongside elements of the 75th Ranger Regiment . During the battle for La Commandancia , C co . incurred the only KIA ' s for the battalion ; PFC Vance Coats and Sgt . Mike DeBlois . Kosovo peacekeeping . The colors of 1st Battalion , 508th Infantry were reactivated in 1996 in Vicenza , Italy , by reflagging the existing 3rd Battalion , 325th Infantry , an airborne battalion combat team , and was expanded in 2000 to become the reactivated 173d Airborne Brigade . The battalion had elements training all over Europe and participated in the Kosovo peacekeeping mission from 1996 to 2006 . Invasion of Iraq . On 26 March 2003 , the 1 - 508th conducted a combat jump into northern Iraq . On the northern front it operated with special operations forces and Kurdish allies in tying down Iraqi forces . After the fall of Saddam ’ s government , it continued to serve throughout Iraq . For its service in Iraq the 1st Battalion , 508th Infantry was awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation . Operation Enduring Freedom . In 2005 - 2006 the 1st Battalion , as part of the 173d Airborne Brigade , deployed to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom . As part of Task Force Fury , they were deployed to the border on Pakistan in RC East where it served under the Command of Joint Task Force Devil ( 1st Brigade , 82d Airborne Division ) at Orgun - E . Units were located across RC East in company FOBs at Waza Kwha , C Company ( Rock ) ; Bermel , A Company ( Sharks ) ; Sharana , HHC ( Workhorse ) , and B Company ( Legion ) . In June 2005 Legion was redeployed to RC South ( Kandahar ) under Task Force Gun Devil ( 3d Battalion , 319th Field Artillery ) . The battalion returned from Afghanistan in February 2006 . The colors of 1 - 508th left the 173rd when the battalion was reflagged as 1 - 503d Infantry in June 2006 . In January 2006 , the colors of both the 1st Battalion and 2nd Battalion , 508th Infantry Regiment , were reactivated as infantry battalions in the newly activated 4th Brigade Combat Team , 82nd Airborne Division . In January 2007 , 1 - 508th , 2 - 508th , and the 4 - 73 Cavalry ( acting as the Brigade ' s Reconnaissance Squadron ) deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom . In August 2009 , the brigade returned to Afghanistan to support Operation Enduring Freedom . The Brigade returned to RC South ( Zharay and Maywand ) in 2012 . Current unit organization . The Brigade Combat Team is composed of : An article in the June 25 , 2013 issue of the " Army Times " announced the 4th BCT , 82d Airborne Division would be included in an Army - wide reduction of brigade combat teams . The remaining BCTs will be expanded , and it ' s likely 1 - 508th and 2 - 508th will be assigned to other BCTs within the 82d concurrent with the inactivation of the 4th BCT .