The 194th Glider Infantry was constituted on 16 December 1942 as part of the Army of the United States, and was activated on 15 April 1943 at Camp Mackall, North Carolina under the command of COL James R. Pierce.

[1] On 16 December 1944, the Wehrmacht launched a surprise attack on Allied positions, beginning the infamous Battle of the Bulge.

General Patton ordered the division to capture Flamierge, and the 194th composed the right flank of the advance, with the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment to their left.

[2] The 194th held its captured ground until 26 March, when Field marshal Bernard Montgomery began moving his troops eastward to relieve the paratroopers.

The next day, the 194th advanced on the German town of Lembeck, but encountered solid enemy resistance and were repulsed after I Company attempted three abortive frontal assaults.

[3] After Lembeck had been captured, the 194th drove eastward, and battled with retreating German units as they pushed further into the Nazi heartland.

1LT Thomas McKinley of the 194th captured one of the Nazi Party's top officials, Franz von Papen, in his estate near Essen in early April.

The regiment served in the Army of Occupation in Germany from 2 May – 14 August 1945, and returned to the United States on 14 September 1945, and were deactivated at Camp Myles Standish, MA the same day.