On 1 July 1941, the 502d Parachute Infantry Battalion was activated at Fort Benning under the command of Major George P. Howell, under orders dated 15 April.

On 30 January 1942, realizing a battalion was too small to conduct offensive operations and survive to fight again, the War Department hurriedly authorized the activation of four Army parachute regiments.

The unit's mission was to secure two northern causeways leading inland from Utah Beach and destroy a German battery of 122 mm howitzers near Saint-Martin-de-Varreville.

Colonel Moseley badly broke his leg and had to relinquish command to his executive officer, LTC John H. "Iron Mike" Michaelis.

1st Battalion secured Saint Martin-de-Varreville by 06:30, sent a patrol under SSG Harrison C. Summers to seize a German barracks at Mésières, "WXYZ" objective and set up a thin line of defense from Foucarville to Beuzeville.

Moving the 3rd Battalion down the causeway toward the Ingouf farm under heavy German fire, LTC Cole ordered a bayonet charge.

Set for 17 September 1944, the airborne troops were to seize roads, bridges and the key communication cities of Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Arnhem, thus cutting the Netherlands in half and clearing a corridor for British armored and motorized columns all the way to the German border.

In fierce fighting around the bridge, Private first class Joe E. Mann, already hit twice, was killed when he threw himself on a German grenade to save the other soldiers in his foxhole.

After securing their hard-won objectives, the men of the 502nd moved north with the rest of the 101st to take hold of defensive positions on 'The Island', southwest of Arnhem.

Two of the German tanks which drove north from Hemroulle attempted to bypass the regimental CP at the Rolle Chateau, only to be tracked down by bazooka and grenade-toting paratroops.

On 4 and 5 May, the 502nd followed the 506th into the securing of Hitler's private residence in the town of Berchtesgaden, home to many high-ranking Nazi Party officials and German military officers.

The departure of the 11th Airborne Division for NATO duty in West Germany meant that the Army needed another rapidly deployable unit to face Cold War contingencies.

In June 1966 during Operation Hawthorne, Company C, 2d Battalion, 502d Infantry was conducting a mission to locate elements of the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) 24th Regiment.

[citation needed] The Napalm attack injured seven of Carpenter's men, but the PAVN ceased fire long enough to allow Company C to consolidate, reorganize and establish a position from which to defend and begin evacuation of wounded personnel.

For their extraordinary heroism in destroying the PAVN and in evacuating the mass casualties, both Carpenter and 1st SGT Walter Sabalauski received the Distinguished Service Cross.

In 1967, Operation Eagle Thrust moved the rest of the division to South Vietnam aboard chartered airliners as part of the American buildup.

Specialist Dale E. Wayrynen, Private First Class Milton A. Lee and Corporal Frank R. Fratellenico all have Fort Campbell landmarks named for them.

This time its mission was to enforce the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel by serving on the Sinai Peninsula as part of the Multinational Force and Observers.

At the division reunion that year, long-retired First Sergeant Dovholuk presented the blue silk World War II colors back to 2d Brigade commander John Herrling.

The official Canadian government report said it was ice buildup on the wings that caused the crash, but other investigators have pointed to signs of an explosion and suggested everything from terrorism to smuggled souvenir ordnance instead.

[citation needed] Whatever the reason, it is the deadliest single day in division history by some counts, outdoing both 6 June 1944 and Vietnam's Battle of Hamburger Hill.

Memorials for the fallen were subsequently constructed at Gander Lake, Newfoundland, Canada; near Fort Campbell in Hopkinsville, Kentucky; and on post between Screaming Eagle and Normandy Boulevards.

The "Strike" Brigade moved to Saudi Arabia as part of Operation Desert Shield in late summer 1990 to deter a possible Iraqi invasion.

During Operation Desert Storm, the 2d Brigade and 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) cut the enemy's lines of communications, struck deep into the country, threatened a strike against the capital, and shut off any escape.

Above all, the regiment fostered a secure environment that allowed the citizens of Mosul to live in a free and safe city which became a beacon of hope throughout Iraq.

During their deployment, the Strike Brigade lost 67 soldiers with numerous wounded in combat operations in an area where over 4,200 IEDs were found during their tenure.

Immediately upon approaching the outskirts of the city, the lead element of the task force came under intense rocket propelled grenade and machine gun fire from a prepared and determined enemy.

Still separated from the city by nearly a kilometer of open ground, close air support was called in, followed by a devastatingly accurate combination of attack aviation, battalion mortar, and artillery fires.

Through sound tactical execution and bold leadership, 3d Battalion, 502d Infantry fought its way into the city with undaunted courage, closing with and inflicting heavy casualties upon the fanatical Fedayeen Saddam with a fierce and indomitable fighting spirit.

Fierce fighting continued throughout the day, along with the treatment and evacuation of friendly casualties, but the intrepid acts of so many brave soldiers resulted in 3d Battalion, 502d Infantry inexorably closing in on their objective while destroying all enemy that lay in their path.