The unit went on to fight in World War II under command of Robert T. Frederick, earning recognition for its nighttime raids behind the German lines at Anzio Beach.

After the regiment endured rigorous training at Camp Toccoa and Fort Benning, Georgia, it was sent to North Carolina for military maneuvers.

On D-Day, the 501st, now permanently attached to the 101st Airborne Division was assigned to seize some canal locks and demolish the bridges over the Douve River.

Johnson gathered a group of his men and as platoons and companies in the regiment got back together, they annihilated a battalion of German paratroopers guarding the canal locks.

[2] The 101st Airborne was ordered to seize 15 miles (24 km) of highway, including several bridges, in the Netherlands as part of the combined airborne/armored Operation Market Garden.

Johnson and his young executive officer, Lieutenant Colonel Julian Ewell, a West Point graduate, were visiting the front lines.