....Opal met Nicky in June 1942, she got attracted to him because he was handsome, confident, experienced, and he was greatly in love with her . After dating for some time, Nicky asked Opal to marry him, and she soon accepted his proposal, they dated every week-end, but wrote few letters until the end of August 1942 .

Opal Keith

Nicholas Bonilla

Nick was stationed at Ft. Benning, Columbus, Ga (Ground Forces Training Center & Infantry School, troop capacity, 3,970 Officers and 94,873 EM), he was a member of the 502d PIR (the original 502d Parachute Battalion activated in July 1941, which was redesignated a Regiment in March 1942), and became a qualified Parachutist on April 17, 1942 . In September, the 502d moved from Ft. Benning to Ft. Bragg, Fayetteville, NC (since April 1942, Training Center for the newly activated Airborne Forces), where the ‘Screaming Eagles’ would start training in October, and learn to capture and defend roads, hills, bridgeheads and airfields . Nick Bonilla was made a Squad Leader, Second Platoon, B Co, 502d PIR, and promoted to Sergeant .

booklet about Fort Benning, Infantry & Parachute School, printed 6 April 1945, 2M copies, ref LX-172-RPB

October 16, 1942 : Sgt N. Bonilla wrote ; “Dear Opal, I told you my present salary is $ 128.00 a month, but I forgot an extra $ 7.00 that I get, and after we’re married, I’ll get another $ 22.00 . That comes to $ 157.00 . Do you think we can live on $ 39.00 dollars a week ? … Forever yours, Nicky .“

October 19, 1942 : Opal sent a telegram to her love ; “Western Union – BMA 5198 Birmingham – Ala 600 pm, Sgt Nick Bonilla, Co B, 502d Parachute Infantry, 101st Airborne Division, Ft. Bragg, NCAR , “Someone thinking of you tonight, Lots of love, Opal”.

November 2, 1942 : “… I wear my little (sweetheart) jump wings all the time, and people ask me, “Do you have a boyfriend who’s a paratrooper ?” Then I have the great pleasure of telling them all about you .” Opal” .

On November 10, 1942 Opal and Nicky got married by Reverend J. Cantrell, Pastor of the Third Presbyterian Church, at 617 South 22nd Street, Birmingham, Alabama; they were now Sgt and Mrs Nicholas L. Bonilla .

February 22, 1943 : “Nicky Darling, I’m anxious to hear from you . I left you a week ago, and it seems like a year . I’ve written every day, and if I don’t get a letter from you soon, I think I’ll go crazy . I go to the mailbox twenty times a day . I want more than anything to come back to N. Carolina to the dearest boy I know . I didn’t think I’d be so lonesome with all the folks around, but all I can think about is you . Sometimes I don’t hear what people say to me . Love Always, Opal ”.

February 26, 1943 : “Darling Opal, Sorry you had to wait so long for a letter . I haven’t written because last Sunday I went to the dispensary and I had a fever of 101 degrees . I went to the hospital, and I didn’t get out until noon today . Darling;, I know I told you I don’t want to have children until after the war (Opal was pregnant), but I’m glad we’re going to have a baby . We’ll manage somehow . I miss having my arms around you . I miss lying close to you . I even miss your cold feet against my back . Your husband, Nicky”.

In March 1943, the entire 101st Airborne Division participated in a 10-day maneuver in the Southern Pines area of N. Carolina . this lasted from March 22 through March 24 . The 502d PIR put on a demonstration for the British Foreign Secretary, Mr. Anthony Eden . From May 23 through 28, the ‘Screaming Eagles’ continued training with more maneuvers near Camden, S. Carolina . Planes and gliders transported troops and equipment, and paratroopers jumped over the target area . Meanwhile ‘little Nicky boy’ (it was to be a girl) was on his way, and expected for August 1943 …

1943 N. Carolina Maneuvers, Colonel George Van Horn MOSELEY (CO > 502d PIR) conversing with Mr. Anthony EDEN

March 5, 1943 : “Hi Opal Darling, The Captain and I are still on the warpath . He doesn’t want me to go to O.C.S. (Nick hoped he’d say yes, so he could remain in the US with his wife and child) . He is doing everything he can to keep me here . He says he can’t afford to let me go . I don’t believe that ! I am pleased about the baby . If it is a boy, he will be a champ, and if it is a girl, she will be beautiful . Darling, please be careful .Forever yours, Nicky “.

1942, training - paratroopers on their way to the DZ, wearing the early Riddell (football) helmet

Opal writes that coffee is now rationed . One pound is supposed to last 6 weeks . She now has ration book no. 2. A little later she promises her husband to make a cake to send him, but states she has to wait until sugar stamp no. 12 can be used . After maneuvers (again) Nicky went downtown Fayetteville and had dinner; he spent the following : two small steaks $ 1.00, two orders of French fries $ 0.20, cooked apples $ 0.15, a piece of pie $ 0.10, and four cups of coffee $ 0.05, for a total of $ 1.50 . He complained about Army food, and said he couldn’t eat the damned canned beans and meat, it was awful ! Coffee is now being even more rationed, so folks add chicory to it, it’s good and strong . As Opal learned to cook and prepared for the birth of her baby, Nicky participated in more maneuvers, these were staged to prepare the men of the 101st Airborne for the coming Tennessee Maneuvers, i.e. full-scale war games . Troopers began to see what ‘airborne fighting’ was all about … On March 24, 1943 the 101st put on a battle for the big shots; President and Mrs. Roosevelt, General G.C. Marshall, Madame Chiang-Kai Shek, Mr. Anthony Eden, and several British and French Generals were there . According to Nicky, some elements of the 504th PIR are expected to leave next week, that’s the outfit with the double AA shoulder patch (i.e. 82d Abn Div – ‘All Americans’) .

memento, pillow sham from the 1943 Tennesssee Maneuvers

1943, training and exercises - paratrooper calling with rigger-packed radio gear

1942, partial view of B Co personnel, Nick Bonilla is seated eighth from left

June 28, 1943 : “Opal Sweetheart, today I drove some sick boys to the hospital at Cp. Breckinridge, Morganfield, Ky (Infantry Division Camp, troop capacity, 2,031 Officers and 42,092 EM) about 45 miles from our temporary tent camp . The camp has about 35,000 American soldiers and 9,000 German PWs captured in North Africa . So, I went to see what the Master Race looks like . I was surprised; those prisoners are the youngest soldiers I’ve ever seen . Not one seemed to be more than 20 years old . They looked puny to me . Do I miss you ? Did Romeo miss Juliet; Did Napoleon miss Joséphine ? Would the United States miss Roosevelt ? I love you, Nicky “.

July 30, 1943 : “Dearest Opal, the time draws near that I will leave the USA, and God only knows when I will be coming back . Last week we flew to New York to load a ship with equipment and supplies . We slept on the ship . I wanted to visit my family (Nicky was from New York), but the CO said our arrival was secret . I’m now back at Ft. Bragg, and I probably shouldn’t be writing about this . Our mail is now being censored . We are not allowed to go into town, and no one is allowed to visit us” .

The Ft. Bragg Post band played in August 22, 1943, as Nicholas Bonilla and his fellow soldiers boarded trains bound for Cp. Shanks, Orangeburg, New York (Staging Area for NY P/E, troop capacity, 2,545 Officers and 46,367 EM) . Cp. Shanks was one of the last stops in the US for more than 1.3 million soldiers who departed to the E.T.O. . Some 47,000 soldiers lived in barracks 20 feet wide by 100 ft long, with two rows of bunks . The 101st left by means of Pier 88 in New York on September 5, 1943, and Nicky sailed to England aboard HMS Strathnaver, now a troopship with a capacity of 4,300 men . For this particular trip, more than 5,800 Screaming Eagles and 160 WAC members were jammed into the ship . Soldiers wore steel helmets and life jackets at all times, ate 2 meals a day, and took salt-water showers . They could go to a canteen during two hours of the day . Soldiers slept in hammocks, they observed strict blackouts, and those staying on poorly-ventilated lower decks came to upper deck periodically for fresh air and excercise . The ship sailed as part of a convoy . Early on September 6, German subs torpedoed an escort destroyer, and the crew of HMS Strathnaver conducted a successful boat drill . However the concussion of the explosions damaged the freshwater tanks . The ship went to St. Johns, Newfoundland for repairs, and set out to sea again on September 26; but she struck rocks and returned to St. Johns for more repairs . Heading out again on September 28, the Strathnaver now took 28 inches of water, so the troops were disembarked one more time . Troops now boarded the S/S John Ericsson on October 3, which sailed for Halifax, Nova Scotia for refueling and reprovisioning . It then joined a convoy from the States and finally docked at Liverpool, October 19, 1943 … Troops were awarded the American Theater ribbon for their 44-day ordeal !

September 4, 1943 : “Hello Darling, glad to hear from you. Hope you’re feeling good . I’m fine, and I’ve been well since I left . Darling, next time you write, use V-Mail stationery; I’ll get your letters much faster now . Sorry, I can’t write much . Please send me a telegram when ‘junior’ arrives . My address is Pfc Nicholas L. Bonilla, ASN 6877454, D Co, 502d PIR, APO 47, New York City, New York, Love always, Nicky . (Pfc Bonilla, former Sgt had again been busted to Pfc, and transferred from B to D Co) .

Men of the ‘Screaming Eagles’ rode trains from Liverpool to camps about eighty miles southwest of London . The 502d (also called the ‘Deuce’) was based in the Chilton-Foliat area in Wiltshire, near Stonehenge, and in the Denford and Hungerford areas in Berkshire . Officers lived in manor houses, and private homes, while enlisted men lived in barracks, stables, Nissen huts, and tent camps . Soldiers trained constantly in the wet and cold, and food was in short supply . The paratroops continued training with 15 to 25-mile hikes, close combat drills, chemical warfare exercises, and first-aid and map reading instruction . Soldiers were allowed one package of cigarettes a day, one bar of soap a week, and seven pints of beer a week .

October 22, 1943 : “Opal Darling, I didn’t get any mail today, but I don’t mind . I’m reading again and again the letters I received yesterday . The weather in England is cold . It has rained every day since I arrived, but we manage to keep dry . We have good barracks, and we keep our raincoats handy . Today our Sandra (Nicky and Opal’s baby daughter) is exactly one month and 9 days old . Does she look like you ? Send me a picture as soon as you can . I want to see our baby, and I want to see if having the baby has changed you . I Love You, Nicky” .

April 1, 1944 : “My Darling Opal, how is our little girl ? Opal, I lie awake at night wondering how you and Sandra would be cared for if something happened to me . I love you both so much that sometimes I wish we had never met . Late at night when everyone is asleep, I cry because I can’t be with you . If I should go to meet my Maker, I would continue to love you . I know I’ll come home soon, and I’ll do everything I can to make you happy . Tell Mom (Opal’s mother) I love her, and I appreciate everything she does for you and Sandra . Tell Dad (Opal’s father) I was asking for him . Always yours, Nicky” .

Exercise Eagle, May 9 – 12, 1944, in the Wiltshire area of Hungerford and Newbury, was as close to the real thing as the 101st Airborne Division would experience until D-Day . Taking of from the same airports they would use for the real Invasion, troopers jumped from airplanes to secure a causeway leading away from a beach simulating Normandy beaches . Most of the Division jumped at the wrong coordinates, and many troopers were injured, but altogether the exercise was considered a success .

1944, N. Bonilla with some members of his squad, Nick is kneeling third from left

May 30, 1944 : “Darling Opal, I was considering about returning all the pictures you sent me, but when things look glum, I will need those pictures to boost my morale . If you do not hear from me for a long time, just remember that you will always be on my mind and in my heart, no matter where I am . Darling, there is so much I want to say, but the words won’t come . Darling, the first Sunday after you receive this letter, go to church and say a prayer for the boys . Always yours, Nicky” .

On May 31, 1944, men the of 101st (and of the 82d All Americans) moved to airfields where they were isolated behind barbed wire and guarded by armed sentries . No one could get in or out, unless authorized . Soldiers wrote (censored) letters home and listened to music . They cleaned their weapons and sharpened their knives . They studied maps, aerial photographs, and scale models of the Normandy beaches and the various Drop Zones behind them . In a letter from France, Nick Bonilla said that Eisenhower spoke to him, during his visit at Newbury, that his face was blackened and that his picture was taken . Signal Corps photograph # 194399 shows Nicky as the soldier farthest back under the visor of IKE’s cap …

5 June 1944, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, SHAEF Supreme Commander, visits the airfields of the 'Screaming Eagles' - IKE is talking to members of the 502d PIR (trooper with head slightly leaning, and seen right under Ike's cap visor, may be Nick Bonilla)

IKE is spending some time with Five-O-Deuce troopers - Col MOSELEY (extreme left) presents his Regiment to the Supreme Commander

map of DZs used by the 502d PIR, and overall area behind Utah Beach Click image to enlarge

Go, go, go ! - 101st Airborne Division paratroopers jumping from their C-47 aircraft ...

members of one of the 502d Parachute Infantry Pathfinder teams, this one is bound for DZ 'A' - 502d Pathfinder teams were to leave from Greenham Common and Membury airfields around 2150 hrs June 5, 1944 ...

Colonel G. Van Horn MOSELEY, Commander 502d PIR

June 7, 1944 : Western Union Telegram ‘sans origine’ via Commercial means was addressed to Mrs. Nicholas L. Bonilla, 1920 3rd Ave South, Irondale, Ala., it read ; “Darling, all well and safe, all my love Dearest, Nicholas Bonilla, 0807 a.m.”

June 17, 1944 : “Dearest Darling, How are you ? I hope you are in good health . I am all right . Finally, I can tell you that I am in France, and I’ve seen quite a few Germans . France is a beautiful country . Vineyards and orchards grow alongside the roads, and we get plenty of cider and wine . Cattle graze in the fields nearby and we buy all the milk, butter, and meat we want, but it’s impossible to get bread . The Germans took all the flour . I’m eating and drinking well and gaining weight . Tell Sandra her daddy was asking for her . Give my love to the family . Lovingly yours, Nicky” .

June 25, 1944 : “Darling Opal, I have another chance to write, and I’m taking it . I’m in the best of health and hope you, the baby, and the rest of the family are well . Today I received the first mail since I jumped into France . Your letters were dated June 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8, and I was very happy to hear from you . Yes, Darling, the paratroopers have been doing an excellent job since we arrived over here . In fact, every man in our Regiment will be decorated with the Distinguished Unit Badge (today’s PUC) for heroic action ! Isn’t that swell ? When I get back to the States, I am going to fall in love with you again . Goodnight . I hope I’ll be able to write tomorrow . My love for you is everlasting . Always yours, Nicky” .

July 1, 1944 : “Darling Opal, I received your letters dated June 10 and 12, and I was overjoyed . I am so sick of being away from you . I wish this war was over so I could come home to you and the baby . Today the weather is bad . It has been raining all day, but I can always find a dry spot . I’m writing you from my foxhole, it’s about six feet long, three feet deep, and four feet wide . I have a tent half over the top . The sides of my hole are covered with some blankets confiscated from the Germans . The bottom is covered with hay and a blanket doubled on top . We have three blankets over us, and two of us sleep in this hole . From now on my letters will be written in pencil, we can’t get ink in France . Always yours, Nicky” .

Almost 200 men of the 502d PIR were killed, or died of wounds; 600 were injured, and 50 were missing or captured (total battle casualties for the 101st in the ETO would amount to 9,328 men, of which 1,766 KIA, and 6,388 wounded in action, in the end 4,425 men would return to duty) . From June 29 until July 10, the 101st bivouacked in the Tollevast area . The Division was relieved July 10, and the soldiers were trucked to a bivouac area behind Utah Beach . There, troops loaded onto LSTs and on July 13, the LSTs put in at Southampton, England .

July 28, 1944 : “My Darling Nicky, hello, how are you tonight ? Safe and well . I surely hope you are . I’m fine and Sandra is fine, too . I just got her to sleep . Darling I’m anxious to receive some mail from you . I hope I’ll get a letter tomorrow . I love you so much . I think of you all the time . I pray that it won’t be much longer until the war is over and you return to us . I love you, Opal” .

Meanwhile, the First Allied Airborne Army (activated 8 Aug 44), commanded by Lt. General Lewis H. Brereton (1890-1967) was to prepare for the airborne invasion of Holland, “Operation Market-Garden” in order to secure important bridges and open a road into the Ruhr, the industrial center of nazi-Germany .

Note : all letters written by Opal, dated from September 5, 1944 through October 5, 1944, were returned to her – on each envelope, the word “deceased” was written, and the word “verified” was stamped !

Pfc Nicholas L. BONILLA,
picture taken in 1944, after Normandy ...

On October 6, 1944 tragedy struck ! Mrs. Nicholas Bonilla received a Western Union telegram stating : “The Secretary of War desires me to express his deep regret that your husband Pfc Nicholas L. Bonilla was killed in action in Holland 22 Sept 44 . Confirming letter follows, s/ J. A. Ulio, The Adjutant General” . Soon Nicky’s personal effects were returned – a black plastic crucifix on a silver chain, a wallet containing pictures of Opal and Sandra, a lock of Sandra’s hair, Sandra’s baby shoes, the ribbon for the 502d PIR Distinguished Unit Citation, and the silver jump wings, that Nicky had worn with pride …

In December 1946, Opal received information about options for final burial of her husband’s remains … since Nicky had been dead for more than two years now, she chose to have his body interred in a permanent overseas American Cemetery . Nicky would thus continue to repose in Holland (Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, The Netherlands, Plot K, Row 17, Grave 16) with the men beside whom he had lived and died …
(Nicholas L. BONILLA, Pfc, D Co, 502d Prcht Inf Regt, 101st Abn Div, USA, 6877454 and Opal BONILLA, née Keith, recollections) kindly reproduced with permission of Mrs. Sandra Bonilla-Thompson .

Notes :

502d Parachute Infantry Regiment
Constituted 24 February 1942 . 1st Battalion redesignated from the 502d Parachute Battalion and remainder of Regiment activated at Ft. Benning, Georgia, on 2 March 1942 . Assigned to the 101st Airborne Division 15 August 1942, and moved to Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, 24 September 1942 . The 502d PIR staged at Cp. Shanks, New York, 25 August 1943 until it departed via New York P/E for Europe . The Regiment only arrived in England 19 October 1943 . The “Deuce” assaulted Normandy, France on D-Day, 6 June 1944, returned to England 13 July 1944, and then assaulted the Nijmegen-Arnhem area, Holland 17 September 1944 . The 502d was briefly attached to the 82d Abn Div 4 > 5 October 1944, and fought in the Belgian Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge, where it helped defend Bastogne . The Regiment further fought in Alsace and entered Germany 4 April 1945, and returned to France after the war, where it was finally inactivated 30 November 1945 .

radio callsign : KICKOFF
nickname : ‘Deuce’ – ‘Five-O-Deuce’
motto : Strike
D.I. : dark blue shield issuant from chief a transparent yellow eagle’s claw with black talons, and a pierced gold scroll with motto, authorized 14 November 1942, approved 15 May 1942
campaigns : Normandy (with arrowhead), Rhineland (with arrowhead), Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe
special awards : Distinguished Unit Badge to the 502d Parachute Infantry Regiment with streamer embroidered “Normandy” and a second one for “Bastogne”, French Croix de Guerre with Palm + streamer embroidered “Normandy”, Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 with Palm and Fourragère, and 2 Citations in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for actions in “France and Belgium”, and for action at “Bastogne”, Netherlands Orange Lanyard
Medal of Honor : Robert G. Cole, Lt Col, CO, 3d Bn, 502d Parachute Infantry, Carentan, France, 11 Jun 44, and Joe E. Mann, Pfc, Co H, 502d Parachute Infantry, Best, Holland, 18 Sep 44

TESTIMONY (Ravenoville – D-DAY – June 1944)


Forrest L. Guth with buddy Francis J. Mellet, both from E Co / 506th PIR, display the German flag captured at “Marmion Farm” on D-Day…

… D-DAY, with the Band of Brothers …

… I joined the Army in 1942 with two friends, Roderick G. Strohl and Carl L. Fenstermaker – we were all from the same hometown, Fogelsville, Pennsylvania . The three of us volunteered for the Paratroops, and became members of E Co, 506th PIR . We were in Third Platoon, and would all make it thru the war ! I earned the coveted ‘jump wings’ on December 26, 1942 . At the time we were still GHR (General Headquarters Reserve) troops and our only shoulder sleeve insignia was the corresponding patch (the 506th PIR was only attached to the 101st Abn Div in June 1943) . We finally prepared for movement overseas and embarked from NY P/E with destination England, this was September 5, 1943 . We crossed the Atlantic aboard the S/S Sumaria and docked at Liverpool, England . Our station became Aldbourne, Wiltshire, some 80 miles from London, we only moved to Uppottery, our marshaling area, at the end of May 1944 …

Pfc Forrest L. GUTH, picture taken in 1943 Click image to enlarge

three buddies - Pvt Carl L. Fenstermaker, Pvt Roderick G. Strohl, and Pvt Forrest L. Guth, while training at Cp. Toccoa, Georgia Click image to enlarge

Pvt F.L. Guth wearing his brand-new M42 jump suit (no jump wings, yet) Click image to enlarge

Our standard clothing was the M-42 jump coat and trousers . It was however easily subject to wear and tear, being made of light cotton material . I remember we had to stencil our names on the jump suit and turn them in in order to have them reinforced for the operation . I sewed those extra pockets onto my jacket while in Uppottery, I removed pockets from another jump coat and sewed them on the suit I was going to wear for combat, I guess I needed those pockets to carry all the extra goodies I wanted to take along, and some other guys in the 506th did the extra pocket job too, after seeing mine . On the right sleeve I sewed half an ammo bandoleer to carry cigarettes and pipe tobacco, but since it didn’t hold very well, I later replaced it with another pocket . I was the Company armorer as well as the squad’s grenadier . My M1 rifle was equipped with a grenade launcher, so I needed to carry quite a number of M9A1 rifle grenades too

Major General Maxwell D. TAYLOR, CG 101st Airborne Division, in his personal jeep, named after his wife Click image to enlarge

Colonel Robert F. SINK, CO 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment Click image to enlarge

D-Day morning, June 6, 1944 - Pfc Forrest Guth (left) and Sgt Floyd Talbert with locals, tasting cider ... Click image to enlarge

Marmion Farm, from L to R - Pfc Forrest Guth, Sgt Floyd Talbert, Pvt John Eubanks, unidentified trooper, and Pvt Francis Mellet Click image to enlarge

At 0110, June 6, 1944, Pfc Forrest “Goody” L. GUTH hit the silk over Normandy . The best “Easy Company”could pull together after the jump were around a dozen men – our CO, 1st Lt. T. Meehan III, O-437484, and most of Hq personnel never reported to the assembly area and were not seen again ! (aircraft #66 was hit by flak and crashed, killing all its 21 occupants) . I landed in a cow pasture, about 3 miles off target, somewhere between Ravenoville and the beach, and around dawn ran into more men from my stick . After trying to figure out what to do, we started moving toward Ravenoville searching for the rest of “Easy” . At the southern edge of the village stood a ‘square’ farmhouse used by the Germans (Marmion Farm), the four of us, together with stragglers from different outfits and under leadership of Major John P. Stopka, 3d Bn, 502d PIR (KIA in the Bulge Jan 14, 1945), captured the stronghold – that’s the place where the 101st Airborne displayed the first nazi flag captured by our Division !
(Forrest L. GUTH, Pfc, E Co, 506th Prcht Inf Regt, 101st Abn Div, USA, 13099811, recollections)

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TESTIMONY
(European Theater of Operations - Ravenoville – Normandy - FRANCE – June 1944)


506th PIR, 101st Abn Div troopers hauling an M3A4 Handcart move on the road to Carentan …

… misdropped …

…I was 18 at the time, and a private in A Company, 506th PIR. I landed between Ravenoville and Ravenoville-Plage whereas I was supposed to have been dropped on Hiesville ! For about 4 hours, I was alone, feeling lonely and frightened, and then I just decided to get on my way . I ran into something that looked like a blockhaus, since I didn’t know what it really was, I just threw a frag grenade inside and immediately left . I then came across a road, saw a house, which I avoided, and carefully walked further . I then met a trooper from the 502d PIR who was as lost as I was – I had never seen this guy before, but was damn happy to meet him . We went on until Ravenoville, where a lot of fighting was going on, that’s where I saw the very first dead bodies : Americans . We barely numbered about 20 soldiers, a mixed bunch from both the 82d and 101st Airborne Divisions, but yet managed to capture 70 Germans . We later left for Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, and continued up to Saint-Come-du-Mont where I found a large body of my own Battalion – we still proceeded further toward Carentan and joined the 502d PIR over there . I had broken my ankle while jumping, and had been fighting all along, without thinking about it, with my boot undone . On June 27, 1944 however, I couldn’t make one more step, and had to quit fighting . I was then evacuated to England …
(Eugene A. COOK Jr, Pvt, A Co, 506th Prcht Inf Regt, 101st Abn Div, USA, 15127412, recollections)

picture taken in 1996

picture taken in 2004

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Notes :

506th Parachute Infantry Regiment
20 July 1942 activated at Cp. Toombs, Georgia (renamed Cp. Toccoa, 21 Aug 42), then moved to Ft. Benning, 9 December 1942 . Attached to Airborne Command 15 December 1942 . Transferred to Cp. Mackall, North Carolina, 26 February 1943 . Part of the 1st Airborne Brigade 17 April 1943 . Attached to the 101st Airborne Division from 1 June 1943 to 1 March 1945 . Relocated to Sturgis Army Airfield, Kentucky, 6 June 1943 and to Ft. Bragg, North Carolina 23 July . The 506th PIR staged at Cp. Shanks, New York, 29 August , until it departed New York P/E with destination Europe . Left for overseas 5 December 1943 . It arrived in England 15 September 1943, and assaulted Normandy, France on D-Day, 6 June 1944 . After returning to England 13 July, it got ready to assault Nijmegen-Arnhem, Holland on 17 September 1944 . The 506th was part of the heroic stand around the town of Bastogne, during the Battle of the Bulge, in December 1944 . It entered Germany 4 April 1945 (temporarily attached to the 4th Inf Div), and was further part of the 101st Airborne Division until 1 March 1945 . The unit was inactivated on 30 November 1945 at Auxerre, France

radio callsign : KIDNAP
nickname : none
motto : Currahee
D.I. : dark blue shield with silver lightning flash in bend between, in chief six silver parachutes, and in base an issuant dark green mountain, and a silver scroll with motto, authorized 20 April 1943, but not approved
Campaigns : Normandy (with arrowhead), Rhineland (with arrowhead), Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe
special awards : Distinguished Unit Badge to entire 101st Airborne Division, including of course the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment with streamer embroidered “Bastogne”, separate Distinguished Unit Badge to 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment with streamer embroidered “Normandy”, French Croix de Guerre with Palm + streamer embroidered “Normandy”, Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 with Palm and Fourragère and Citations in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for actions in “France and Belgium”, and for actions at “Bastogne”, Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 With Palm + streamer embroidered “Bastogne”, Netherlands Orange Lanyard

SHAEF Message Form from IKE, dated June 8, 1944 and reporting his first findings re 'Operation Overlord' ... Click image to enlarge

Para-Dice Magazine, dated March 1943 - published for the 506th PIR personnel, Cp. Mackall, N.Carolina Click image to enlarge