Strengthening the bond between Devil Paratroopers, past and present.
The 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment - the 82nd Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team - aka The Devil Brigade has a proud history of excellence dating back to 1942. Your regiment took part in combat operations in World War Two, Operation Powerpack, Operation Urgent Fury, Operation Golden Pheasant, Operation Just Cause, Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, and Operation Inherent Resolve. Your regiment has received a multitude of awards including four Presidential Unit Citations. Your regiment has been commanded by such legends as Reuben Tucker, William Westmoreland, Hugh Shelton, John Abizaid, David Patraeus, and John Campbell. Your regiment’s history in World War Two is truly amazing: The Waal River Crossing, Operation Market Garden, the invasion of Sicily, the Battle of Anzio, the Battle of the Bulge. Your regiment facilitated the largest non-combatant evacuation operation in history during the HKIA NEO of 2021.
The paratroopers of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment train hard and they train often. Whether it’s a nighttime mass-tactical airborne operation or two weeks in the swamps of JRTC, your regiment stays sharp. Your regiment can mass fires on the objective, fight, and win. When the Devil Brigade attacks, there’s no pulling back. Our motto is “Strike Hold” and that’s what we do - strike the target and hold the objective.
The purpose of the Association is to establish a permanent organization to preserve the History of the Regiment and further develop the common bond which exists among soldiers who served and are serving in the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment and its supporting units; to provide continuing support of troopers currently serving; to perpetuate the memory of the members of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment who have died in the service of their country; to maintain contact with the members through the gathering and dissemination of information of concern; and to provide for their patriotic assembly in local and national reunions, thereby perpetuating the Airborne Spirit as to heritage and tradition for future generations. The Association shall actively promote membership by all those eligible.
If you served with the 504, then continue your service to the regiment. Join the 504th PIR Association. You will stay connected with the unit, help devils past and present, and make new lifelong friends. The GWOT veterans are growing in number. Don’t leave your buddies hanging.
Get back in the community. We’ve been waiting to hear from you!
Jan. 22, 1944: Allied forces, including the U.S. VI Corps under the command of Maj. Gen. John P. Lucas (of Lt. Gen. Mark Clark’s Fifth Army), begin a series of landings along a stretch of western Italian coastline in the Anzio-Nettuno area. Codenamed Operation Shingle, the Allies achieve complete surprise against and encounter little initial resistance from the Germans. But the landings kick off what will become one of the most grueling campaigns of World War II.
It is during the subsequent fighting (which continues for several months) that a dead German officer’s diary is found, a portion of which reads:
American parachutists – devils in baggy pants – are less than 100 meters from my outpost line. I can’t sleep at night; they pop up from nowhere and we never know when or how they will strike next. Seems like the black-hearted devils are everywhere.
