101st

It was announced the 101st Airborne Division (Screaming Eagles) has been moved from Ft. Campbell, Kentucky to the eastern border of Poland four miles from Ukraine.  I wanted to give you some background on the 101st.

While I have never been a member of the Division, I can give you a pretty good idea of who they were and are today.

The 101st Airborne Division was formed during World War I and disbanded. It was reinstituted on July 30, 1942, as the 101st Airborne Division. It was headquartered at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. The 101st was the second Airborne Division created, the 82nd Airborne Division was the first. Many of the cadre to make up the Division came from the 82nd. Today the 101st is no longer an Airborne Division but an Air Assault Division. I will explain later in this Newsletter.

During World War II the 101st Airborne Division participated in Ukraine.  I wanted to give you some background on the 101st.

While I have never been a member of the Division, I can give you a pretty good idea of who they were and are today.

The 101st Airborne Division was formed during World War I and disbanded. It was reinstituted on July 30, 1942, as the 101st Airborne Division it was headquartered at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. They were the second Airborne Division created, the 82nd Airborne Division was the first. Many of the cadre to make the Division came from the 82nd. Today the 101st is no longer an Airborne Division but an Air Assault Division. I will explain later in this Newsletter.

During World War II the 101st Airborne Division participated in numerous operations. Before D-Day, pathfinders parachuted into Normandy to determine drop zones for the Division to land on D-Day. The 101st Airborne Division parachuted behind Normandy beach during the night of 5-6 June 1944, to support the landings on Utah beach by the US Army. The drops took place in three different drop zones.

The first drop was able to drop although with many problems. Units were scattered over a wide area. They were able to reform and capture Saint Martin-de-Varreville by 0630. The Artillery was dropped in the wrong place and became causalities. Only one howitzer was saved and used in support of the Unit.

The second drop came later in the early morning of 6 June. Clouds had moved in and visibility to the ground was lost. The 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment dropped 10 miles from their drop zone. Because the Germans were now expecting more planes in the area, three planes were shot down. By the time the unit regrouped and got to their target the 4th Infantry Division had already secured the area.

The third drop was also hampered by the cloud cover and 6 C-47s were shot down. When the unit landed it landed in an area the Germans had already set up machine guns and zeroed mortars. Many of the troops were killed by the German’s actions. Two of the Battalion Commanders were killed because of the heavy concentration of fire from the Germans.

The 101st Airborne Division then took place in Operation Market Garden. If you remember the movie A Bridge to Far. While the 101st Airborne Division wasn't at that bridge the whole operation was a disaster.

During the Battle of the Bulge, the 101st Airborne Division went to Bastogne. The Germans surrounded them. MG Howling Mad Smith, the commanding officer of the division, gave the one-word answer to the Germans when asked to surrender, the answer was, "Nuts." Patton turned his 3rd Army around and in 8 days was able to relieve the 101st.

During World War II the Division suffered 9,348 causalities, of the causalities 1,766 were killed and 6,388 wounded. There were 207 Missing in Action and 967 Prisoners of War. The 101st Airborne Division earned 3 Medals of Honor, 2 Distinguished Services Crosses, and 456 Silver Stars.

During Vietnam part of the 101st Airborne Division, 1 Brigade, was sent to Vietnam and operated from the Central highlands (II Corps) up to the Demilitarized Zone (Northern I Corps). When the rest of the Division was brought into Vietnam in November 1967, they were assigned to Northern I Corps and fought against the North Vietnam Army (NVA). The most famous battle fought the Battle of hamburger Hill was fought by the 101st Airborne Division on 13-20 May 1969. I went through the Special Forces Officers Course with one of the company commanders who was at the battle.

In 1974, the 101st Airborne Division was reorganized as an Air Assault division. Which simply means the primary method of inserting troops is by helicopter. They were no longer Airborne, however, their patch remains an Eagle with an Airborne over it.

During the Gulf War on 17 January 1991, the 101st Aviation Regiment fired the first shots of the war when eight AH-64 helicopters successfully destroyed two Iraqi early warning radar sites.  In February 1991, the 101st once again had its "Rendezvous with Destiny" in Iraq during the combat air assault into enemy territory. The 101st Airborne Division struck 155 miles behind enemy lines.  It was the deepest air assault operation in history.

During Enduring Freedom (the War in Afghanistan) the Division performed operations consisting mostly of raids, ambushes, and patrolling. The 101st also performed combat air assaults throughout the operation.

During Operation Iraqi Freedom in  2003, Major General David Petraeus led the Screaming Eagles to war during the invasion. General Petraeus led the division into Iraq saying, "Guidons, Guidons. This is Eagle 6. The 101st Airborne Division's next Rendezvous with Destiny is North to Baghdad. Op-Ord Desert Eagle 2 is now in effect. Godspeed. Air Assault. Out."

The Division made multiple deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan with the last deployment in 2016. 101st Airborne Division made multiple deployments to Syria in support of the Kurds against ISIS and Al-Qaeda.