Shoulder sleeve insignia (SSI) worn by soldiers of the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade (other soldiers of the US Army Infantry School wear the SSI without the Airborne Tab)
Soon after the return to England the 507th was permanently assigned to the 17th Airborne Division, because another of the 82nd's regiments, the 504th Parachute Infantry, had by then returned from fighting at Anzio.
As part of the 17th Airborne, the 507th was not utilized in Operation Market Garden in September 1944 and was still in England training with the new division when the Battle of the Bulge began in December 1944. The 507th redeployed to France on 25 December and was used in the counter-attacks against the Germans in January and early February 1945.
Finally, the 507th Parachute Infantry dropped near Wesel, Germany on 24 March to spearhead the division's assault during Operation Varsity, the airborne crossing of the Rhine. During this action, PrivateGeorge Peters earned the Medal of Honor for single-handedly attacking a German machine gun emplacement. The regiment subsequently spearheaded the division's advance into Germany, where it ended the war in May 1945.
The 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment was shipped home to the United States and inactivated in September 1945.
Recent history
The regiment was briefly re-activated in the late 1940s, then again in 1985. On 23 October 1985, it was reorganized and redesignated as the 507th Infantry, a parent regiment under the U.S. Army Regimental System, and transferred to the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. The 1st Battalion serves as the training unit for the U.S. Army Airborne School. Its Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) conducts the Jumpmaster and Pathfinder Courses. Companies A, B, and C conduct the Basic Airborne Course. (Company D, currently inactive, also conducted the Basic Airborne Course.) Company E is a Parachute Rigger Company.
In 2004, two documentaries aired on the 507th. PBS aired the documentary, D-Day: Down to Earth — Return of the 507th. This film connects the regiment's contribution to the war with their journey back to Normandy for the unveiling of a monument in 2002. On 1 June 2004, Investigating History aired, D-Day: The Secret Massacre. The story focuses on the German massacre of French civilians, and wounded paratroopers of the 507th that were taken prisoners, in retaliation for battle at the village of Graignes.
Bearden, Bob (2007). To D-Day and Back: Adventures with the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment and Life as A World War II POW. Zenith Press. ISBN9780760332580. OCLC123232392.
Martin K. a. Morgan (2004). Down to Earth: The 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Normandy: June 6–July 11, 1944. Schiffer Publishing. ISBN0-7643-2011-4.
Blair, Clay (1985). Ridgway's Paratroopers: The American Airborne in World War II. The Dial Press. ISBN1-55750-299-4.