Feature Article (Dec 04)

This Holiday Season is a special one: once more, in a tradition that spans over half a century, Currahee Soldiers find themselves apart from family and loved ones at a time when much of the world is celebrating the Holidays by coming together. Hardships and separation from loved ones is nothing new to Soldiers; this has been our lot for thousands of years. And Currahee Soldiers are no different; this being the third time in our unit's fabled history that our nation has called us in time of need - the third conflict that meant leaving the comforts of home and the warm embrace of loved ones for freedom's cause. Freedom. Ultimately, that's what Operation Iraqi Freedom is all about...

But, what are the Currahee's all about?

The 506th Infantry Regiment was activated on 20 July 1942 at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, at the base of Currahee Mountain as part of the newly formed 101st Airborne Division. After spending several months training at Camp Toccoa, elements of the Regiment conducted a grueling 137-mile forced march from Camp Toccoa to Fort Benning to begin airborne school. By the time the unit began "jump" school in November of 1942, the Cherokee Indian name "Currahee" had taken on a special meaning to the Soldiers of the 506th, and mount Currahee had become a symbol of the unit's strength, independence and its ability to stand alone. (It is this phrase, "Stands Alone", which would later become the unit's motto). The 506th was the first Regiment to complete Airborne training as a unit. The Regiment was then deployed to England, where it continued to train for the eventual assault on Hitler's "Fortress Europe". At 0100 hours, 6 June 1944, the Regiment jumped into the skies over France as the lead element of the massive Allied D-Day invasion. For its exploits at Normandy, the 506th Infantry Regiment received a Presidential Unit Citation, and 25 of its members received the Distinguished Service Cross. After ten weeks of refitting and training the 506th was once again called upon to parachute into combat, this time into Holland as part of Operation Market Garden. The Regiment went on to liberate the town of Eindhoven on 18 September, and aided in the withdrawal of the beleaguered British 1st Airborne from Arnhem on 7 October.

Christmas, 1944 found the Regiment hastily deployed along thin defensive lines to help stem the German assault on Bastogne, during the famous "Battle of the Bulge". The Regiment successfully resisted several vicious German assaults, earning its second Presidential Unit Citation for its actions at Bastogne. The Regiment's final chapter of World War II occurred when the Regiment drove into southeastern Germany overrunning Hitler's famed "Eagle's Nest", and accepting the surrender of the German 82nd Corps. By the close of World War II, the Regiment's battle hardened Soldiers had truly become the words that William Shakespeare wrote in his play Henry the V some 500 years prior: a "Band of Brothers".

A series of activations and de-activations were to fill the next few years, with the Regiment being "Stood Up" and "Stood Down", based upon the needs of the country during the "Cold War". On 25 April 1957, the 506th was reactivated, once again finding itself part of the 101st Airborne Division, only this time at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. In addition to being an Airborne unit, in a portent of things to come, it tested the Army's new airmobile concept, skills the Regiment would be putting to the test shortly...

Once again, duty beckoned, and in December 1967, the 506th arrived in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. While in Vietnam, the Regiment was converted from Airborne to Airmobile Infantry. Here they would serve for four years, earn twelve more battle streamers, and be awarded a third Presidential Unit Citation for action at Dong Ap Bia Mountain (the infamous "Hamburger Hill") in the A Shau Valley. The Regiment participated in numerous actions during the Vietnam War and in December 1971, the 506th redeployed to Fort Campbell and was deactivated in May 1984.

The 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry was reactivated on 15 April 1987 at Camp Greaves, Republic of Korea. It's mission was to man the guard posts along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), provide quick reaction forces, and patrol the United Nations Command MACHA "B" sector of the DMZ during the harsh Korean winter months of December through February. For years, the 506th Infantry was the most permanently forward-deployed battalion in the United States Army, being stationed less than 3 km from the Korean DMZ. The Regiment's Soldiers spent the next 17 years at the tip of Freedom's spear, training, patrolling and maintaining a firm commitment to our Korean brethren.

As the vanguard of the coalition forces raced towards Baghdad in the spring of 2003, few Currahees would have thought it was possible that they too would be participating in "Operation Iraqi Freedom". Since September 11th, 2001, all eyes were on the War on Terror, and the subsequent campaign to rid Afghanistan of the Taliban receiving all of the attention. However, with Kim Jung Il's constant saber rattling and reluctance to back down from his nuclear development program, a viable, strong deterrent force was needed in Korea...or so went conventional thinking. Drastic times call for drastic measures, and once again, Currahee Soldiers were going to be an important part of our nation's military history, accomplishing what many had thought couldn't be done. The Al Anbar province in Iraq, (indeed, the whole country), was in the throes a violent insurgency, creating a need for additional forces - and quickly. The 506th was about to get its call of duty...

The morning of May 18th, 2004, dawned unlike any other: Currahees awoke to the strains of North Korean Propaganda music echoing down the valley that stretches out in front of Camp Greaves, and prepared themselves for another busy day of training for the coveted "expert infantryman" badge. But, by nightfall, Camp Greaves would become a veritable bee-hive of activity. What at first had started out as a morning rumor among Soldiers had quickly became fact, and it soon became common knowledge that the 506th would be transferred directly from its deployment to Korea, into a deployment to Iraq - from one deployment, straight into the next. Although a move like this had never before been attempted, much less accomplished, the Soldiers of the 506th prepared themselves for a new kind of threat, in a barren land far removed from the lush, green landscape the Soldiers knew only too well in Korea...

An intense period of training, rehearsals and validation exercises followed the deployment notification, and Currahee Soldiers were subsequently deployed to a staging base in Kuwait over a four day period, commencing August 4th. After receiving state of the art combat equipment, acclimating to the blast-furnace like heat of the desert (125 Degrees was the norm...) and sighting in their weapons, the 506th was ready to go "north of the berm".

The Currahee's new home was to be (appropriately enough) an old RAF airbase that has had at least as illustrious a past: RAF Habbaniyah. Being at the halfway point between al Fallujah and ar Ramadi, the old airbase was perfectly situated to allow the Currahees to accomplish their varied missions while in Iraq. Construction began in 1934, and the base became operational in 1937. The camp was originally known as RAF Dhibban after the nearby village, but since this translated into something having to do with flies, the name was changed in May 1938 to the more appropriate RAF Habbaniyah (Arabic for "of the oleander"). Nothing could be more appropriate as RAF Habbaniyah truly became resplendent with shaded avenues of Eucalyptus trees, hibiscus and oleander shrubs. Rose beds, ornamental gardens and green lawns, adorned the bases cantonment areas, and the base soon became the RAF headquarters for the entire region and the crown jewel of the British Empire in Iraq. After surviving a short Iraqi uprising in May of 1941, (and even German Bomber attacks!!), control of Habbaniyah was passed to the Iraqi forces in May 1955 but remained very much in use by the RAF. The Iraqi Ba'ath revolution on 14 July 1958 made the RAF presence untenable and the RAF Ensign was finally lowered on 31 May, 1959.

The Soldiers of the 506th soon settled into their new surroundings, with the entire Battalion "closed" on Habbaniyah the first week of September. The Currahee's quickly integrated with the outgoing unit, and quickly learned their new area of responsibility. Official assumption of responsibility by the Currahees occurred on 12 September, and since then, the Soldiers of the 506th have taken part in more than 35 operations, helping to bring stability to the region and rid the area of weapons caches and other means for the terrorists to ply their ugly trade. In the last few months, Currahee Soldiers have captured numerous SA-7 anti-aircraft missiles, many machine guns and a number of rocket launchers and mortar systems. This coupled with an aggressive information campaign to inform the Iraqi populace of our good will towards them and the need for their cooperation in capturing terrorists, so we can bring peace to the region, has enabled Currahee Soldiers to capture and detain many dangerous personalities.

With much more work in Iraq to be done, Currahee Soldiers will continue to build upon a rich legacy that dates back to those early days at the base of Currahee Mountain; to continue the work on freedom's frontlines, and hope that, someday, maybe Iraqis will enjoy the same freedoms we Americans have enjoyed for over 229 years.