509th hosts Geronimo Social

Fort Polk News

509th units jump into history

By KRISTIN GORDON, Guardian staff writer
Friday, September 1, 2006 10:24 AM CDT

Members of two battalions of the 509th Infantry Regiment, (from left) Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin Sharkey (1st Bn), Command Sgt. Maj. Drew Pumarejo (3rd Bn), Col. Val Keaveny (3rd Bn) and Lt. Col. John King (1st Bn), hold the historic C Company guidon, presented as a gift to the 3rd Bn from the 1st Bn.

From mountain/glacier to flat terrain warfare, two battalions from the 509th Infantry Regiment are side-by-side for the first time since the 1960s. “The Army used to have 1st and 2nd battalions of the 509th Infantry Regiment in Germany in the 1960s, but the 2nd battalion was disbanded and then there was one,” said Lt. Col. John King, commander of headquarters, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 509th Infantry Regiment. “The significance of the 3rd Battalion (Airborne) of the 509th Infantry Regiment, our sister battalion out of Fort Richardson, Alaska, is that they were recently stood up and activated. They were not a unit previous to that time.”

The 3-509th came to Fort Polk for a Joint Readiness Training Center rotation and it is the first time in history that the 1st and 3rd have fought each other, he said.

“We role played with them on maneuvers for five days to get them ready for their deployment to Iraq,” said King.

With laser pointer in hand, King walked through the 509th's museum, located at their headquarters, and discussed what led to the historical significance of a visit from Alaska.

The 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion went through several designations from its initial activation on October 5, 1941, when it was first designated the 504th Parachute Battalion, a 500-man battalion from Fort Benning, Ga.

“At the time, the Army was not sure how big an airborne division needed to be,” said King. “The unit was renamed the 503rd and was the first U.S. Airborne unit to ship to England and be assigned to the British 1st Airborne Division for training in 1942.” The unit was renamed as the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion in 1943 and would remain an independent unit throughout World War II, since it was never attached to one of the U.S. airborne divisions, according to King.

The 509th carried out the first U.S. combat drop during the invasion of North Africa during W.W. II and saw many more combat jumps in Italy and Southern France. The battalion made five combat jumps during the war, said King. Paul B. Huff, a member of the 509th, was the first American Paratrooper awarded the Medal of Honor Feb. 29, 1944, for action at Anzio, Italy. During the Battle of the Bulge, the 509th went in with up to 700 men to counterattack the Germans but came out with less than 20 Soldiers. This handful of survivors from the initial inception were disbanded on March 1, 1945, and absorbed by the 82nd Airborne Division for the remainder of the war. “The 509th was always a small battalion,” said King. “That is why the Army stood up the 101st and 82nd divisions. “The 509th had a lot of firsts, but since we were so small, we kind of got lost in the historical significance of the history of paratroopers.”

When the Army stood up JRTC at Fort Chaffee, Ark., in 1987, they needed an airborne opposing forces unit, said King. They researched historical records, found the 509th and redesignated as the 1-509th. The 1st Battalion moved to Fort Polk with JRTC in 1993 and currently has 445 Soldiers at Fort Polk, according to King.

“About 11 months ago, the Army decided they needed a complete airborne brigade in Alaska, so they stood up the 3-509th along with another airborne battalion to form a brigade,” said King. “It's kind of complicated how they cut and paste units. There have not been two 509th battalions at the same time in the Army since 1963.”

On Aug. 25, the two battalions continued making history with a ceremony at the Showboat Theatre.

“The significance of the ceremony is to get our two cadres together and share how each unit as a heraldry ... a lineage ... a family tree came through past wars,” said King. “Some go back as far as the Revolutionary War. Since the 3-509th is new, the Department of Heraldry (the heraldry is based out of Washington, D.C., and researches the history and lineage of organizations) looked at the 1-509th from W.W. II and took “C” company's lineage and connected their history with the new unit. We have the original “C” company W.W. II guidon and battle streamers in our museum and will present it to them so they can display it at their company headquarters in Alaska.”

“By receiving this guidon we tie the Soldiers of today with those from 60 years ago,” said Col. Val Keaveny, commander of the 3rd Battalion (Airborne), 509th Infantry Regiment.

“It is no longer the 3-509th standing alone -- we have 60 years of tradition attached to our unit ... it's powerful. History is a huge part of being a Soldier.”

The 3-509th, which consists of 800 Soldiers, activated in October, 2005, according to Keaveny. “The unit is based out of Fort Richardson, Alaska, and was formed because the Army needs more forces to go forward and prosecute the War on Terror,” said Keaveny. The 3-509th arrived at Fort Polk Aug. 5 and left Aug. 28.

“I have always been a history buff so it's fascinating to me how other young men from the past have shared the same stresses, challenges and danger. They have come through it as true Soldiers and patriots and they have lived long and happy lives. I hope my Soldiers get the same from this experience.”

One of those Soldiers from the past is John Rimer, 83, a W.W. II 509th veteran. “I love the Soldiers that are here and the outfit they are in,” said Rimer. “I want to give them as much help and appreciation that I was given when I was in W.W. II.” Rimer traveled to Fort Polk from Middleton, Tenn. for the ceremony and to share his war stories.

“For three years I helped train the 2nd, 7th and 9th Armored Divisions under General (George S.) Patton after enlisting into the Army at Fort Benning, Ga. in 1940,” said Rimer. “I wanted to go into combat and the only way I could do so was to become a paratrooper. I had to take a reduction in rank and went from a private first class to a corporal. I spent nine months in “B” company with the 509th before my discharge from the Army at the beginning of 1945. I spent four years, three months and 21 days in the Army.”

Rimer's great, great grandfather was a captain in the Confederate Army, his grandfather was in the Spanish American War, his father was in World War I, he was in W.W. II and his two sons, who were in the Navy and Air Force, fought in Vietnam.

“I was just in the tail end of Anzio,” said Rimer. “I was with them when we went into Southern France and that is where I got shot. I was wounded (shot) six different times during W.W. II.”

At the conclusion of the ceremony, Barry Simpson, 509th veteran and treasurer of the 509th association, presented a Geronimo flag for the 3-509th to take with them during their deployment to Iraq.