Courtesy Photo | A Soldier from 4th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, receives his 101st Airborne...... read more read more
By Staff Sgt. Kevin Doheny
159th CAB PAO
At 10:15 pm, June 5, 1944, 6,600 soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division began taking off aboard 1,432 C-47 transport aircraft from England. Shortly after midnight, the C-47's were over UTAH and the 101st Airborne Division paratroops began hitting the silk.
From that moment on, the Screaming Eagles, past and present, who have worn the ever-famous "Old Abe" patch, have become synonymous with honor and valor in combat.
At the division's activation ceremony in 1942, the Division Commander, Maj. Gen. William C. Lee, observed and said, "The 101st has no history, but it has a rendezvous with destiny."
Since that day, the Soldiers whom have worn the Screaming Eagle patch have fought in every major war since World War II, proving they have always met their next rendezvous with destiny. It was the first Division to receive the then "Distinguished Unit Citation" (now known as the Presidential Citation) for its defense of Bastogne during WWII.
Now with the division back in familiar territory, a combat zone, new Soldiers earn what their predecessors over 50 years ago made possible, the wearing of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) combat patch.
With the division spread out for miles and miles across the urban, mountain, desert and swampy terrains in Iraq, the Thunder Brigade Soldiers of the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade are performing up to the high standards which come along with wearing the 101st patch.
In separate ceremonies in December and January, the patch which dates back to the 101st Infantry Division in 1918, was honored again over 88 years later. Combat veterans and first-time Soldiers received the 101st patch from their immediate supervisors during combat patch ceremonies.
The first group of Soldiers to receive their combat patches was from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 159th CAB. During the ceremony Capt. John Peters, HHC commander, spoke of the lineage and honors of the 101st in combat. After Peters spoke, the 159th CAB Commander, Col. Jeffrey Colt, also wanted to stress the importance of the Soldiers mission and reiterate the proud history of the division.
The first battalion to receive their 101st Combat Patch was the "Wings of the Eagle!" 4th Battalion, 101st Avn. Regiment. Wings Six, Lt. Col. Tony Fish, alongside his command sergeant major, CSM Scott Sowers, handed out patches to company commanders and first sergeants, who in turn handed them out to the respective squad leaders to pass to their Soldiers.
The battalion is no stranger to combat. The battalion's heritage dates back to the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield. In 2003, the battalion participated in the longest air assault ever in combat, and while directly supporting the "Rakkasans", 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 101st, and also flew to every corner of the country while logging over 10, 000 combat flight hours in Iraq.
The next ceremony was for the "Keep Them Fighting!" battalion, 563rd Avn. Support Bn.
The ASB literally keeps the brigade fighting with signal, medical, air and ground maintenance support, just to name a few. The battalion was re-designated from 9th Bn., 101st Avn. Regt., just before the brigade deployed and the lineage of the 563rd dates back to World War II.
Lt. Col. Lorelei Coplen, battalion commander, talked of the rich heritage of the 101st during the Battle of the Bulge in WWII.
Speaking of Bastogne, Coplen said, "The only force available, the only force that could be expected to move quickly and was considered flexible enough to manage independently; was the 101st. Lightly clothed, lightly provisioned, and lightly armed, within 24 hours of notification, the 101st rapidly cordoned the town of Bastogne, denying the use of the road and rail network to the Germans, and defended the town against eight heavily armed German divisions for over one week."
The final battalion to receive their patches was the "Eagle Lift!" 7th Bn., 101st Avn. Regt. Battalion Commander, Lt. Col. Steve Toumajan, said during the ceremony, "Today we recognize the soldiers of Task Force Eagle Lift by officially granting wear of the Screaming Eagle patch on the right shoulder, denoting wartime service with our historic division. Today we all join the brotherhood that began when our division had no history, but only a prophetic rendezvous with destiny."
Toumajan battalion's lineage dates back to Vietnam where it directly supported the 101st during many operations flying over 45,000 hours in combat, and during OIF I, conducted the longest air assault ever in combat. The Eagle Lift battalion has a proud heritage and also at one time was the only CH-47 Chinook battalion in the entire Army.
Although there were no helicopters or air assaults in WWII, the respective battalion commanders all had one single theme during their ceremonies, that each of the battalions had a rendezvous with destiny, just as those paratroopers did over 50 years ago.
The Old Abe patch is known world wide. From France to Iraq, the 101st patch has been a part of defending freedom and offering a new way of life for those less fortunate.
As the 101st was receiving their Distinguished Unit Citation after WWII, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, said of the Screaming Eagles, "You were given a marvelous opportunity and you met every test. With this great honor goes also a certain responsibility. Just as you are the beginning of a new tradition, you must realize each of you that from now on, the spotlight will beat on you with particular brilliance.
Whenever you say you are a Soldier of the 101st Division, everybody, whether it's on the street, in the city, or in the front line, will expect unusual conduct of you. I know that you will meet every test of the future like you met it at Bastogne."
| Date Taken: | 02.01.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 02.01.2006 10:49 |
| Story ID: | 5261 |
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| Web Views: | 422 |
| Downloads: | 43 |
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