11th Airborne Division
Nickname: The Angels. ……. Shoulder Patch: White numeral 11 on red circle in white winged-circle against a royal blue shield, topped by airborne arc. ……. History: Derived from 11th Inf. Division, organized Aug., 1918, Camp (Port) Meade. Demob. Feb., 1919. …….. Training: Reactivated: Feb. 25, 1943, Camp Mackall, N. C., under Airborne Command. Other station: Camp Polk, La. Maneuvers: La., 1944. Overseas: April 1944 (SWP). ……. Commanding General: Maj. Gen. Joseph M. Swing, Feb., 1943, to present. ……. Component Units: (As of April 1944) 187th and 118th Glider Inf. Regts.; 511th Par. Inf. Regt.; 457th Par. FA Bn.: 674th and 675th Glider FA Bns. Higher Commands: Sixth and Eighth Armies. ……. Awards: Distinguished Unit Citation to Hq. and Hq. Co., 1st, 2nd and 3rd Bus., 511th Par. Inf. Regt.; 1st Bn., 187th Glider Inf. Regt.; Hq. and Hq. Co. 188th Glider Inf. Regt.; Hq. and Hq. Co. of the division. ……. Combat Highlights: Leyte and Luzon were the fields of action for the Angels. As ground troops they went into action Nov. 18, 1944, landing 40 miles south of Tacloban, Leyte, aiming at the Jap lifeline, the Oromoc-Burauen supply trail, with the ultimate objective of squeezing the Japs against American divisions driving south. Night attacks featured the 11th’s campaign. Jap parachutists, dropped on San Pablo airstrip Dec. 6, were wiped out. The action was exciting because in the half light, the Jap Douglas-type aircraft were mistaken for American. Leyte was well in hand by the last of December, the 11th having killed more than 5700 Japs. After a brief rest, the 11th (Jan. 26) embarked for Luzon, landing amphibiously again at Nasugby, 60 miles from Manila. First combat parachute jump was made by the division Feb. 3, 1945, to a ridge near the Manila Hotel Annex. Filipinos, grinning welcome, met them. The 11th took off for Manila, meeting the first Jap opposition at Imus. At Bacoor, the southern battle of Manila began against Japs entrenched in the Genko Line. By the middle of February, the 11th reached the Manila Polo Club and division patrols contacted those of the 1st Cavalry division. Nichols Field and Ft. McKinley fell to the 11th Feb. 21, and the division went on next day to take the Los Banos prison camp. Batangas Province was cleared by the Angels by mid-April and that campaign completed 4 May. Upon surrender by the Japanese government, the 11th was assigned occupation duties.
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