Dear Reader:
Welcome to Headquarters Company, First Battalion of the 508th Para-chute Infantry Regiment, WW II – hereinafter referred to as “Hq1.”
We prepared this album for people interested in knowing what kind of men served as paratroopers in WW II. It provides insight into our wartime activities, and alludes to our post-war accomplishments.
You may agree with our collator that we are unique. He repeatedly says we are the “Greatest of the Greatest the Generation.”
We started in 1942 at Camp Blanding Florida. Completed basic training, qualified as parachutists, and after months of advanced training, we arrived in Nottingham, England. We parachuted into Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and into Holland on September 17, 1944. During the “Battle of the Bulge,” we fought through the bitter cold and snow cover-ed Ardennes and heavily fortified Siegfried Line to the Roer River.
World War II ended in Europe, and General Eisenhower selected us to provide the elite security force and honor guard for his headquarters in Germany.
Subsequently, our highly decorated veterans returned to the United States to civilian status. Many of them sought further education, some pursued professional careers, and all of them supported their church and community, and led worthwhile lives.
A few Hq1 veterans elected to remain in the military service. They served in Korea, Vietnam and elsewhere, some made the supreme sacrifice.
Our album is derived from historical accounts, official after-action battle reports, and the memoirs contributed by Hq1 veterans or their families.
We hope it provides a useful perspective of our wartime activities, and the fears, joys, sorrows, and sufferings we shared. Moreover, we hope it helps you understand why the love and respect we have for each other has endured sixty-two years. We served proudly.
Please enjoy our album and think kindly of us. Thank You! | 
