 
History
Assigned in August 1942, to the 101st Airborne Division, the 502d PIR entered combat on the night of 5-6 June 1944, as the Regiment’s Pathfinders led the way for the Division’s jump into Normandy, France, on D-Day. Four days later, Lieutenant Colonel Robert G. Cole, commanding the 3d Battalion, became the first Screaming Eagle to be awarded the Medal of Honor for leading his battalion in a bayonet charge against the German 6th Parachute Regiment at Carentan, France.
The Battalion jumped into Normandy with 792 men. After six days of desperate fighting, only 129 were able to make the road march back to St. Come-du-Mount.
On 17 September 1944, ninety planes left Greenham Common, England carrying the 502nd to Holland. In Operation Market/Garden, the 1st Allied Airborne Army was to seize key bridges and road junctions along a route that stretched through Holland to the Rhine River and Germany. The 101st received the mission to seize bridges and key terrain along the route known as "Hell's Highway" in the vicinity of Eindhoven, Holland. The 502nd received four missions: guard the LZ, capture the bridge at St. Oedenrode, relieve the 506th at Son, and capture the road and railroad bridges at Best. During the battles to seize crossing over the Wilhelmina Canal, Private Joe Mann of Company H sacrificed himself to save his comrades from a German grenade, becoming the second Screaming Eagle to be awarded the Medal of Honor.
On D+3, the 502nd, 327th, and a British tank squadron destroyed a German force 2000-3000 strong, capturing 1100 prisoners of the German 59th Infantry Division. On D+4, the regiment took a wood line 2000 yards west of St. Oedenrode capturing 105 prisoners. After D+8, the division redeployed to Mourmelon le Grand, France for rest and refitting.
On 16 December 1944, while resting at Mourmelon Le Grand, the 101st received orders to move northward. The German’s had launched a major offensive into the Ardennes region of Belgium, which threatened to break the Allied line and drive to the sea. On the 18th, 380 trucks began moving the division’s 11,000 men to its first destination, Werbomont. The division out loaded all of its men within 11 hours. The 502nd was assigned the mission of holding a strong point at Recogne on the19th.
At 22DEC44 four Germans appeared on the line at Bastogne with a request for the surrender of Bastogne. MG McAuliffe replied "NUTS." The Germans began the first of five nights of intense bombardment. On the 23rd, the enemy attacked the juncture of the 502nd and the 327th. American dive-bombers shattered this attack and the lines remained unchanged. On Christmas Eve, members of the 502nd attended mass at the 10th century chapel of Rolle Chateau. The Germans continued to conduct limited attacks on Bastogne on Christmas Day.
Relief from the 4th Armored Division arrived at Bastogne at 26DEC44. Bastogne was the key to the Ardennes sector. By holding it the 101st defeated the German plan. On January 17th the 11th Armored Division relieved the 101st and they were sent back to refit and train for the invasion of Berlin. This operation never took place because the Russians captured the city before it could be launched. For the remainder of the war, the 502nd acted as a military police force for the occupation government.
The 3rd Battalion captured 3 high-ranking Nazi war criminals. They were Dr. Robert Leij, the leader of the Nazi labor front; Julius Streiches, the most virulent of the Jew baiters and owner of the world’s most extensive pornographic library; and Obergruppenfuhrer Karl Oberg, S.S. chief in occupied France.
· Normandy with Arrowhead
· Rhineland with Arrowhead
· Ardennes-Alsace
· Central Europe
· Presidential Unit Citation (Army), Streamer embroidered NORMANDY
· Presidential Unit Citation (Army), Streamer embroidered BASTOGNE
· French Croix de Guerre with palm, World War II, Streamer embroidered NORMANDY
· Netherlands Orange Lanyard
· Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 with Palm, Streamer embroidered BASTOGNE; cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at BASTOGNE
· Belgian Fourragere 1940 Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgium Army for action in FRANCE AND BELGIUM
The Pathfinder Badge
The modern metal pathfinder "badge" is similar, it is not the SAME as that issued to graduates of the Pathfnder School in WW2. The original insignia was made of wool and the emblem was embroidered. In overall appearance there are two significant differences. First the design was larger--and longer. And second the color of the inner flame was medium blue, rather than the teal or gray that is often seen in metal reproductions and post war cloth variants. When worn it was worn tipped at a 45 degree angle on the left sleeve.
502d Pathfinders
Row 1 Normandy, Row 2 Holland
Plane #1 contains members of S-2 502 along with pathfinder personnel from the lettered Companies. Plane 19 contains members of the 326 Airborne Engineers.
This plane contains personnel from 501, 502 and 327. By the time of Holland the 101 was detailing personnel as 'pathfinder specialists' rather than by Regimental sticks with an identity specific to the zone they would be marking.
Pathfinder Related Gear
 
 
The two photos showing the DELTA Light and the M-227 signal lamp were equipment not used by pathfinders. Both of these items were tested by the 82nd during the Pathfinder experiments conducted in Sicily in 1943 and deemed ineffective for the purpose intended. (This also includes the British ALDIS lamp which is also frequently attributed as used--but was also rejected.)
Parts of the DELTA Lamp were kit bashed onto other light devices in an attempt to create a suitable light, but it never became a standardized item. Similarly the only parts of the M-227 that were utilized were the cord and key and the tripod. In the latter case these were incorporated into the standardized HOLOPHANE light which became standard from Normandy up until 1947.
The 101st Pathfinder effort differed from that of the 82nd in several respects. Not the least of which was Regiment-specific assignment of personnel. The 101 tended toward mixed-sticks, which tends to confuse the historical record of the various Pathfinder missions.
Information provided by Dave Berry of Pathfinder Historical Consultants.
Pathfinder Historical Consultants
Demolitions Related Gear
TRINITROTOLUENE (TNT)
This type of high explosive is one of the principal constituents of many explosives. It is one of the most stable explosives and can be stored over long periods of time (when properly purified). It is relatively insensitive to blows or friction, dissolves readily in Ether, Acetone, Alcohol and various other solvents, it is however practically insoluble in water . When ignited by flame in the open, TNT burns rapidly w/o explosion. It has powerful brisant properties and is readily detonated by Mercury Fulminate, Tetryl and other similar high explosives. It resembles light brown sugar, and when pure it is crystalline and has a very pale straw color. Ammunition loaded with TNT can be stored, handled, and shipped with comparative safety. It will be used for bursting, demolition, blasting, and general detonation. Its velocity of detonation is 21,000 feet per second.
COMPOSITION C (COMP C)
Composition C or Trimethylenetrinitramine is a plastic high explosive. In its pure form it is white crystals. The crystals are mixed with a plastic agent, giving the so-called plastic explosive. The rate of detonation is about 26,000 feet per second. Composition C has greater brisance than TNT, its advantages are that it can be molded into any required shape, it further has great power. It is mostly used for bombs in a mixture with TNT (70%), in torpedoes war heads, and for cutting hard steel. Like Tetryl, it can be used as a booster.
NITROSTARCH
Nitrostarch is a substitute explosive (used as substitute in case of TNT shortage), it has a velocity of detonation of approximately 20,000 feet per second. It is insoluble in water and does not gelatinize when heated with water (differing from starch), but is readily soluble in Acetone and in Ether-Alcohol. It is packed in ½-lb blocks which look very much like a TNT container. Nitrostarch is gray in color, and has a consistency almost similar to ordinary brown sugar. It is further more sensitive to impact than TNT, but again less sensitive than dry Guncotton or Nitroglycerin. Nitrostarch is highly inflammable and can be readily ignited by a slight spark (resulting from friction); it then burns with explosive violence. The product is packed is one-pound cube-shaped blocks. These blocks are wrapped in brown waxed paper. The paper may be removed and the block can then be divided into four (4) separate one-pound blocks. Nitrostarch is ¼ more sensitive to shock and friction than TNT, but is less powerful.
Paratrooper Escape Kit
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