Assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division since 2014, the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry regiment was originally constituted as Company A, 506th Parachute Infantry on 1 July 1942. Assigned to the 101st Airborne Division, the 506th and Company A took part in the Airborne parachute assaults that preceded the D-Day landings, and Company’s World War II Battle Honors (campaign credits) and military decorations mirror those of its parent organization the 506th (
these are detailed on our store page for the 506th Infantry Regiment HHC Oval).
It remained designated a Company until 1957, when the 506th became a Regiment in the Combat Arms Regimental System and Company A became Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Airborne Battle Group, 506th Infantry and remained assigned to the 101st Airborne Division.
Redesignated as the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry on 3 February 1964, the Battalion fought in a dozen campaigns in Vietnam, earning a Presidential Unit Citation, a Valorous Unit Award, and a Meritorious Unit Commendation that were complemented with two Republic of Vietnam (ROV) Cross of Gallantry with Palm awards and an ROV Civil Action Honor Medal, First Class.
Inactivated for three years beginning in 1984, the Battalion was reactivated in March 1987 with its assignment to the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea. On 30 September 2005, it was relieved from assignment to the 2nd Infantry Division and assigned to the 4th Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 101st Airborne Division; the next day it was given its current designation of 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry. In 2006, it would be attached to the 1 Marine Expeditionary Force and was subsequently chosen for a Navy Unit Commendation for action between February 2006 and February 2007.
Serving in the 4th BCT with its Regimental brethren the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, the Battalion took part in two campaigns in Iraq (additional campaigns are yet to be determined) and was honored with a Meritorious Unit Commendation for its service with the 4th BCT in Afghanistan between 2008-2009.
The following year, as Task Force Red Currahee, the Battalion (along with the 4th BCT’s Company A, Special Troops Battalion and Company E, 801st Support Battalion) would carry out numerous actions against the Taliban in Paktika Province between August 2010 and August 2011 for which it would later be tapped for a Valorous Unit Award. It would later be chosen for
Another MUC (along with 1-503 INF) for its outstanding performance between May and November 2014 during the 4th BCT’s final deployment.
Following the 2014 inactivation of the 4th BCT, 101st Airborne Division, the Battalion, nicknamed “Red Currahee” in was given its current assignment as part of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. In October 2020, the Battalion received its most recent MUC for service between December 2018 and October 2019.
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506th Infantry Regiment Unit Crest (DUI)