511th Parachute Infantry Regiment (United States)

511th Parachute Infantry Regiment
Active	1943–1958
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Type	Airborne forces
Role	Parachute infantry
Size	Regiment
Part of	11th Airborne Division
Engagements	World War II Battle of Leyte Battle of Luzon Raid at Los Baños
Commanders
Notable commanders	Orin D. Haugen
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia

World War II

The 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment (511th PIR) was an airborne infantry regiment of the United States Army, first activated during World War II. It formed the parachute infantry element of the 11th Airborne Division.

The regiment was formed at , GA, in January 1943, under the command of Col. Orin D. "Hard Rock" Haugen. It trained at Camp Mackall, NC, and Fort Benning, GA, and in December 1943 took part in the Knollwood Maneuver. After final examination at Camp Polk, LA, it proceeded to Camp Stoneman, CA, and in May 1944 embarked for the Pacific on the troop transport SS Sea Pike. It trained at Oro-Dobodura in New Guinea until November 1944, when it was sent to the Philippines to join the Battle of Leyte.

Its mission on Leyte was to take and hold the passes through the mountains in the center of the island, and engage and reduce the Japanese forces in the area, ultimately in support of the battle of Ormoc simultaneously ongoing. The 511th performed this mission during harsh monsoonal weather in the steep, heavily forested terrain, emerging shortly after Christmas of 1944 onto the Ormoc plain.

After rest and resupply the regiment was sent to the island of Mindoro where the 11th Airborne was preparing for its part in the Battle of Luzon. On 3 February 1945 the 511th on board 48 C-47 aircraft performed a combat jump on Tagaytay Ridge. Due to the shortage of planes, the regiment and its associated elements jumped in 3 echelons. Despite some misdrops, the 511th assembled successfully at its drop zone at the Manila Hotel Annex on Tagaytay Ridge and proceeded in battalions north towards Manila, encountering occasional Japanese resistance in the towns of Imus and Las Piñas before engaging the Japanese at the Parañaque River just south of Manila.