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Feb 27 5 tweets 4 min read
MUSEUM MONDAY - ARTIFACT HIGHLIGHT - 82nd ABN MUSEUM

The All-Black 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion was Fighting Balloons before the Air Force.

#ArmyHistory #USArmy #TRADOC #AATW #82ndairbornedivision #Armymuseums #BlackHistoryMonth #OperationFirefly @USArmy @TRADOC Image
The 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion company headquarters infantry guidon is currently on exhibit at the 82d Museum. The 555th was an African American parachute unit during World War II and was based primarily at Pendleton, Oregon and Chico, California.

@TradocCG @82ndABNDiv
In April 1945, the 555th was sent to US West Coast as smoke jumpers to combat forest fires that Japanese balloons ignited. During “Operation Firefly” from April to October 1945, the 555th made 1,200 jumps and helped suppress thirty-six forest fires. One paratrooper was killed. Image
Returning to Camp Mackall, NC in Oct 1945, the 555th Parachute Infantry BN called it home for the next two years. During this period, the unit stayed a separate unit under Airborne Command until the 82d arrived from Europe and then it was attached to the 82d Airborne Division. Image
When the battalion was inactivated on 15 December 1947, most of its Soldiers were reassigned to the division's organic 3-505th Airborne Infantry.

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More from @USArmyCMH

Feb 28
UNIT PROFILE – BLACK SOLDIERS IN THE WAR WITH SPAIN

"They fought their way into the hearts of the American people."
– Lieutenant John J. Pershing

#ArmyHistory #USArmy #TRADOC #BuffaloSoldier #SpanishAmericanWar #BlackHistoryMonth #ArmyHeritage Image
In the small standing force maintained by the U.S. Army at the start of the War with Spain in 1898, a many Black soldiers served in the Army across four segregated regiments: the 9th and 10th Cav. and the 24th and 25th Inf. (collectively referred to as the Buffalo Soldiers).
The force committed to the land campaign in Cuba during the War with Spain had a total strength of about 15,000 men. Of its 26 regiments, three were composed of U.S. Volunteers while most were Regular Army regiments, including the four Buffalo Soldier regiments.
@USArmy Image
Read 6 tweets
Feb 28
28 FEBRUARY 1991 – OPERATION DESERT STORM ENDS

Over the course of just 100 hours, U.S. and allied ground forces in Iraq and Kuwait decisively defeated the battle-hardened and dangerous Iraqi military, and President George H.W. Bush declared a victorious ceasefire on 28 FEB. Image
During air and ground ops, the U.S.-led coalition destroyed over 3,000 tanks, 1,400 armored personnel carriers, and 2,200 artillery pieces along with countless other vehicles. This was achieved at a cost to the U.S. of 98 soldiers killed and 105 non-hostile deaths.
#Armyhistory
With Kuwait liberated, U.S. forces immediately turned to humanitarian missions. They sorted out refugees, assisted the Kuwaitis in reoccupying their city, and helped them begin the long process of rebuilding.
#USArmy #TRADOC #Forscom #DesertStorm #GulfWar #MilitaryHistory Image
Read 4 tweets
Feb 27
27 FEBRUARY 1991 – BATTLE OF HIGHWAY 8 (U.S. ARMY’S “HIGHWAY OF DEATH”) – OPERATION DESERT STORM

One of the most iconic episodes of DESERT STORM is the destruction unleashed by against enemy forces along the so-called “Highway of Death.”

#Armyhistory Image
The most famous portion of the Highway of Death is Highway 80, the main artery connecting Iraq and Kuwait; an important spur of the road inside Iraq was Highway 8, which was used by Iraqi military elements as they fled in the face of the U.S. advance and attempted to regroup.
In the Army’s “turkey shoot,” the 24th ID engaged the enemy on Highway 8 during the afternoon/evening of the 27th, employing artillery, armor, and AH-64 Apache helicopters to decimate Iraqi forces, destroying 185 armored vehicles and 400 trucks. Image
Read 4 tweets
Feb 27
27 FEBRUARY 1991 – BATTLE OF MEDINA RIDGE – OPERATION DESERT STORM

The final epic clash of armor during DESERT STORM occurred on the afternoon of 27 FEB, when the 1st AD (“Old Ironsides”) and the 3rd ID (“Rock of the Marne”) engaged the enemy on a rise dubbed “Medina Ridge”. Image
After losing a huge portion of their armor in the Battle of 73 Easting and the Battle of Norfolk, enemy forces entrenched themselves at Medina Ridge for a last stand against the overwhelming might of the American VII Corps.
#DesertStorm #GulfWar #ArmyArt #MilitaryHistory
The Iraqi positions on the reverse slope of Medina Ridge allowed the bulk of the enemy to avoid the U.S. M1's devastating direct fire; when the battle was joined, the Iraqis stood and fought rather than quickly disintegrating as it had elsewhere.
@USArmy @TRADOC @1stArmoredDiv Image
Read 5 tweets
Feb 27
27 FEBRUARY 1991 – BATTLE OF NORFOLK (“FRIGHT NIGHT”) – OPERATION DESERT STORM

DESERT STORM’s second major armor engagement and one of the largest tank battles in American history closely followed the Battle of 73 Easting in the early morning hours of 27 FEB.

#Armyhistory
Hours after the U.S.-led coalition smashed the enemy at 73 Easting, the 3rd BDE, 2nd AD (“Hell on Wheels”) and the 1st ID (“The Big Red One”), along with elements of other assorted British and American units, engaged the enemy just a few miles from 73 Easting.
#USArmy #TRADOC
The battle took its name from Objective Norfolk, a road junction and enemy supply depot near the point of engagement. The leading edge of VII Corps – Task Force 1-41 Infantry (Task Force Iron) – met the enemy at 0030 on the morning of the 27th amid darkness and driving rain.
Read 5 tweets
Feb 27
27 FEB 1776 - BATTLE OF MOORES CREEK - #RevolutionaryWar

North Carolina militia crushed a Loyalist counter-revolution at the Battle of Moores Creek - also called Moores Creek Bridge - on 27 February 1776.

#Armyhistory #USArmy #TRADOC #MooresCreek #MooresCreekBridge Image
In Jan 1776, Royal Governor Josiah Martin learned that a British military expedition of 2,000 men led by Maj Gen Henry Clinton was heading to the southern colonies to suppress the rebellion. He ordered the Loyalist militia to muster and prepare to join forces with the British.
The militiamen and continentals mobilized to prevent the junction of the two enemy forces, and blocked the crossing at Moores Creek Bridge, about 18 miles north of Wilmington, NC. To make the crossing more difficult, they removed the planks and greased the beams and stringers. Image
Read 7 tweets

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