513th Parachute Infantry Regiment (United States)

During World War II, the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment (513th PIR) was a regiment of the 17th Airborne Division of the United States Army. The regiment participated in the latter stages of the Battle of the Bulge and parachuted into Germany in Operation Varsity. It was under the command of then Colonel James Winfield Coutts (1909–1991). He was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, class of 1932. He was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze star, Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Presidential Citation, French Fourragère, and the Korean Taeguk Medal. After the war, from 1946–47, he was chief of staff of the 82nd Airborne Division. He later became Brig. General and was Chief of Staff of Carib. Command (now Southern Command) in 1959.

History

The regiment was constituted on December 26, 1942 and assigned to the 13th Airborne Division. It moved from Fort Benning to Fort Bragg before being assigned to Camp Mackall, North Carolina in January 1944, but was transferred to the Tennessee Maneuver Area and assigned to the 17th Airborne Division in March 1944.

The 513th was not sent overseas until after D-Day and was still in training in England during Operation Market Garden. During the crisis of the Battle of the Bulge, the division was flown into Reims, France and moved by truck into southern Belgium. In January 1945, the Regiment was sent into the assault on Flamierge. During this fight, Staff Sergeant I.S. "Izzy" Jachman...
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