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On May 15, the 101st Airborne inactivated its 159th Combat Aviation Brigade, including the brigade's Pathfinder company. [5] The 101st CAB was redesignated the CAB, 101st Airborne, bringing it in line with other non-numbered divisional CABs, and the division assumed the same organizational structure as the light infantry 10th Mountain Division.
One version of the patch worn on the uniforms of American pathfinders who served during World War II. In military organizations, a pathfinder is a specialized soldier inserted or dropped into place in order to set up and operate drop zones, pickup zones, and helicopter landing sites for airborne operations, air resupply operations, or other air operations in support of the ground unit commander.
The pathfinders of the 101st Airborne Division led the way on D-Day in the night drop before the invasion. They left from RAF North Witham, having trained there with the 82nd Airborne Division. These night drops caused a lot of trouble for the gliders. Many crashed and equipment and personnel were lost. [21]
The pathfinder serials were organized in two waves, with those of the 101st Airborne Division arriving a half-hour before the first scheduled assault drop. These would be the first American and possibly the first Allied troops to land in the invasion.
The pathfinders of the 101st Airborne Division led the way on D-Day in the night drop prior to the invasion. These night drops caused a lot of trouble for the gliders. Many crashed and equipment and personnel were lost. [11] They left from RAF North Witham having trained there with the 82nd Airborne Division.
The Filthy Thirteen: From the Dustbowl to Hitler's Eagle's Nest - The True Story of the 101st Airborne's Most Legendary Squad of Combat Paratroopers. Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1932033465. Jerome Preisler (2014). First to Jump; How the Band of Brothers Was Aided by Brave Paratroopers of the Pathfinder Company. Berkley. ISBN 978-0425265970.
The 101st Airborne Division issued a press release on the unit, but war correspondents embellished the story. War correspondent Tom Hoge wrote the first article about these paratroopers and coined the name "The Filthy Thirteen" in an article for the Stars and Stripes, June 9, 1944, "Filthy Thirteen Squad Rivaled by None in Leaping Party."
At the time of the 17th's inactivation it had one of the last pathfinder units in the entire US Army, the other being assigned to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, KY. The last pathfinder commander was Captain Derek Martin and the last pathfinder Team Leader was SSG Donald Jordan.