[Webmaster Note: The following division information is reproduced
from the public domain publication, The Army Almanac: A Book of
Facts Concerning the Army of the United States, U.S. Government Printing Office,
1950. Portions of the information may be out of date. Only minor formatting changes and
typographical corrections have been made.]
World War II
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Activated: 13 August 1943.
Overseas: 25 January 1945.
Campaigns: Central Europe.
Awards: MH-1; LM-6; BSM-50.
Commanders: Maj. Gen. George W. Griner, Jr. (August-November 1943),
Maj. Gen. Elbridge G. Chapman, Jr. (November 1943 to inactivation).
Returned to U.S.: 23 August 1945.
Inactivated: 25 February 1946.
Campaign Chronicle
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Although assigned to the First Allied Airborne Army in Europe, the Division as a whole was
not committed to action in the European theater. The Division continued its training in
France and was alerted for several operations, but these did not materialize. One of
its elements, the 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which was assigned to the Division
1 March 1945, had previously seen combat in Italy, Southern France, and in the Ardennes. The
Division returned to the United States in August 1945 for redeployment to the Pacific but
the end of the war precluded its use in combat in that theater.
Assignments in the ETO
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6 February 1945: XVIII (Abn) Corps, First Allied (Abn) Army. //
3 April 1945: First Allied (Abn) Army, but attached to the Oise Section, Communication Zone, for
supply and administration.
General
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Shoulder patch: A winged unicorn in gold on a blue shield; over the patch is
a tab with the word "Airborne."
Publications: 13th Airborne Division History; by Lt. Col. William J. Blythe, unit
historian; Albert Love Enterprises, Atlanta, Ga.; 1946. Pictorial Review; by
unit members; Albert Love Enterprises, Atlanta, Ga.; 1944.
• 13th Airborne Division Links
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