Legacy Continues: 11th Airborne Division Reflags 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment as 1st Battalion, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — The 11th Airborne Division marked a historic milestone July 16 as the division officially reflagged the 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment (Airborne) as the 1st Battalion, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, restoring one of the Army's most distinguished airborne lineages to active service as part of the Army's ongoing transformation efforts.

The ceremony represented more than a change of colors. It connected today's Arctic paratroopers directly to the Soldiers who fought across New Guinea, Leyte, Luzon and Okinawa during World War II, carrying forward a legacy of courage, sacrifice and airborne excellence while preparing for the challenges of modern warfare in the Indo-Pacific and the Arctic.

Activated on Feb. 25, 1943, at Camp Mackall, North Carolina, the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment quickly established itself as one of the Army's premier airborne formations. As part of the 11th Airborne Division, the regiment fought throughout the Pacific Theater, earning battle honors in New Guinea, Leyte, Luzon and Okinawa. The regiment is perhaps best known for its combat jump onto Tagaytay Ridge and its role in the Raid at Los Baños, where paratroopers helped liberate more than 2,100 civilian internees from a Japanese prison camp. During World War II, the regiment earned two Medals of Honor, nine Distinguished Service Crosses, 326 Silver Stars, 1,126 Bronze Stars and 884 Purple Hearts before serving in the occupation of Japan. The regiment was inactivated in 1957, but its legacy never disappeared. Nearly seven decades later, its colors once again fly under the 11th Airborne Division.

"The 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment earned its place in history through extraordinary courage in some of the most difficult fighting of World War II," said Maj. Gen. John P. Cogbill, commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division. "Today, that legacy is entrusted to a new generation of Arctic paratroopers. This reflagging is not about looking back. It is about carrying forward a proud lineage while building an even stronger, more lethal formation prepared to fight and win wherever our nation calls."

While the return of the 511th reconnects the division to one of its most decorated regiments, the reflagging also honors the proud history of the 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment.

Activated at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in 2005, the 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment built an impressive combat record through multiple deployments supporting Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, Freedom's Sentinel and Joint Guardian. For more than two decades, the squadron demonstrated professionalism, adaptability and combat effectiveness while serving around the world. Just one day before the ceremony, the unit completed its final airborne operation onto Malemute Drop Zone, closing the chapter on the Army's last active airborne cavalry squadron.

The legacy of the 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment is measured not only in missions accomplished, but in sacrifice. During the Global War on Terror, 17 Soldiers assigned to the squadron gave their lives in service to the nation. As the colors are cased, their names, their sacrifice and the legacy they built remain a permanent part of the unit's history and of the 11th Airborne Division. Their service will never be forgotten.

The reflagging reflects the Army's ongoing transformation efforts to build formations aligned with future operational requirements while restoring the historic lineage of the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Although the unit now carries a new designation, the Soldiers, combat experience and proud legacy of the 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment continue under the colors of the 1st Battalion, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

The return of the 511th's colors is more than a tribute to history. It marks the beginning of a new chapter for the Soldiers who now wear the Angel patch. While they inherit one of the Army's most distinguished lineages, it is their actions, leadership and commitment that will define the next chapter in the regiment's history. Serving as the ceremony's historian and special guest, Jeremy Holm, 11th Airborne Division historian, challenged today's paratroopers to embrace that responsibility.

"Angels, You are at a crossroad. The unmatched history of this unit was created by those who came before, but its future is in your hands," Holm said. "I challenge you to live up to the legacy that the early Angels forged through their courage, dedication and sacrifices."

As the new colors unfurled for the first time, they represented more than the return of a historic regiment. They symbolized the Army's continued transformation while honoring the Soldiers who carried the 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment guidon in combat and restoring the distinguished lineage of the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The Soldiers standing beneath those colors now carry forward the legacy of both organizations, ready to write the next chapter in the history of the 11th Airborne Division.