ABOUT THE MILITARY UNITS
101st Airborne 327th Infantry, 2nd Battalion, ARMY
The 101st Airborne is one of The United States Armies most decorated Military Units. The 101st AB is an elite Army division that was formed in the later part of WW1.
The 101st AB fought with valor on D Day, they parachuted behind the beach fortifications and engaged/destroyed targets and captured and held strategic points. The 101st AB stood up to and turned the tide against Hitler at the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne, Belgium.
The 101st saw heavy fighting in Vietnam and one of the images of the unit in 1968, of a Soldier reaching up to the sky and God during a Tet firefight would be recreated in the Film, Platoon. (The photo won a Pulitzer)
The Unit has also been the subject of other Films and Television, The Longest Day, Battle of the Bulge, Saving Private Ryan, and Band of Brothers – just to name a few.
Motto: “Rendezvous With Destiny”
1st Battalion 8th Marine Regiment USMC
“The mission of the Marine Corps rifle squad is to locate, close with and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver and/ or repel enemy assault by fire and close combat.” During World War II, the battalion participated in the Battle of Guadalcanal, Battle of Tarawa, Battle of Saipan, Battle of Tinian and the Battle of Okinawa.
These Battles were some of the toughest fighting in World War 2, and are part of the history and legacy of The United States Marine Corps since 1775. The Marine operation in Helmand, AFG, during the Filming of The Hornet’s Nest is the largest Marine Operation since the Vietnam War. Mike Boettcher has a history with this Unit; he was embedded with several of the Marines Fathers when they were Marines in Beirut in 1983 when the 1/8 Marine barracks was blown up.
This Unit is also the subject of a number of Films and Television due to it’s storied history. To Hell and Back, Flags of our Fathers, Sands of Iwo Jima, and The Pacific. “America’s Battalion”
Motto “Not for self, but for country”.
101st, 187th Airborne “Rakkasans”, Airborne, ARMY
The “Rakkasans” deployed to the pacific in mid-1944 with the 11th Airborne Division and saw combat service in New Guinea, Leyte and Luzon. Following a number of storied missions throughout the pacific arena, when the war ended the 187th, as part of the 11th Airborne Division, was chosen to spearhead the occupation of Japan.
On Aug. 30, 1945, at 1 a.m., the first planes carrying 187th Soldiers left for Atsugi Airfield. This was a momentous occasion, as the 187th would be the first American as well as foreign troops to enter Japan in more than 2,000 years. While serving as part of the American Occupation Force and conducting training jumps, it was the Japanese who gave the paratroopers of the 187th Infantry Regiment the nickname “Rakkasan,” loosely translated as “falling down umbrella.”
The Rakkasans have been involved in heavy fighting during the Iraq Gulf War and the Afghanistan War and is redeploying to Afghanistan in 2014 to be one of the last Units to leave the Country during it turnover to the Afghanistan Military.
The Rakkasans have also been the subject of many Films and Television. Hamburger Hill, We were Soldiers, Battle in the Pacific.
