The 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment (508th PIR, “Red Devils” or “Fury from the Sky”) is an airborne infantry regiment in the United States Army, first formed in 1942.
airborne
Where is the prince who can afford so to cover his country with troops for its defense, as that ten thousand men descending from the clouds, might not, in many places, do an infinite deal of mischief before a force could be brought together to repel them?
Benjam Franklin, 1784
The idea of troops attacking from the sky can be said to be an early American idea, stretching all the way back to Benjamin Franklin while he was ambassador to France.
On This Day
Mar 1, 1912 – Captain Albert Berry made the first parachute jump from a moving airplane.