Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. Following the establishment of the first Parachute Test Platoon in the summer of 1940, the US Army soon embarked on a full review and reorganization of its parachute structures.  Their initial concept was to maintain small units of specialised troops that would be allocated specific tasks, but as the airborne concepts clashed within the military hierarchy, the defined structures changed.  Many of these changes reflected the successful German parachute and glider missions in Europe, where the “Blitzkrieg” successes featured airborne assaults.  These were seen as particularly successful during their invasion of the Netherlands and Belgium in 1940.

On 16 September 1940, the US Army issued an order to constitute the 1st Parachute Battalion, this was later amended on 26 September 1940 to the 501st Parachute Battalion.  The reason for the change was due to the allocation Battalion registration numbers whereby numbers 1 through 499 were allocated to the Marines and 500 onwards were allocated to the Army. On 1st October 1940, the 501st Parachute Battalion was officially activated at Fort Benning, Georgia under the command of Major William Miley. Therefore, the famous test platoon, the prime ancestor of all American Parachute Units, provided the nucleus of the 501st Parachute Battalion, which in turn provided part of the cadre, the unit number, the genealogical lineage and the heraldic background of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment.

This is an extraordinarily scarce 1940 Christmas dinner menu for the 501st Parachute Battalion, which only existed for a short period of time. The menu measures 8 x 10½” and consists of the roster of the battalion and the menu. It’s in great shape overall. There is a small note from Battalion commander William M. Miley on the first page. 

This is a fantastically scarce piece of ephemera from the predecessor of the Parachute Infantry Regiment. Comes ready for further research and display.