Original Item: Only One Available. The 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) was initially formed during World War II at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, in 1942 where it earned its nickname, "Currahees", after the camp's Currahee Mountain. Paratroopers in training ran from Camp Toccoa up Currahee Mountain and back with the shout "three miles up, three miles down!".

The Cherokee word, which translates to "Stand Alone", also became the unit's motto. Members of the unit wear the spade (♠) symbol on the helmet outer shell and the Screaming Eagle patch (indicating membership in the 101st Airborne Division) on the left sleeve. Its first commanding officer was Colonel Robert F. Sink, and the 506th was sometimes referred to as the "Five-Oh-Sink". On 10 June 1943, the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment officially became part of the 101st Airborne Division, commanded by Major General William Lee, the "father of the U.S. Army Airborne".

Sink read in Reader's Digest about a Japanese Army unit that held the world record for marching. Sink believed his men could do better, so he marched the regiment from Camp Toccoa to Atlanta: 137 miles (220 km) in 75 hours and 15 minutes, including 33.5 hours of actual marching. Only 12 of the 2nd Battalion's 556 enlisted men failed to complete the march. All 30 officers completed it, including 2nd Battalion commander Major Robert Strayer. Newspapers covered the march; many civilians turned out to cheer the men as they neared Five Points. In Atlanta, they boarded trains for Airborne School in Fort Benning, Georgia.

The 506th would participate in three major battles during the war: D-day landings, Operation Market Garden, and the Battle of the Bulge. (They would have participated in Operation Varsity, but SHAEF decided to use the 17th Airborne Division instead.)

This is a very scarce original WWII British Manufactured example of a Distinctive Insignia for the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. This is certainly a Wartime example, as the post-war variants had the shield mirrored, with the lightning bolt facing the other way and the parachutes on the other side. It measures roughly 1 1/16 x 15/16”.

The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment on 20 Apr 1943. It was redesignated and amended for the 506th Airborne Infantry on 18 Mar 1949. On 27 Feb 1958 the insignia was redesignated for the 506th Infantry.

A blue field denotes the Regiment’s origins and status in the Infantry branch, while a thunderbolt embodies the unit’s threat and tactic: to strike from the sky with surprise, speed, and power. A half-dozen open parachutes commemorate the unit’s status as the sixth Parachute Regiment activated in the U.S. Army. A green silhouette at base is a stylized Currahee Mountain in Taccoa, Georgia, site of the unit’s activation; the peak symbolizes the unit’s independence, strength, and ability to stand alone, traits shared by all paratroopers. Fittingly, Currahee means “Stand Alone” in the Cherokee Indian language. In fact, Currahee is the Cherokee Indian equivalent for "Stands Alone."

This is a great example, ready for further research and display.