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From its inception our nation has repeatedly called upon the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, also known as the Iron Rakkasans, to secure victory when it was all but certain. Whether the Soldiers of the battalion arrived at the fight by glider, parachute, or helicopter their valor in battle has proved decisive in every major conflict since World War II. With five Presidential Unit Citations, Army; one Presidential Unit Citation, Navy; three Valorous Unit Awards; numerous foreign awards; 25 campaign streamers; two combat parachute jumps; and two Medal of Honor recipients, the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment has a distinguished and valorous history. Currently, the Battalion is based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky where it stands ready to deploy, fight, and win our nation’s wars. The 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment was activated on 25 February 1943 at Camp Mackall, North Carolina as part of the 187th Glider Infantry Regiment. In March of 1944, the Battalion deployed to the Pacific Theater as part of the 11th Airborne Division. After six months of training in New Guinea, the 187th was committed to combat in Leyte in the campaign to regain control of the Philippine Islands. In the subsequent fighting, the unit repelled and destroyed a 500-man Japanese parachute assault and earned the Battalion’s first Presidential Unit Citation (Army). It also participated in an amphibious assault on southern Luzon, forced a Japanese retreat at the battle of Tagatay Ridge, and pierced the Genko defensive line during the attack on Manila. For its actions during World War II, the Iron Rakkasans received three campaign streamers. Following the Japanese surrender in September 1945, the troopers were the first American Soldiers to set foot on Japanese soil, flying there as part of General Douglas A. During the four years of occupation duty in Japan, the Soldiers of the 187th Infantry Regiment, now all parachute qualified, were given the name “Rakkasans” by the local Japanese. Loosely translated as “falling down umbrella,” the name stuck; the troops liked it and adopted it. Since then, members of the regiment have made the name synonymous with the fighting spirit of America’s airborne and air assault soldiers. In early 1949, the regiment rotated to Camp Campbell, Kentucky, where it was once again assigned to the 11th Airborne Division. With the outbreak of the Korean War, the Iron Rakkasans returned to Asia as a separate unit, the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team in September 1950. Shortly after their arrival, the Iron Rakkasans earned a Presidential Unit Citation (Navy) for the attack up the Kimpo Peninsula as part of the amphibious assault at Inchon. Also, they earned a second Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for a parachute assault north of Pyongyang, North Korea at Sukchon-Sunchon in October 1950. At Sukchon, Private First Class Richard G. Wilson, a medic attached to I Company, earned the Congressional Medal of Honor when he gave his life as he administered aid and shielded wounded troopers from enemy fire. In March 1951, the regiment made a second combat jump at Musan-ni, cutting off and destroying large numbers of North Korean and Chinese forces above the 38th parallel. Nearly two years later, in June 1952, the Iron Rakkasans helped quell the prison riots on the island of Koje-do. For their efforts during the Korean War, the Battalion earned six campaign streamers. The Iron Rakkasans moved back to Fort Campbell, Kentucky in February1964, to serve as part of the 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. In December 1967, the 3rd Battalion deployed to Vietnam, alongside 1st and 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment. Over the next four years the Iron Rakkasans fought with extreme valor in twelve major campaigns, conducting numerous air assaults and search and destroy missions. During one such mission in March 1968, Captain Paul W. Bucha, commander of D Company, received the Congressional Medal of Honor when he crawled through a hail of fire to single-handedly destroy a machine gun bunker with grenades near Phuoc Vinh, Vietnam. When the battalion colors returned to Fort Campbell, the unit had distinguished itself by earning two Valorous Unit Awards, and its third and fourth Presidential Unit Citations for the battles of Trang Bang and D**g Ap Bia Mountain (commonly known as “Hamburger Hill”). The Iron Rakkasans emerged from the Vietnam War as the country’s most highly decorated airborne battalion. In August 1990, the Battalion deployed to Saudi Arabia as part of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. During Operation Desert Storm the Iron Rakkasans participated in the largest air assault in history, conducting a vertical envelopment 175 miles into enemy territory to establish blocking positions near the Euphrates River. The air assault isolated the Iraqi Republican Guard and helped bring a quick conclusion to the war. The Battalion earned two campaign streamers during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The 3rd Battalion also deployed to the Sinai Peninsula from July 1995 to January 1996 to keep the peace between Egypt and Israel. After the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, the nation once again called on the Battalion. From April to August 2002, the Iron Rakkasans deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, where it participated in numerous search and attacks, raids, and air assaults against the elusive remnants of the Taliban near the Pakistan border, helping to stabilize the country. For its actions, the Battalion earned the Afghanistan campaign streamer. In February 2003, the Iron Rakkasans flew to Kuwait as part of the invasion force for Operation Iraqi Freedom. While attached to the 3rd Infantry Division, the Battalion cleared the Republican Guard Headquarters and Baghdad Airport in April 2003. For this action the Battalion earned an unprecedented fifth Presidential Unit Citation. Following the invasion, the Battalion conducted six months of security operations near Rabia, Iraq, on the Syrian border, to block the flow of foreign fighters. Prior to returning stateside in January 2004, the Iron Rakkasans conducted combat operations in Husaybah, Iraq with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. Once back in the US, the Battalion transformed by adding a Forward Support Company. The Battalion returned to Iraq in September 2005 and fought from FOB Falcon in Baghdad for three months, before moving north to Forward Operating Base (FOB) Brassfield-Mora in Samarra, along the Tigris River. While in Samarra the Golden Dome Mosque, a Shi’ite holy site, was blown up by insurgents. This created a volatile situation which the Iron Rakkasans diffused with discipline and precise counterinsurgency operations. The Battalion redeployed to Fort Campbell in September 2006. Twelve months later, in September 2007, the Iron Rakkasans deployed as part of the Surge to Yusufiyah, Iraq. During their tour, the Battalion supervised over 5000 Sons of Iraq (or members of the Awakening); trained and partnered with the 17th Iraqi Army Division; conducted dozens of raids, air assaults, and cordon and searches; and earned the Valorous Unit Award. The Battalion was so successful at counterinsurgency operations that they peacefully transitioned control of the area to the Iraqi Security Forces upon redeployment in November 2008. With over three years of combat operations in Iraq, the Battalion earned the Iraqi Campaign Streamer. Over the last six decades, the Iron Rakkasans have repeatedly distinguished themselves through the valor and discipline of its Soldiers in the Philippines, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Kuwait, the Sinai, Afghanistan, and Iraq. As the most deployed, combat experienced, and decorated battalion in the United States Army, the Iron Rakkasans stand ready to answer the nation’s call whenever it may come.
