UNIT LINEAGE OF THE 503d
John D. Reynolds
"Our
soldiers never die, they just fade away!" So General of the Army Douglas
MacArthur reminded us when he gave his farewell speech at West Point. And now
we know that another old soldier, General George M. Jones, United States Army,
Retired, has also faded away. At their meeting on the island fortress of
Corregidor, Colonel Jones awaited the arrival of General MacArthur. This time
the roles have been reversed as General MacArthur was there at some meeting
place to greet General Jones. We all extend our sympathies to the immediate
family members of General Jones even as we understand that a man may have a
number of families. General George M. Jones certainly had a number of
families. In addition to his conjugal family he also had his Airborne family,
and within that family he had his beloved 503d family. I know that many
of the men who served in the 503d have this feeling of a family relationship.
They have a closeness and a camaraderie that is shared by only a scant few in
a national population of 250 million. And all of us know that it really is not
appropriate to say "Good-bye." The German expression of "auf
wiedersehn" or" 'til we meet again" is by far the more
meaningful.
And
speaking of this 503d family, like all families, it has a lineage consisting
of ancestors and progeny. The 503d Parachute lnfantrv Regiment and the 503d
Parachute Regimental Combat Team were both just a historical segment it of the
503d lineage. They were neither the Alpha nor the Omega - the beginning or the
end. In the development and the discussion of a family lineage one usually
works from the present back to the past - from the foliage to the roots. And
the 503d has a current foliage carrying on the name of the 503d. It is the 1st
Battalion, 503d Infantry assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea. Its
lineage is of THE ROCK REGIMENT.
It
had been suggested to me that many of you might be interested in the 503d
lineage, interested in your 503d family. Over a period of the rest of 1996,
portions of that Iineage will appear here in your column and will be presented
in a chronological order. All of the lineage information comes from the U.S.
ARMY CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY, 1099 14th St. N. W., Franklin Court Bldg.,
Washington, D.C. 2000-3402. There will be several instances where my comments
will be applied.
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