Today on the 70th anniversary of the Allied D-Day landings in WWII, we remember our brave military forces that sacrificed it all. Louisianas 156th Infantry Regiment played a role in Operation Overlord, the World War II Allied invasion of Normandy. The regiment was ordered into federal service in November of 1940. It trained at Camp Blanding, Florida and Camp Bowie Texas. In 1942, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entry into the war, the 156th was sent to England. 2-156th, with companies largely from Acadiana, split off and landed in Oran, Algeria where they were re-organized into the 202nd Infantry Battalion and worked as military police due to their ability to speak French. The remainder of the regiment was assigned to the U.S. Assault Training Center in Woolacombe, England, where they trained combat units for amphibious landings, securing beachheads, and other tactics necessary for the coming Normandy invasion. When the invasion began, the 156th was assigned the mission of security in the troop launching areas. Company L (Lake Charles) of the 3-156th went into France with the landing parties. They were later joined on the continent by the rest of the regiment. The unit guarded the flanks and supply lines for the advancing Allied armies before being handed the duty of attacking the remaining Nazi positions on the bypassed Channel Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Sark, and Aldernay. After the surrender of Germany, the men of the 156th were to be transferred to the Pacific, but Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945, ending the war. Currently, the 2-156th and 3-156th Infantry Battalions are assigned to Louisianas 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. They most recently deployed to Iraq in 2010.
Posted on: Fri, 06 Jun 2014 19:28:40 +0000
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