517th Parachute Infantry Regiment
military unit
The 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment (517th PIR) was an airborne infantry regiment of the United States Army, formed during World War II. At times the regiment was attached to the 17th Airborne Division, 82nd Airborne Division and later, the 13th Airborne Division. During most of their combat, the unit was an independent combined force of 17th Airborne troops called the 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team or 517th PRCT /517th PCT /517th RCT.
The unit was formed in early 1943 and trained at Camp Toccoa, Georgia. The 517th saw heavy fighting in the Italian Campaign in June 1944, before being transferred to take part in Operation Dragoon in August 1944, in Southern France, which happened to be their first combat jump. Following the liberation of France, the 517th was attached to the 82nd Airborne Division and fought with it in Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge. Following the end of the war, the 517th was assigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where the unit was inactivated on 25 February 1946.
Operation Dragoon
The 517th was one of three parachute infantry regiments assigned to the First Airborne Task Force, which was charged with the assault on Southern France. The assault was set for 0800 on 15 August 1944, however, the 517th dropped early at 0328 on the 15th. This marked the unit's first combat jump. After three days of heavy fighting around the towns of Le Muy, Les Arcs, La Motte and Draguignan, German resistance ceased. For their participation in Operation Dragoon and the subsequent liberation of France, the 517th PIR was awarded the French Croix de Guerre by the Provisional Government of the French Republic.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “517th Parachute Infantry Regiment” as military unit. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as military unit. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2817416. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1943, 1944 and 1946.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “517th Parachute Infantry Regiment”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment primary sources, 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment archive and 517th research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “517th Parachute Infantry Regiment”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “517th Parachute Infantry Regiment” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.