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Radio callsign:"KLONDIKE". In mid November, 1942, the 501 PIR was activated at Camp Toccoa, GA, following the same idea that Colonel Sink's 506th had utilized. Colonel Howard R. Johnson was the dynamic commander of the 501 regiment. Volunteers both drafted and Regular Army, who had joined the Army to be paratroopers, arrived by trainloads, fresh from induction centers. For them the 501 WAS the Army for the next several years. The 506th was departing for jumpschool at Benning as the first volunteers for the 501 began to arrive at Toccoa. The 506 guys tossed cherry bombs into the barracks of the 501ers the night they departed ("We thought they were a rowdy bunch at the time", one 501 man recalled later). The recruits were trained by a cadre, some of whom were already jump qualified. Putting the troops through special pre-jumpschool Basic Training at Toccoa, many men who were not capable of long distance running were weeded out of the 501. Distance running was the main emphasis in Colonel Johnson's book. In spring, 1943, the 501 left Toccoa, one battalion at a time to attend the Parachute School at Ft Benning, GA. The 511 and 517 regiments had arrived to train at Toccoa in the same manner, (although they were destined for different divisions.) Some 501 commanders, like Major "Big Red" Shelby of 3rd Bn, were disappointed that the regiment rode to The Parachute School (TPS) on trains. He had wanted to march there, as the 506th had done. The troops were not disappointed and Shelby was shipped out before the 501 sailed for overseas. After completing jump training, the troops received furloughs and then settled-in for many months of large unit training at Camp Mackall, N.C. In September-October, 1943, the 501 went to 2nd Army Maneuvers in Tennessee. In December, 1943 another round of furloughs was granted. In January, 1944, they sailed to England aboard the USS George W. Goethals, landed at Glasgow, Scotland and took trains to camps at Newbury and Lambourne, England. They became members by attachment only, of the 101st Airborne Division. This was actually a disappointment in loss of identity for the original 501 members, who believed Colonel Johnson's prediction that the 501 would make a name for itself as the crucial element in winning WW2.

On 6 June, 1944, departing from airfields at Merryfield and Welford, the 501 parachuted into Normandy behind Utah Beach. RHQ, and First Bn were to seize the lock at la Barquette, over the Douve River. Second Battalion was to destroy Bridge #2 over the Douve on the N-13 highway and secure the town of St Come du Mont. Third Bn, jumping in "reserve" was to land on DZ 'C' and provide security for 101 Div. HQ at Hiesville. Despite mis drops of some of the units, some of these objectives were accomplished on D-Day, except for the destruction of Bridge #2 and the capture of St Come du Mont. Both of those events occurred on 8 June. The biggest pitched battle of the 501 in Normandy took place at Hells Corners, Peneme, France near the Lock on 7 June, 1944. A force led by Col. Johnson wiped out the 1st Bn of the German 6th Parachute Regiment there, and Colonel Johnson received the Silver Star Medal. The 501 re grouped at Vierville, 9 June, then crossed the Douve River near Brevands, passed through Catz, and staged for the encirclement of Carentan at St Hilaire Petit Ville. On 12 June, they attacked Hill 30, where several 501ers won the D.S.C., and met elements of the 506th at la Billonnerie. Carentan fell, with 2/506th and the 401 Glider Infantry entering the town from opposite sides. On the following day, the 501 repulsed counterattacks by the 17th SS division south of Carentan. The 501 Regiment was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation for their role in the Normandy Invasion.

Returning to England via LSTs, the regiment received replacements and on 17 September, 1944, parachuted into combat again in Holland. Elements of the 501 landed on DZA-1 near Heeswijk, and others on the DZ between Veghel and Eerde. The mission was to secure the part of Hell's Highway which would tie-in with the 82nd Airborne below Grave. Heavy fighting raged around Veghel and Eerde, and the 501 was later reinforced by elements of the 506th and other division sub units. Schijndel, Holland was briefly captured but troops were soon withdrawn to keep the highway open for northbound British armor. The Guards Armored Division was headed for Arnhem but arrived too late to help their Airborne comrades. The 501 moved north in early October, 1944, with the rest of the division and took up positions facing the Neder Rhine river along the 'Island', west of Arnhem. While across from Renkum, Holland a six man patrol from 501 crossed the Neder Rhine and returned with 32 German POWs, including an SS captain. This epic called 'The Incredible Patrol' was reported in LIFE Magazine, making the 501 world famous. Also while on the dike positions on 8 October, 1944, Colonel H.R.'Jumpy' Johnson, the unique and dynamic leader of the 501 was KIA by German artillery fire. He was initially buried at Nijmegen, Holland but has since been re interred in Arlington National Cemetery. LTC Julian J. Ewell assumed regimental command. The dike positions were held until late November, when the regiment was sent to Mourmelon le Grand, France with the rest of the 101 division for recuperation.

The rest was short-lived, as the 101 was sent north to help stop the German Ardennes breakthrough on 18 December. Arriving at the city of Bastogne, Belgium, where seven roads converged, the 101st threw a cordon around the town. Arriving on the night of 18-19 December, 1944, the entire division found itself surrounded by Dec. 21st. The 501 was sent east on the morning of the 19th, in the most direct path of the German attack. Contact was made at Bizory, Neffe, and Mont, and much of company 'I' was lost in a battle with Tiger Royal Tanks and Panzer Grenadiers of the Panzer Lehr Division, at a town called Wardin. Establishing a C.P. in the Bastogne seminary, LTC Julian J. Ewell commanded until WIA at Recogne on 9 January. Heavy attacks against the east perimeter were fended off on 20-21 December, 1944. January 3-4 saw more heavy fighting as the 501 attacked north through the Bois Jacques forest as part of the push to close the Bulge at Houffalize. When LTC Ewell was WIA, LTC Robert A. Ballard took command of the 501 for the duration of WW2. The 501 was awarded another Presidential Citation for the defense of Bastogne.

The 501 moved with the 101st Division to the 7th Army front in mid January, and held a line along the Moder River, in Alsace-Lorraine, until relieved in February. They rode 40 & 8 boxcars to Mourmelon le Petit, France, where they lived in a tent city (M34 Pyramidal tents) for over two months. They remained there when the rest of the 101st departed for the Ruhr Pocket near Dusseldorf. The 501 was held in strategic reserve for possible deployment to jump on enemy Stalags to avert last minute massacres by the Nazis. These reprisals never occured, and the 501 eventually rejoined the division at Berchtesgaden. The 501 was inactivated in July, 1945, and throughout its existence was never a TO&E part of the 101st Division. This was changed in 1956, when the new 101st Airborne Division was activated.