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502nd PIR Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower speaking with the US 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment on the eve of D-Day

Airborne infantry are light infantry that are dropped into battle by parachute from planes, allowing for them to be placed behind enemy lines. World War II was the first war to see paratroopers fighting in combat, and since then, the role of airborne infantry have changed from parachute soldiers to soldiers that can be deployed via helicopter, bypassing some weather restrictions as well as facilitating their deployment and evacuation. Famous airborne infantry formations include Nazi Germany's Fallschirmjaegers, the United Kingdom's Special Air Service, and the United States's US 101st Airborne Division.

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