The 88th Infantry Regiment was an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. It was created as the 88th Airborne Infantry Battalion on 10 October 1941 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as the U.S. Army's first glider

unit.

Unit history

Attached to the

U.S. Army Infantry School The United States Army Infantry School is a school located at Fort Benning, Georgia that is dedicated to training infantrymen for service in the United States Army. Organization The school is made up of the following components: * 197th Infan ...

Fort Benning Fort Benning (named Fort Moore from 2023–2025) is a United States Army post in the Columbus, Georgia area. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve compone ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, the unit was authorized a strength of 27 officers and 500 enlisted men. In May 1942 it was moved to

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg (formerly Fort Liberty from 2023–2025) is a United States Army, U.S. Army Military base, military installation located in North Carolina. It ranks among the largest military bases in the world by population, with more than 52,000 m ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, and expanded into the 88th Glider Infantry Regiment. All equipment and personnel assigned to the regiment were designed to be carried in the Waco CG-4A glider. The regiment was stationed at

Fort Meade Fort George G. Meade is a United States Army installation located in Maryland, that includes the Defense Information School, the Defense Media Activity, the United States military bands#Army Field Band, United States Army Field Band, and the head ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

, from February to November 1943. Troops were trained in infantry tactics including forced night marches, although they also had mock gliders and a tower north of the fort for practice parachute drops. The soldiers at Fort Meade were taken to

Alliance, Nebraska Alliance is a city in and the county seat of Box Butte County, Nebraska, Box Butte County, in the western part of the state of Nebraska, in the Great Plains region of the United States. Its population was 8,151 at the 2020 census. Alliance is ho ...

, for their airborne training, and the glider pilots received their flight training there as well. In April 1943 the regiment was assigned to the 1st Airborne Infantry Brigade along with the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment and the 326th Glider Infantry Regiment. Both the 88th GIR and the 326th GIR were organized as two-battalion regiments. The 88th was assigned to the 13th Airborne Division on 3 December 1943 and landed in France in February 1945 but saw no combat. On 1 March 1945, the 88th GIR was disbanded and its assets were used to form a third battalion in the 326th GIR. This was in line with similar reorganizations of the 17th, 82nd, and

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. The 101st is designed to plan, coordinat ...

s that gave each a single three-battalion glider infantry regiment, rather than two, two-battalion glider regiments.Maneuver and Firepower p196
/ref> File:Waco CG-4A USAF.JPG File:Waco CG-4A USAF.jpg File:Jeep being loaded into waco glider.jpg, Jeep loading onto Waco glider

Distinctive unit insignia

* Description A Silver color metal and enamel device in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Azure, a cross pendal saltirewise Argent. Attached below and to the sides of the shield a Silver tripartite scroll inscribed "RIDE THE STORM" in Blue letters. * Symbolism The shield is blue for Infantry. The symbol produces the effect of two crossed "8’s," which may be alluded to as

canting ' (International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: , Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, VOS Spelling: , ) is a pen-like tool used to apply liquid hot wax () in the batik-making process in Indonesia, more precisely (). Traditional consists of copper wax-con ...

heraldry. It also has the appearance of a propeller, indicating connection with aviation. * Background The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 88th Infantry Airborne Battalion on 17 December 1941. It was redesignated for the 88th Infantry Regiment on 29 September 1942. The insignia was rescinded on 10 February 1959.

Coat of arms

*Blazon ** Shield: Azure, a cross pendal saltirewise Argent. ** Crest None. ** Motto RIDE THE STORM. * Symbolism ** Shield: The shield is blue for Infantry. The symbol produces the effect of two crossed "8’s," which may be alluded to as canting heraldry. It also has the appearance of a propeller, indicating connection with aviation. ** Crest None. * Background: The coat of arms was originally approved for the 88th Infantry Airborne Battalion on 17 December 1941. It was amended to correct the history on 23 January 1942. The insignia was redesignated for the 88th Infantry Regiment on 30 September 1942. It was rescinded on 10 February 1959.

Notes

{{reflist

External links

ww2-airborne.us

www.ospreypublishing.com

088 88 may refer to: * 88 (number) * one of the years 88 BC, AD 88, 1988, 2088 * Highway 88, see List of highways numbered 88 * The 88 (San Jose), a residential skyscraper in San Jose, California, USA * The 88, a nickname for the piano derived fr ...

Airborne units and formations of the United States Army Military gliding