5th Ranger Battalion

D-Day – June 6, 1944 – saw the launch of Operation Overlord, the massive Allied invasion of France. One of the first units to land on Normandy was the 5th Ranger Battalion, whose mission was to eliminate German defenses and clear the path for follow-on forces. Many of the Rangers in this unit were select volunteers from the 26th “Yankee” Division, so many in fact that some referred to the 5th Ranger Battalion as the “Little YD”.

“The Historical and Pictorial Review, National Guard of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts”, Baton Rouge, La.: Army and Navy Publishing Co., 1939, p.48

Massachusetts National Guard Photo

The 5th Ranger’s second-in-command, Major Richard P. Sullivan, was a former 101st Infantry Soldier from Dorchester who received his commission as a second lieutenant in 1941 upon graduating from the Massachusetts National Guard’s officer candidate program. Sullivan earned the Distinguished Service Cross and Purple Heart for actions taken on D-Day with the 5th Rangers, defending Vierville and relieving other Rangers at Pointe du Hoc. He would go on to command the 5th Rangers for 10 of the 11 months they were in combat in World War II.

On this 77th anniversary of D-Day, we honor the courage and leadership of Major Sullivan and over 100 Massachusetts Guardsmen who landed at Normandy as Soldiers of the 5th Ranger Battalion.

One D-Day hero was Major Richard P. Sullivan, a former 101st Infantry Soldier from Dorchester who earned the Distinguished Service Cross for actions taken on D-Day with the 5th Ranger Battalion, defending Vierville and relieving other Rangers at Pointe du Hoc.

Visit From Omaha Beach to the Rhine: The 5th Ranger Battalion in the European Theater to learn more about Major Sullivan and the 5th Ranger Battalion.