Photo -- See Caption Below


Military Patch
1944
US 2nd Ranger Battalion

Companies D, E, and F of the 2nd Ranger Battalion scaled Point-du-Hoc on D-Day, 6 June 1944.
After their successful all-out assault on Point-du-Hoc and the destruction of the enemy cannon nearby, these men were totally isolated.  They withstood repeated German counter-attacks throughout the night of June 6-7.  By the time other troops from the 29th Infantry Division came to their relief on June 8, only about 50 of the original 200 Rangers that had fought at Point-du-Hoc were still able to fight.  The rest of the attack force was either dead or wounded.

Other companies of the 2nd Ranger Battalion and 5th Ranger Battalion landed with the 29th Infantry Division on the Dog Green and Dog White sectors of Omaha Beach.  Company C of the 2nd Ranger Battalion was the first unit to succeed in gaining the top of the bluff at the west end of Omaha Beach on D-Day.  The 2nd Ranger Battalion was an elite combat organization that earned recognition with a Special Presidential Unit Citation for its accomplishments.  The Rangers saw heavy combat in the Battle of Huertgen Forest in Germany that fall.

Cloth. L 9.7, W 5.1 cm
Eisenhower National Historic Site, EISE 9546