Original U.S. WWII Occupation German-Made 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment Ashtray by Bauscher of Weiden

Item DescriptionOriginal Item. Only One Available. The 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment (508th PIR) was activated during World War II on 20 October 1942 at Camp Blanding, Florida. Lieutenant Colonel Roy E. Lindquist formed the unit and remained its commander throughout the war. After extensive training and maneuvers the 508th embarked on 19 December 1943 in New York City, New York and sailed on 28 December 1943 for Belfast, Northern Ireland, arriving there on 8 January 1944. After additional training at Cromore Estate in Portstewart, the regiment was moved by ship to Glasgow in Scotland and by train on 13 March 1944 to Wollaton Park in Nottinghamshire, England, where they became part of the veteran 82nd 'All American' Airborne Division, commanded by Major General Matthew Ridgway, which had seen distinguished service in Sicily and Italy. A sister unit, the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment (later to become attached to the 17th Airborne Division), who were part of the 2nd Airborne Brigade with the 508th, were camped less than ten miles away at a former country hotel called Tollerton Hall, Nottinghamshire. During training in England Brigadier General James M. Gavin, the Assistant Division Commander (ADC), was particularly impressed with the regiment, noting that the 508th 'looks as good as any new outfit that I have ever seen, if they cannot do it it cannot be done by green troops.'This is a very charming glazed ceramic ashtray made by the German company Bauscher of Weiden, likely during the Post-War Occupation period. It features three small indents for cigarettes, with508 / PARACHUTE / INFANTRYon the three corners, and a set of Paratrooper wings in the center. There is some nicotine staining and signs that this may have seen some use.The ashtray measures 6' on all three sides and is 1 ¼' tall. There is some minor chipping on the underside next to PARACHUTE.Ready for display or use.The 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment participated in Operation Overlord, jumping into Normandy at 2:15 a.m. on 6 June 1944. The 82nd objectives were to capture Sainte-Mère-Église, secure crossings at the Merderet River near La Fiere and Chef-du-Pont, and establish a defensive line north from Neuville-au-Plain to Breuzeville-au-Plain. There they were to tie in with the 502nd Parachute Infantry, of Major General Maxwell Taylor's 101st Airborne Division. Like most paratroop units involved in Overlord, the 508th were dropped in the wrong locations and had extraordinary difficulty linking up with each other.Portions of the 508th regrouped and remained in contact with German forces until relieved on 7 July when they became the divisional reserve force. On 13 July, they were transported back to England in two LSTs and returned to their station at Wollaton Park. Of the 2,056 paratroopers of the regiment who participated in the D-Day landings, only 995 returned. The 508th PIR had, by this time, suffered 1,061 casualties, out of an initial strength on D-Day of 2,056. Of those, 307 had been killed in action, including the commanding officer (CO) of the 1st Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Herbert F. Batchellor, the highest-ranking officer to lose his life in the regiment.Shipping RestrictionsThis product is available for international shipping.Payment OptionsEligible for all payments - Visa, Mastercard, Discover, AMEX, Paypal & Sezzle