What made the 101st airborne division different from others?

Answer 1

Paratroopers were new to WW2. Germany and Italy had begun using them in the WW2 before the Americans became involved. As the US began to build up its army, it saw the need for paratrooper division. The 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions were formed as "parachute infantry" designations. This meant they were still infantrymen in much of their uniform but they were allowed to wear special insginia and equipment.

The Airborne Division was made up of Parachute Infantry Regiments which were smaller than the regiments of the Infantry Division. The paratroopers were armed with lighter weapons such as sub-machine guns and the smaller version of the 105mm Howitzer.

The paratroopers were the first soldiers who were officially allowed to wear their pants tucked into their special issue jump boots. Other soldiers would try to copy them and obtain their boots but it was not officially allowed for other units until 1944.

The paratroopers also wore a large round patch with a parachute embrodiered and sewn to their Overseas cap. Many officers wore leather jackets similar to fighter pilots. And of course, for combat duty, they wore a special paratrooper jump suit that was the envy of US infantrymen and the British as well as their enemy counter-parts.

One distinction of the 101st is that their most famous action was the defense of the Belgian city of Bastogne. They were the nearest troops in the area, and they walked or rode trucks into the city and fought as defensive infantry until relieved. Using paratroopers in this way was less successful two years earlier at Second El Alamein. Italy's Folgore Division was wiped out, and Germany's Ramcke Brigade escaped destruction only by disregarding their orders to hold and fight.