2nd Ranger Battalion
At Pointe du Hoc, reaching the top of the cliffs was only the beginning. The German guns were no longer in their expected positions, and the Rangers had to find them inland before fighting to hold the ground they had taken. That mission remains the best-known chapter in the history of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, but its story extends well beyond Normandy, through the fighting in Europe, the rebuilding of the Ranger force, and decades of modern special operations.
Formation and Preparation for Normandy
The WWII 2nd Ranger Battalion was activated on April 1, 1943, at Camp Forrest, Tennessee. Volunteers came from across the Army, and combat veterans of the 1st Ranger Battalion helped train the new formation. MAJ James Rudder assumed command in June 1943 and led the battalion through its preparations for the invasion of France.
Training included amphibious operations in Florida, instruction in enemy weapons and tactics, and further preparation in Britain. Cliff climbing became a particular concern. The battalion was preparing for an assignment that required small groups of Rangers to get ashore, overcome coastal defenses, and keep moving without waiting for the larger invasion force.
D-Day: Pointe du Hoc and Omaha Beach
On June 6, 1944, the battalion fought at two separate parts of the Normandy landing area. Under LTC Rudder, Dco, Eco, and Fco assaulted Pointe du Hoc, climbing the cliffs with ropes and grappling hooks to reach a German coastal artillery position threatening the invasion beaches.
The guns had been moved from the position. Ranger patrols located the weapons inland and disabled them, then the force endured repeated German counterattacks before relief arrived on June 8. The mission required both the destruction of the battery and a prolonged defense by an increasingly depleted force.
Elsewhere, Cco landed at Omaha Beach and attacked the defenses near Pointe de la Percée. Aco and Bco also landed at Omaha alongside the 5th Ranger Battalion after the planned reinforcement of Pointe du Hoc could not proceed as intended. The battalion’s D-Day history belongs to both the cliff assault and the fighting to break out of Omaha.
Brest, Hill 400, and the Advance into Germany
After Normandy, the 2nd Rangers continued fighting across Europe. They cleared enemy positions along the Cherbourg Peninsula and took part in the Brittany campaign, including the fighting around Brest and the capture of the Lochrist coastal battery.
On December 7, 1944, Dco and Fco assaulted Hill 400 near Bergstein in the Hürtgen Forest. Other elements secured the town and supported the attack. The hill overlooked the surrounding battlefield, making it valuable ground for observation. Capturing it brought the Rangers under sustained artillery fire and repeated counterattacks. They held until relieved on December 9, suffering heavy casualties.
The battalion remained in Europe through the final campaigns and served on occupation duty near Pilsen, Czechoslovakia. It was inactivated on October 23, 1945, at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia.
Korea, Vietnam, and the Battalion’s Lineage
The modern battalion’s lineage joins more than one historical organization. Its WWII Ranger connection passes through Aco of the original 2nd Ranger Battalion and the 2nd Ranger Infantry Company (Airborne), activated in October 1950.
The Korean War company was an all-African American formation serving during the Army’s transition away from segregation. It fought in Korea and participated in the combat parachute assault at Munsan-ni on March 23, 1951, with the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team. The company was inactivated that August.
A separate lineage runs through Merrill’s Marauders, the 475th Infantry, and Company H, 75th Infantry, which served in Vietnam. These connections explain the breadth of the battalion’s heritage without implying that a battalion-sized 2nd Ranger organization served continuously through every conflict.
The Modern Battalion: Fort Lewis, Grenada, and Panama
The modern 2nd Battalion (Ranger), 75th Infantry was activated at Fort Lewis, Washington, on October 1, 1974, as the Army rebuilt its battalion-sized Ranger force under GEN Creighton Abrams. On February 3, 1986, it was redesignated as the 2d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, and its headquarters lineage was formally consolidated with the WWII Ranger lineage.
On October 25, 1983, elements of the 2nd Rangers joined the 1st Ranger Battalion in the low-altitude combat parachute assault at Point Salines, Grenada, during Operation Urgent Fury. Seizing the airfield helped open the way for follow-on forces.
On December 20, 1989, the 2nd and 3rd Ranger Battalions conducted a combat parachute assault at Rio Hato, Panama, during Operation Just Cause. Their objectives included securing the airfield and defeating the Panamanian Defense Force units defending the area.
Afghanistan and Iraq
Following September 11, 2001, the battalion’s operational record expanded through deployments supporting Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Its service included the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and subsequent rotations to both theaters. Air assaults, raids, patrols, and ambushes became recurring missions through years of sustained combat.
One documented action involved SSG Leroy Petry of Dco. During a raid in Paktya Province, Afghanistan, on May 26, 2008, Petry was wounded in both legs. When an enemy grenade landed near two fellow Rangers, he picked it up and threw it away. It exploded as he released it, amputating his right hand. He then applied a tourniquet and continued coordinating assistance. His actions earned the Medal of Honor.
2nd Rangers Today
Based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, the 2nd Battalion remains part of the 75th Ranger Regiment’s direct-action force. Its role includes raids, Airborne and air assault operations, and the seizure of critical objectives such as airfields. Readiness rests on repeated training in marksmanship, physical conditioning, medical skills, small-unit tactics, and mobility.
From the WWII battalion’s coastal assaults to the modern force’s combat jumps and repeated deployments, the history of the 2nd Rangers is carried by successive generations of Soldiers. Our collection honors that service and the veterans and families connected to the battalion.
Historical Sources
- 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment: Lineage and Honors. U.S. Army Special Operations Command History Office / U.S. Army Center of Military History. Documents the battalion’s separate lineage branches, Korean War company, Vietnam connection, 1974 activation, and 1986 consolidation and redesignation.
- Beyond the Beach: The 2nd Rangers Fight Through Europe. Robert W. Jones Jr., USASOC History Office, Veritas, 2009. Covers formation and training, the division of D-Day missions, Brest, Hill 400, the final European campaigns, and inactivation.
- 2nd Battalion: WWII History. Descendants of WWII Rangers, Inc. A veteran-contributed association history describing the battalion’s operations at Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach, and later European battlefields.
- The 2nd Ranger Infantry Company. U.S. Army Airborne and Special Operations Museum. Covers the African American Ranger company’s formation, Korean War service, Munsan-ni combat jump, and inactivation.
- U.S. Army Rangers: Heritage. U.S. Army. Provides operational context for the Ranger assaults in Grenada and Panama. Exact battalion organizational dates are drawn from the formal lineage record above.
- 75th Ranger Regiment: 2nd Battalion History. U.S. Army, Fort Benning. Describes the modern battalion’s development, Rio Hato assault, and service in Iraq and Afghanistan.
- JBLM Ranger Battalion Honors Rangers and Civilians. U.S. Army, September 15, 2015. Documents the battalion’s repeated Afghanistan deployments and its air assaults, raids, patrols, and ambushes.
- SSG Leroy Petry: Official Medal of Honor Citation. U.S. Army. Establishes Petry’s unit, rank at the time of the action, May 26, 2008 action date, and conduct during the engagement.
- U.S. Army Rangers: Mission and Organization. U.S. Army. Identifies the battalion’s home station and the regiment’s publicly described mission, capabilities, and training priorities.