Original Airborne Command Patch

First Allied Airborne Army (FAAA), formed in August 1944 and commanded by Lt. Gen. Lewis H. Brereton, controlled all Allied airborne forces in Europe, executing major operations like Market Garden and Varsity. Developing from 1940s parachute and glider doctrine, five U.S. divisions (11th, 13th, 17th, 82d, 101st) and British forces achieved strategic, behind-the-lines, high-risk assaults, heavily impacting Normandy and later campaigns.