| 1st Battalion, 551st Parachute Infantry Regiment 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:551t-pir-patch.jpg) Shoulder sleeve patch of the GOYA | |
| Active | 26 November 1942 – 27 January 1945 |
| Disbanded | 27 January 1945—absorbed into 82nd Airborne Division |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Type | Parachute infantry |
| Role | Airborne forces |
| Size | Battalion |
| Part of | 1st Airborne Task Force |
| Garrison/HQ | Fort Kobbe, Panama and Camp Mackall, North Carolina |
| Nickname(s) | GOYA (Get Off Your Ass) |
| Motto(s) | Aterrice y Ataque Land and Attack |
| Mascot(s) | Furlough |
| Engagements | World War II
|
| Decorations | &sq=&lang=&file=File:U.S._Army_and_U.S._Air_Force_Presidential_Unit_Citation_ribbon.svg){kind=small} Presidential Unit Citation |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Lt. Col. Wood Joerg |
| U.S. Infantry Regiments | ||||
|
The 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion (551st PIB) was, for many years, a little-recognized airborne forces unit of the United States Army, raised during World War II, that fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Originally commissioned to take the French Caribbean island of Martinique, they were shipped instead to Western Europe. With an initial strength of 800 officers and enlisted men, the remaining 250 members of the Battalion were ordered on 7 January 1945 to attack the Belgian village of Rochelinval over open ground and without artillery support. During the successful assault the unit lost more than half its remaining men. The Battalion was inactivated on 27 January 1945 and the remaining 110 survivors were absorbed into the 82nd Airborne Division. Virtually nothing of the unit's history was known to the American public until the 1990s when renewed interest prompted its veterans to seek recognition for their costly success at Rochelinval. The battalion was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation in 2001 recognizing its accomplishment.