Hobert Henry was born July 15, 1920 in Arkansas to Chess Joseph & Urma/Irma Mann Henry. June 18, 1942 Hobert, a resident of Mansfield, Sebastian Co., married Georgia Lorene Kosier from Dyer, Crawford Co., Ar. February 10, 1939 Hobard enlisted in the US Army. April 2, 1940 he is found on the census at Fort Francis E. Warren Military Reservation in Laramie Wyoming. Hobart served with the rank of 1st Sgt. in Co A 187 Glider Infantry receiving the Branze Star Medal. The 187th Infantry Regiment (Rakkasans) is a regiment of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) of the United States Army. The nickname "Rakkasans" is derived from the Japanese word for umbrella. The name was given to the 187th during its tour in occupied Japan following World War II. When a translator dealing with local Japanese dignitaries was trying to explain what their unit was trained to do (and not knowing the Japanese word for "airborne soldiers") he used the phrase "falling down umbrella men", or rakkasan. Amused by the clumsy word, the locals began to call the troopers by that nickname; it soon stuck and became a point of pride for the unit. The regiment was originally constituted as the 187th Glider Infantry Regiment on 12 November 1942, and activated on 25 February 1943 at Camp Mackall, North Carolina. It was originally a two battalion glider regiment assigned to the 11th Airborne Division, the men of the 187th trained both as glider and parachute troops. They moved to Camp Polk on 9 January 1944 for glider training. The regiment staged at Camp Stoneman, California on 29 April 1944, and departed from the San Francisco Port of Embarkation on 6 May 1944. The regiment arrived in New Guinea on 29 May 1944 and joined the New Guinea Campaign. The regiment departed New Guinea on 11 November 1944 and arrived on Leyte on 18 November 1944 to join the Leyte Campaign. The regiment left Leyte, and joined the Luzon Campaign by assaulting Nasugbu Point Luzon on 31 January 1945, blocking Japanese forces as part of the advance on Manila from the south. From then until April 1945, the 187th fought their way from Nichols Field, Fort William McKinley, and Manila to Mount Macolod and Malepunyo. In May 1945, the 187th moved into Lipa to refit, rebuild, and prepare for Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of Japan. At this time, the 3rd Battalion was formed and the regiment was redesignated a para-glider regiment. The regiment was attached to the Provost Marshal General, U.S. Army Forces Far East from 1 June 1945 through 27 July 1945 at Manila. The campaigns in the Philippines were declared completed on 4 July 1945, and the regiment moved to Okinawa on 12 August 1945 for occupation duty. This is where the unit gained its name; Rakkasan, when it was the only unit to parachute onto Japanese soil at the time. After the war ended on 14 August 1945, the regiment subsequently moved to Japan on 30 August 1945, and was alleged to be the first foreign ground combat unit to enter that nation. 1st Sgt. Henry was discharged from the military on November 20, 1945. Hobert and his family were living in Fort Smith, Ar. in 1959. 1st Sgt. Hobert Henry passed away Feb 23, 1959 and is buried in the National Cemetery at Fort Smith, Ar. Click Here for a larger census reading from below. If it doesn't show up large, click on it.