22/03/2026
SO HERE WE GO!
THE LETTER MARKINGS FOR THE 6615th RANGER FORCE DURING OPERATION "SHINGLE".
We recommend a cup of coffee and a few doughnuts because this will be long!
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A few words to begin with, so everyone can understand our situation. Letter markings on Ranger helmets (this also applies to other infantry units, such as the 3rd ID) began appearing as early as the second half of November 1943. What's important here, and what we've managed to determine, is that these markings appeared in the 1st Ranger Bn. They were the letter "V." How many? We don't know. However, we do have confirmation that they were used by the 1st during operations in Sicily. By this time, the 3rd and 4th Ranger Bn's existed, but we don't know anything about their markings, or whether they were even used by either battalion.
As we know, white horizontal and vertical stripes, depending on rank, did not appear on Rangers on the MTO, as they did on Rangers on the ETO; we're talking about the 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions. This doesn't change the fact that one thing is certain – both in the case of Darby's Rangers and the Rangers fighting on the beaches of Normandy, these markings had a purpose. While it's easy to recognize in the case of the 2nd and 5th Rangers, not so much in the case of 6615th.. Ranger Force – during the Anzio landings during Operation "Shingle" – it's not so easy. For many years, many have tried to determine the letters that appeared on the helmets of Darby's Rangers. The problem is that there is nothing on this subject in the materials available to the public, and we are inclined to say that there is a huge probability that there is no document, memoir, or other source relating to this topic. There is only a minor mention of helmet markings referring to SOI (Signal Operation Instructions, photo #1)
Our research is based ONLY AND EXCLUSIVELY on what is available. Therefore, these are also only our guesses, but they are based on evidence in the form of photographs, documents, and the identification of some Rangers from archival materials such as WWII photos and footage.
To answer the question of whether the markings were used to ID during night operations? We know from books that they were. However, that's only one piece of the puzzle. Another question that arises is that if, at the end of 1943, just weeks before the landings at Anzio and Nettuno, everyone in the 1st Ranger Bn., was using the letter "V," but how did they know who was "Follow Me"? This changed throughout the entire "Ranger Force" by the time of the Anzio landings.
In this article, we will attempt to present the evidence we have gathered, which, in our opinion, are the reasons why we believe that we are heading in the right direction.
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Landing Plan of the 6615th Ranger Force:
It's best to start at the beginning.
In January 1944, although there were calls to create an official Ranger regiment for the landings, the US War Department did not approve its creation. As a result, the 6615th Ranger Force was established, with a separate headquarters company to serve as a headquarters for all three battalions. On November 16, 1944, the 6615th Ranger Force officially became operational. The HQ Company for the 6615th consisted of nine officers and 100 enlisted men. The command staff included:
- Col. William Orlando Darby (commander-in-chief, 6615th Ranger Force)
- Lt. Col. Herman Dammer (operations commander)
- Maj. William Martin (intelligence officer)
- Capt. Howard Karbel (personnel officer)
- Capt. Frederick Saams (supply officer)
In addition:
- Maj. Jack Dobson, who took command of the 1st Ranger Bn., despite some voices of his lack of experience commanding infantry, much less how Ranger battalions operate.
- Maj. Alvah Miller, who had been with the Rangers since training at Achnacarry, took command of the 3rd Ranger Battalion.
- Maj. Roy Murray, retained his position as commander of the 4th Ranger Bn.
The Ranger landing plan assumed the following:
- Ranger Force (1st, 3rd, and 4th Ranger Bn.), supported by the 509th PIR, the 83rd Chemical Battalion, and one company of the 36th Combat Engineers, were to land at predetermined intervals, on predetermined sectors, and capture designated beachheads. In addition, after capturing the port facilities at Anzio and destroying all enemy positions in the area, and holding the stretch of beach from Anzio to Nettuno, the next task was to establish contact with the 1st ID (British) to the left of the 6615th Ranger Force, to the right with the 3rd ID, and to the north with the 504th PIR.
To understand the designations used during the operation, we need to understand how the Ranger forces were divided and when they landed.
At "H-hour," 0200, the headquarters forces of the 1st and 4th Ranger Bn's (both battalions minus one company), and HQ 6615th, with Col. Darby in charge, landed on "Yellow Beach." Darby immediately moved toward Cassino, which was to become his headquarters and the main communication hub between the various forces of the 6615th. The 1st and 4th Ranger Batalions secured the beachhead and cleared their sectors. The 3rd Ranger Bn. was to land on H+2 along with one company of the 1st Ranger Bn. and 420 men from the 509th PIR. The 3rd Ranger Bn was to cross the 4th Battalion beachhead.
The 4th Rangers formed a defensive line and cleared the rest of the city.
The 3rd Ranger Bn. was divided into two landing waves (!).
Landing diagram, photo #2 and 3.
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"Prelude":
1st Ranger Battalion. Markings:
This is the best-documented unit of the entire force. Most photos clearly show soldiers using the letters "Z" and "T". We can confirm these markings visually using this photo with the number clearly visible on the patch, as well as the fact that the 1st Battalion was the only unit to reach the port of Baia by motor (photo #4, 5 and 6), which is documented in the morning reports of each company of the 1st Battalion as well. There is also the letters "Ⓗ", marking, but more on that later.
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4th Ranger Battalion. Markings:
The symbols used by this battalion are:
"V" and "U". Thanks to the fact that we managed to identify 1st Sergeant Karbowski from this column (photo #7,8 and 9), we can safely say that they are soldiers from the 4th Ranger Bn. The "V" and "U" markings are clearly visible (photo #10 , 11 and 13). Furthermore, thanks to the landing tables (photo # 14, 15 and 16), we can determine that the 4th Ranger Battalion personnel were the only ones aboard HMS Wi******er Castle, along with paratroopers from the 509th PIR and part of the 36th Engineer Battalion. The 4th Ranger Bn HQ have the letter "H".
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3rd Ranger Battalion. Markings:
In the case of the 3rd Ranger Bn., the situation is slightly different. The soldiers used symbols in the form of single horizontal white lines, double horizontal white lines, and vertical white lines. This is as follows: "-", "=" "II", "III", in reference to his assignment to LCI 18 (photo #17, 18 and 19), which lists the numbers of all LCI's assigned to the 6615th RF), which was part of the task force transporting troops to their motherships. Due to the quality of the recording, it is difficult to see any role-specific equipment that would distinguish COs, NCOs and lower ranks. However, we can observe a medic using a horizontal line (photo #20). We know that the medical unit was a subordinate unit of the battalion headquarters, which we can verify by checking their morning reports throughout January, 1944. We also see (HQ in LCI 43) that the commander boarded LCI 43 (photo #21), where we see men wearing the same helmet markings. Therefore, we can assume that the horizontal markings were assigned to the HQ company and to the company commanders and their deputies. The 3rd Ranger Battalion may have used a different designation system, "II" and "III," due to its role as a "follow-up force" for the 4th Ranger Battalion in this landing operation, but we cannot confirm this with the evidence gathered in our research. Note the photo #22 in reference to German prisoners of war and the original footage.
It is worth noting that this designation also appears in the ranks of the 3rd ID, where we see soldiers boarding the LCI. We have determined from reports that some Rangers were assigned to the 3rd ID during the landing precisely to establish communications with HQ of the 6615th Ranger Force. This gives us reason to assume, based on established evidences, that the photo most likely shows Rangers with a white horizontal stripe on their helmets and equipment in the ranks of the 3rd ID responsible for communications (photo #23).
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Assigned Designations:
Based on the designations we can clearly identify, we have determined that the Ranger forces most likely used the three-symbol system. The 1st and 4th Ranger Battalions used the following system:
- V (4th), Z (1st) – officers and non-commissioned officers.
- U (4th), T (1st) – the rest of the battalion's ranks.
- H, Ⓗ – Battalion headquarters, and in the case of "Ⓗ," also the main force headquarters directly under Colonel Darby himself. Hence, the difference is that the letter H is placed within a circle. Both battalion and headquarters used the "Ⓗ" to identify their men, as we can see them around the force headquarters established in the Casino. The "H" is clearly visible when soldiers from the 4th and 509th PIR boards HMS Wi******er Castle. We see one of the men with the same letter carrying a special purpose waterproof bag (photo #25) used to carry signals equipment during landing operations. We also see soldiers from this battalion's headquarters under the Cassino building, alongside the force headquarters and the 1st Battalion. The same symbol appears when amphibious vehicles carrying ammunition arrived at Anzio on the morning of January 22, 1944. Archival footage shows the unloading taking place near Cassino, and some of the soldiers are marked with the "H" symbol.
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Purpose of marking the HQ elements and main command of the 6615th Ranger Force. The letters H and Ⓗ:
- The headquarters was to be located near the Cassino. Orders required that liaison officers from each unit report to the force headquarters (6615thPRG) as soon as headquarters for their own units (Battalions 1st and 4th) was established. They remained at headquarters until normal means of communiaction. Battalions likely used these markings for this purpose, in addition to simply distinguishing headquarters elements from line companies to facilitate identification during the early stages of Operation "Shingle".
(photo #26)
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The letters "V" appearing on HMS Royal Ulsterman.
It should be noted that in one of the photos, several Rangers from the 1st Ranger Bn still have markings painted in white on their helmets. We suspect these are markings from the fighting in Sicily. By comparing the motherships, we were able to determine that this is HMS Royal Ulsterman (photo #27 and 28).
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Another piece of the puzzle is the original Signal Corps description, which informs us that the photo taken shows the 1st Ranger Bn, however, both the 1st and 4th are visible in the photo, as evidenced by the letters V and Z and the identification of some of the Rangers (photo #29, 30 and 31).
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Other letters and markings.
In some photos, and even in the footage from Rome, when German forces were leading prisoners of war, including the Ranger battalions, after the disaster at Cisterna, various letters or markings can be seen. However, these and other markings are not part of the Rangers. These are likely soldiers from other units, as in addition to armored units, soldiers from, for example, the 3rd ID can also be seen, as evidenced by the patches or division markings on the profile of their M1 helmets. We recommend that you don't rely on the "X," "Y," "A," or the long white stripes running the length of the helmet, as there's no confirmation that these are Rangers. As for the white stripes, they most likely represent soldiers responsible for artillery fire support, as was the case with the 2nd and 5th Rangers and the seconded soldiers known as the Navy Shore Fire Control Party (NSFCP). They can be seen on some LCAs, in a recording from June 1st, 1944, in Weymouth (photo #32-38).
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More descriptions can be found in the gallery with the rest of the scans of original documents and with the photos of "mother" ships assigned to the 6615th Ranger Force.
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Let us know what you think. Remember, these are just our guesses. We can't guarantee we're 100% right, but we hope it all makes sense and sheds some light on the mysterious markings of the Anzio Rangers!
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Bibliography:
- A BIG Thank You for the WW2 Ranger families and for the WWII Rangers - for their support and trust!
- Critical Past
- Ranger Force by Robert W. Black
- National Archives and Records Administration
- Maneuver Center of Excellence
- British Pathe
- British Movietone
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RANGERS LEAD THE WAY!
