Colonel James Megellas
Lieutenant Colonel James Megellas
Lieutenant Colonel James “Maggie” Megellas served during WWII as an officer in the United States Army. Originally assigned with the signal corp, he then volunteered to be a paratrooper in order to see combat. He was moved to H Company, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which was part of the 82nd Airborne Division, where he would remain andeventually command. Among others, he participated in the amphibious assault at Anzio, Operation Market Garden, and the Battle of the Bulge. He left the active Army with the rank of captain, and then served another 16 years in the Army Reserve, earning the rank of lieutenant colonel. Megellas is the most decorated officer in the history of the 82nd Airborne, where he’s been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and Silver Star, as well as having been nominated for the Medal of Honor.
