the resupply succeeded, thanks to the efforts of the pathfinders. There were pathfinder trained personnel already in Bastogne, but they were unable to perform the pathfinder duty without the equipment that was parachuted in with the pathfinders. Into Germany A similar mission was carried out by the pathfinders of the 506th PIR at Prüm, Germany, on February 13, 1945. Their objective was to set beacons to guide in planes to resupply the surrounded 4th Infantry Division, and they succeeded; this allowed the division to fight off the Germans surrounding them. The only major airborne operation into Germany came on March 24, 1945, in the form of Operation Varsity, the crossing of the Rhine River by American, British and Canadian paratroopers. Because it was another daylight drop (navigation should not be a problem) and that the drop zones were heavily defended, pathfinders were not dropped prior to the main paratrooper forces in this operation. Instead, some set up beacons on the Allied side of the river, and others dropped with the main paratrooper force to set up smoke and panels as a final navigational aid. The Pacific Theater There was a much lesser demand for pathfinders and airborne forces in general in the jungles and islands of the Pacific. The 511th PIR was the only Pacific based airborne unit to employ pathfinders, which it did in the Philippines. They were used twice, at Tagaytay Ridge in early February 1945, and again on June 23, 1945. However, neither time did they parachute in to mark the drop zones; rather, they infiltrated over a beach in one instance, and across a river in the other. Needless to say, the pathfinders were used unconventionally in the Pacific Theater. Post–World War II The divisional pathfinder units of World War II were assigned to the subordinate parachute infantry regiments. In 1947, the first divisional pathfinder platoon was organized in the Headquarters Company, 82d Airborne Division. Pathfinders were also established in the 11th Airborne Division, at that time on occupation duty in Japan. Korean War The organizational structure of the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team included a Pathfinder Team; however, when the 187th conducted a parachute assault in October 1950 near the villages of Sukchon and Sunchon in North Korea, the commander, Brig. Gen. Frank S. Bowen, decided against using pathfinders on the jump. According to USAF Historical Study No. 71, "Bowen thought that the use of