Notable Soldiers of The 517th
- Louis A. Walsh, Jr., the first Commanding Officer of the 517th
- Rupert D. Graves, succeeded Lou Walsh as the 517th's CO and led the outfit throughout its combat career
- William J. "Bill" Boyle, led the 1st Battalion
- Richard J. "Dick" Seitz, led the 2nd Battalion. He later went on to become a Lt. General, commanding Fort Bragg, the 82nd Airborne Division, and the XVIII Airborne Corps.
- Melvin Zais, commanded the 3rd Battalion and then became executive officer for the Regimental Combat Team. He went on to become Commanding General of the U.S. Third Army.
- Lt. John A. "Boom Boom" Alicki, a veteran of Pearl Harbor, handled the indoctrination of the 517th recruits at Camp Toccoa.
- Melvin E. Biddle, B Company, Medal of Honor recipient.
- George W. Dunaway became the 2nd Sergeant Major of the Army from 1968 to 1970, the highest ranking enlisted man in the Army.
- David E. Grange, Jr., Commanding General, Sixth U.S. Army
- Richard J. Eaton, a Corporal with A Company, went on to become a Brigadier General and inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame
- Terry Sanford, an FBI agent, joined the 517th. He later became state legislator, lawyer, author of several books, Governor of North Carolina, U.S. senator, Duke University president, and two-time presidential candidate.
- Dick Spencer III, reporter and artist, and creator of the Battling Buzzards logo
- Merv Connors, minor league baseball player
- William Gutbrod, head football coach at Cleveland St. Joseph High School of Cleveland, OH from 1950 to 1990 and also Gilmour Academy of Gates Mills, OH from 1991 to 1997. He is the 3rd all time winningest coach in Ohio High School Football with 310 wins. Entered the Ohio High School Hall of Fame in 1986.
Charles "Dutch" Wilmerton
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