During WWII the 504, 507 & 508 parachutte regiments of the 82nd Airborne were known as the Red Devils.  

"They (Red Devils) are less than 100 meters from my outpost line. I can’t sleep at night; they pop up from nowhere and we never know when or how they will strike next. Seems like the black-hearted devils are everywhere..."

Translated from the diary of a dead German Officer at Anzio - February 1944