The U.S. Army, impressed with the success of the German parachute troops in 1940, created several "Airborne" divisions of parachute and glider infantry.  Two of the most famous divisions of America's WWII army were the 101st and 82nd Airborne.  Three companies have released sets of these elite troops -- Airfix, Esci, and Revell.  The Airfix set is a classic, and well known to collectors.  The Esci set is the best of the three, with a wide range of very nice poses.  The Revell set is for collectors only, and infamous as "blobs of plastic."
 
 

These are from the Esci set.  The detail is tremendous, the sculpting superb, and the raised surfaces make the figures very easy to paint.  This set is a winner!