The 82nd Airborne Museum at Fort Bragg

A howitzer stands in front
of the 82nd Airborne Museum.

The 82nd Division was activated

 on August 25, 1917 at

Camp Gordon, Georgia.

With division members from all 48 states, the 82nd was nicknamed "All American."  Its distinctive AA shoulder patch celebrates the division's diversity.

The 82nd Division soldiers distinguished themselves during World War I.  The most famous soldier in the division is Sergeant Alvin York.

A conscientious objector, York
was sent to the 82nd Division,
where the Tennessean's skill
with a rifle was would be
put to good use.








Corporal York was assigned to Sargent Bernard Early's eighteen man unit in France.  On October 8, 1918, the unit was tasked with taking command of the Decaville Railroad near Chatel-Chehery. After over running a German headquarters and securing prisoners, the group came under fire from Germans further up the hill, killing six and wounding three, including Sargent Early.  Corporal York left the seven remaining soldiers continued toward enemy fire, killing Germans as he scaled the hill. Believing he had killed twenty Germans and not wanting to kill more, York called out to the Germans to surrender,  He captured a German Major who helped convince fellow German soldiers to surrender.   When the mission was completed, York and his unit delivered captured 132 Germans to battalion headquarters.

The film, Sergeant York, was released in 1941 and was the highest grossing film of the year.

The "All American" Division was

tasked with new duties during

World War II.

Lightly armed, highly mobile soldiers were trained to deploy from airplanes behind enemy lines to create a second front that splits the enemy's armies and their resources.

 

Soldiers at paratrooper school had

spare personal accommodations.

Paratroopers' field 

equipment...

The equipment is basic,

minimal.

This photo of a mass airborne

assault shows paratroopers' 

parachutes filling the sky as

they deploy for combat.

Larger pieces of equipment,

including Jeeps, food &

other supplies were brought

to battle areas by gliders.

This poster shows the perks

Glider Pilots  & Glider Infantry

could expect...

No flight pay, no jump pay

& glider crashes.

Soldiers weren't deterred by the lower pay and the risks involved in flying silent, lightweight, unarmored gliders into combat zones.

The "All American" Division

showed its mettle during

World War II.

The 82nd Airborne fought in

North Africa May - July 1943.

.


Paratroopers fought in
Sicily & Italy
July 1943 - January 1944.

Members of the "All American" Division were dropped behind German lines in France on D Day, June 6, 1944.  The 82nd Airborne fought for thirty-three days before being relieved.  The movie Saving Private Ryan included scenes of material drops from gliders and a crashed glider.

The 82nd Airborne was dropped into Holland to capture bridges.  The book and the movie, A Bridge Too Far, provide their audiences accounts of fierce fighting as troops mad their way from Grave to Heumen to Nijmegen-Groesbeek Ridge.  Attempts to take the Nijmegen Highway Bridge failed.

The march on Germany had

its setbacks.

The 82nd Airborne was engaged

at the Battle of the Bulge.

Crossing the Rhine River into Germany brought the 82nd Airborne and Uncle Al closer to victory.  War in Europe ended on May 8, 1945.  The 82nd Airborne was sent to Berlin for occupation duty.

The 1st Polish Independent

Parachute Brigade display

honors Poles who escaped

the German invasion of 

September 1941, regrouped

& joined the British to fight

in Europe.

Alfred Sugalski, Eric's Great Uncle, was very proud of his Polish Heritage.  Even though this photo is marred by glare, I include it in his honor.  Uniforms in this display were worn by Stanislaw Korzeniowski during World War II and by Anatoli Rawicz-Szczerbo, Commander of the first Polish Independent Parachute Brigade, 1946.  

Poland became a de facto puppet state of Russia following World War II.  Many of the 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade remained in England, in exile.  The First Independent Parachute Brigade was disbanded in 1947.

The 82nd Airborne returned to the United States January 3, 1946.  Fort Bragg became the division's permanent home.

The 82nd Airborne & all

military units were

integrated on July 26, 1948.

The "All American" Division became a regular Army division on November 15, 1948.

The 82nd Airborne continued training and has been deployed to the Dominican Republic in 1965; in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969; Grenada in 1983; Panama in 1989 to oust Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega; the first Iraq War in 1991.  

The "All American" Division was sent to Florida in 1992  following the devastation of Hurricane Andrew.  Troops were sent to the Balkans from 1999 to 2001.  Following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, deployments followed in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Cuts in defense spending has reduced the number of paratroop units.  The 82nd Airborne and other divisions are seeing their ranks thinned as a result.