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    82nd Airborne Division: America's Guard of Honor
    82nd Airborne Division: America's Guard of Honor
    82nd Airborne Division: America's Guard of Honor
    Ebook704 pages7 hours

    82nd Airborne Division: America's Guard of Honor

    By Turner Publishing

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    Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the 82nd Airborne Division, this beautiful book heralds those who fought for their country and those who paid the ultimate price. Follow the "All American" Division from activation in 1917 to campaigns in St. Mihiel, Anzio, Normandy, Holland, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, and Iraq. Includes more than 700 biographies and photos of 82nd Airborne veterans, personal stories, Medal of Honor recipients, hundreds of photos, an index, and more.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTurner Publishing Company
    Release dateJun 15, 1988
    ISBN9781618587466
    82nd Airborne Division: America's Guard of Honor

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      Book preview

      82nd Airborne Division - Turner Publishing

      e9781618587466_cover.jpge9781618587466_i0001.jpg

      Turner®

      PUBLISHING COMPANY

      Publishers of America’s History

      412 Broadway e9781618587466_img_9679.gif P.O. Box 3101

      Paducah, KY 42002-3101

      (270) 443-0121

      www.turnerpublishing.com

      Turner Publishing Company Staff:

      Greg Wurth, Editor

      Frene Melton, Designer

      Copyright © 2004 Publishing Rights: Turner Publishing Company All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

      9781618587466

      Library of Congress Control No.: 2004108002

      Printed in the United States of America.

      e9781618587466_i0002.jpg

      Mass Paratroop Training Exercise, 1946. C-46 & C-47 Troop Carriers. Courtesy of A.J. Terrell.

      Table of Contents

      Title Page

      Copyright Page

      HISTORY OF THE 82ND AIRBORNE

      IN MEMORY - PARATROOPERS OF THE 82ND AIRBORNE DIVISION WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

      RECOLLECTIONS: TRUE ACCOUNTS OF THE 82ND AIRBORNE

      BIOGRAPHIES OF THE 82ND AIRBORNE VETERANS

      THE ALL-AMERICAN PARATROOPER

      82ND AIRBORNE VETERAN PHOTOGRAPHS

      BIBLIOGRAPHY

      INDEX

      e9781618587466_i0003.jpge9781618587466_i0004.jpge9781618587466_i0005.jpge9781618587466_i0006.jpg

      HISTORY OF THE 82ND AIRBORNE

      Training Exercise, September 1946. C-82 Troop Carrier. Courtesy of A.J. Terrell.

      e9781618587466_i0007.jpge9781618587466_i0008.jpg

      WRITTEN AND COMPILED BY

      STEVEN J. MROZEK, NATIONAL HISTORIAN,

      82ND ABN DIV. ASSOCIATION

      ABBREVIATIONS

      THE FOLLOWING ABBREVIATIONS ARE USED IN

      THE HISTORY AND RECOLLECTIONS SECTIONS

      WWI

      THE BEGINNING OF THE 82ND 1917-1919

      The story of the All-American Division began early in the 20th century. A World War had raged throughout Europe and the eastern Mediterranean since 1914. Until 1917, the US had been able to maintain itself as a neutral nation. Several incidents threatened this neutrality. Finally, the sinking of the British passenger ship Lusitania by a German submarine, with the loss of American lives, made the US Congress pass a declaration of war against Germany and the Axis powers on April 6, 1917. With only a small contingent of regulars and a shortage of weapons, it soon became apparent that the US was not prepared for war. Upon mobilization, National Guard units were the first to be called up for active service. This reserve force soon was exhausted and a military draft was required to procure the necessary manpower. On Aug. 25, 1917, the 82nd Inf. Div. was organized at Camp Gordon, GA, with men from Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. These men, however, practically all were transferred to other divisions as replacements during October 1917. Additional men for the 82nd were received largely from New England and the Middle Atlantic states. By Nov. 1, 1917, approximately 28,000 men had entered Camp Gordon. The 82nd Inf. Div. was organized into two infantry brigades of two infantry regiments each and an artillery brigade of three artillery regiments. A regiment of engineers, three machine gun battalions, an ammunition train, and a sanitary or medical train provided the division’s support.

      Upon its entry into the Great War, the US Army was anything but ready. The recently inducted civilians began the transformation into soldiers under very primitive circumstances. For the most part, there was an acute shortage of rifles, web equipment, proper quarters, and in many cases, uniforms. Platoon, company and battalion drill was performed on the parade field with wooden rifles.

      e9781618587466_i0010.jpg

      Doughboys of the 82nd go over the top in France during a training exercise.

      After a few weeks, the division received a shipment of the 1917 Eddystone rifles. Slowly web equipment began to appear. The division conducted preliminary marksmanship training at a rifle range constructed at Waycross, GA. During the first three months of 1918, the division received training in offensive tactics and trench warfare from a group of French and British officers.

      The training with special weapons was necessarily of a theoretical character. The Divisional Automatic Rifle School possessed about a dozen French Chauchat rifles; the regiments had none. Colt machine guns were issued to machine gun companies, although this weapon was never to be used in battle. The Stokes mortar platoons never saw a 3-inch Stokes mortar while in the US, and the 37mm gun platoons possessed collectively one of these weapons during the last two or three weeks of their stay at Camp Gordon.

      A limited number of offensive and defensive hand grenades were obtained and thrown by selected officers and NCOs at the Division Grenade School. The men of one regiment witnessed a demonstration in which four rifle grenades were fired. Everyone was required to walk through a gashouse and remove their masks and sniff the fumes of a light concentration of chlorine gas and endure a mild attack of lachrymose gas.

      The artillery obtained a battery of American 3-inch guns in November 1917, and another in February 1918. They fired several thousand rounds at the artillery range in Marietta, GA. Marked progress was made in discipline, morale, marksmanship, bayonet fighting, and the normal extended order and security formations as prescribed by Army regulations and spelled out in the drill manuals.

      DUG INTO THE TRENCHES: FACE TO FACE WITH THE GERMANS

      The 82nd was directed to relieve the 26th Inf. Div. then occupying that part of the Woevre front known as the Lagny sector. One battalion from each of the four infantry regiments was to occupy the front lines and outpost zone. One battalion each would stand in support while the regiment’s 3rd Bn. would be held in reserve. The commanders of the initial selected battalions conducted a leaders’ reconnaissance, along with their company commanders, to familiarize themselves with the ground on which they soon would fight.

      The units selected to be the first from the 82nd Div. to see combat were the 2/325th Inf. (MAJ Hawkins), 1/326th Inf. (MAJ Wells), 3/327th Inf. (MAJ Hill) and 2/328th Inf. (MAJ Buxton). The 82nd’s relief of the 26th Inf. Div. began on the night of June 25, 1918. The regimental machine gun companies joined the front line infantry battalions on July 5, 1918; French artillery units provided artillery support.

      During the days and nights of life in the Lagny Sector, the intensive military education of the division progressed in marked fashion, and the men soon accustomed themselves to the details of existence in trench warfare. Patrolling from the outset was conducted in an aggressive manner and the division not only maintained ownership of No Man’s Land, but penetrated deeply into the enemy’s positions on numerous occasions. Several of these forays without artillery help resulted in collisions, during the course of which numerous casualties were inflicted upon the enemy and some losses suffered in return.

      On Aug. 4, 1918, Co. K and Co. M, 326th Inf. conducted a trench raid with artillery support against a section of the German position immediately in front of that regiment. French officers, upon similar works constructed in a rear area, had carefully trained the officers and men for this operation. The raid was executed in a commendable fashion, penetrating 600 meters into enemy territory, killing about a platoon of the enemy and capturing three machine guns and numerous rifles, pistols and other weapons and equipment. During the raid, one American was killed and four wounded.

      e9781618587466_i0011.jpg

      82nd Infantry Division organizational chart, 1917-1919.

      e9781618587466_i0012.jpg

      82nd Division Headquarters in France, 1918.

      When everyone had returned to the protection of the American trenches, German artillery fire, previously silent, opened vigorously, and two bays filled with men were hit. All together, 17 men were killed and two shells wounded 15. A division order was published to the command on Aug. 8, 1918, citing the troops’ participating in this operation for their gallantry and soldierly conduct.

      MARBACHE SECTOR AND ST. MIHIEL OFFENSIVE

      After two months in the Lagny Sector, the 82nd was considered an experienced and dependable division. The troopers had learned much about the realities of war in the trenches. They were about to learn more. The 82nd received orders that would send the division to the Marbache Sector to relieve the 2nd Inf. Div. from the line. The relief began Aug. 15, 1918 and was completed two days later. The Marbache Sector lay astride the Moselle River Valley and included within its lines the city of Pont-a-Mousson. The sector had been known as a rest sector after the first year of the war until shortly after the 82nd Div. occupied the area. The enemy had become increasingly aggressive in the air, with artillery, and in patrolling.

      The 157th Field Artillery Brigade joined the division shortly after it had moved into this sector. The arrival of the brigade was most gratifying and reassuring to the infantry, which quickly perceived the advantage of artillery support controlled by officers imbued with personal pride in the work of the division, and with whom the infantry had established personal relations during the months at Camp Gordon.

      e9781618587466_i0013.jpg

      The first American offensive of the war was launched on Sept. 12, 1918. It became known as the St. Mihiel offensive. The objective of the operation was to reduce the large bulge made in the Allied line by an earlier German offensive. The American forces involved in the operation would act as the two jaws of a giant pincer movement. The 82nd Div. was assigned a position on the right flank of the force on the southern shoulder. The attacking elements from the 82nd Div. jumped off at 0500 hours.

      The expected enemy resistance didn’t materialize. The German battalion that occupied the village of Norroy, a principle objective of the division’s advance, had abandoned the village so swiftly that the battalion’s records and much equipment were left behind. As the advanced elements of the division entered the village, 17 French civilians who joyfully mobbed their deliverers greeted them.

      It was during this operation that LTC Emory J. Pike, divisional machine gun officer, became the first All-American to win the Medal of Honor. During the assault on the town of Vandieres by the 328th Inf., LTC Pike was conducting a reconnaissance for his machine guns. A German artillery barrage disorganized the advancing infantry. At great risk to himself, LTC Pike reorganized the men and secured their position. He then went to the aid of a wounded infantryman. While administering first aid to the injured soldier, LTC Pike was hit by shell fragments and fatally wounded. LTC Pike was one of 78 officers and enlisted men killed in action during the offensive. The 82nd lost a total of 950 casualties in the course of the operation, which lasted until Sept. 21, 1918.

      The 82nd was ordered to relocate on Sept. 24, 1918, to the vicinity of Clermont, west of Verdum. The horse transport and artillery preceded the division by marching. The division was directed to report to the general commanding the American First Army, as Army reserve. The 82nd arrived in the new area on Sept. 25, 1918, and pitched shelter tents in the woods west of the Clermont-Bar-Le Duc Road. Division HQ was established in Grange-Le-Comte, an old French farmhouse. When the division arrived at its new location it numbered 934 officers, 25,797 men and 5,646 animals.

      By the large concentration of troops, transport and materiel it was apparent to all ranks that something big was in the works. At 0100 on Sept. 26,1918, the 82nd bivouac was awakened by the thunder of hundreds of massed artillery. This was the barrage that opened the famous Meuse-Argonne campaign. As a reserve division, the 82nd was kept in continuous alert. It was known in Division HQ that the 82nd could expect only two hours advanced notice prior to any movement.

      The anticipated order was received three days later on Sept. 29, 1918. A deteriorating situation existed near the town of Apremont. The 327th Inf. was sent in with two extra bandoleers of ammunition and two days rations. The 327th was to move out without its machine gun company, combat train or supply company. The regiment was on the way after receiving only one and a half hours notice. This highly commendable performance of both regiment and supply train caused BG Craig, Chief of Staff, 1st Corps, to comment the next morning that the 327th Inf. reached its destination last night in good time under considerable difficulty.

      The soldiers of the 327th were placed in a position where they secured a fragile section of the line. After two days in a forward position, the regiment was relieved by elements of the 1st Div. With its job done, the regiment was withdrawn to the town of Varennes. On Oct. 6,1918, the 82nd received orders to replace the 28th Div. in the line and prepare to launch an attack on German positions on the morning of Oct. 7. The 82nd Div.’s 164th Bde launched this attack on schedule. (327th and 328th Inf. Regts.).

      The 164th Bde.’s attack successfully reached its objectives of Hills 180 and 223 but was unable to take possession of the town of Cornay because of increasing German resistance. On Oct. 10, 1918, the 325th Inf., relieving the 327th and 328th Inf., attacked north in conjunction with the 326th Inf., clearing the enemy entirely from the eastern half of the Argonne Forest, and seizing all territory south of St. Juvin and the Aire River including the town of Cornay.

      On Oct. 31, 1918, after 27 days of constant pressure on the enemy, orders were issued providing for the relief of the 82nd Div. by the 77th and the 80th Divs. An outpost screen was established to conceal the fact that fresh troops were being assembled in the rear of the 82nd Div. This screen consisted of the 2/326th Inf., 3/325th Inf., 328th Inf. and elements of the 327th Inf. The screen was relieved on D minus one day by the commanding generals of the 77th and 80th Divs.

      The outpost screen was not required by orders of the Corps of Army but furnished in compliance with orders of the 82nd Div. commander, MG George B. Duncan: It will be considered a point of honor to the front line battalions of the 82nd Div. left in the sector to prevent the entrance of hostile patrols, thus keeping from the enemy the fact that fresh troops are being assembled in the rear. The outpost screening force successfully held five kilometers of front secure from the enemy, preventing him from learning of the great drive which was pending.

      As the exhausted soldiers of the All-American division moved south through Fleville and Cornay, they heard the roar of the tremendous barrage striking north of the Kremhilde Stellung (the Germans’ impregnable line of fortifications) and those ridges where so much blood had been given to win a foothold. The division was conscious that its efforts during the October battles had helped drive the enemy into open country where fresh divisions of fellow Americans could push the Germans back.

      The Meuse-Argonne offensive exacted a heavy toll on the 82nd Div., with 902 officers and enlisted men killed in action, 185 made prisoners, 25 listed as missing, and 4,897 wounded. A total of 6,009 soldiers of the All-American Division became casualties in 27 days of fighting. On Nov. 11, 1918, at 1100 hours, 10 days after the 82nd Div. was relieved from its place in the line, the long-awaited order to cease fire was given.

      e9781618587466_i0014.jpg

      Sgt. Alvin C. York, Company G, 328th Infantry

      THE LEGEND OF SERGEANT YORK

      It was during the October battles of the Meuse-Argonne campaign that an extraordinary exploit occurred, one that will forever hold a place of honor in the highest American military traditions. The exploits, of course, are those of SGT Alvin C. York.

      On Oct. 8, 1918, the 2nd Bn. of the 328th Inf. faced the enemy on Hill 223 near the town of Chatel-Chehery. The battalion’s early-morning attack was being held up by heavy German machine gun fire from a hill directly southwest, across the valley from Hill 223. The task of eliminating this threat to the advance was assigned to Co. G, the battalion’s left company. A force of four NCOs and 13 privates was sent to encircle the hill and silence the enemy guns. The 17-man patrol had skillfully infiltrated 400 yards behind enemy lines when it surprised approximately 75 German soldiers crowded around their battalion commander and receiving special instructions for a planned counter-attack against the Americans. The Germans, believing that this patrol represented the leading element of a larger attacking force, dropped their weapons and began surrendering.

      Other German machine-gunners in nearby positions quickly took stock of the situation and opened fire on the Americans, killing or wounding nine of the 17 members of the patrol. CPL Alvin C. York dove for cover, as did the seven surviving privates. Using the German captives as a shield, the sharpshooting corporal killed up to 18 of the enemy as they popped their heads up. From an unseen rifle pit 20 yards away, six Germans rushed CPL York.

      Using tactics he used on wild turkeys while hunting in the backwoods of Tennessee, York shot the last one first, then the next until he emptied the five rounds in his Model 1917 Eddystone rifle. He finished the last one at close range with his Model 1911, .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol. York killed 14 more before the captured major accepted the corporal’s surrender demand. The German major blew his whistle and about 30 men came in with their hands up. The captured officer, in amazement, asked CPL York if he was English. I’m an American, York replied. The corporal organized his prisoners in a column and assigned the seven other Americans as guards on the flanks. While returning to friendly lines, York added more dazed Germans to his catch.

      In all, CPL Alvin York turned over 132 prisoners to the 2nd Bn. adjutant and was credited for destroying a German camp and a machine gun battalion single-handed. The commander of the American troops in Europe, GEN John J. Pershing, named York the outstanding soldier of the American Expeditionary Force. York was promoted to the rank of sergeant and later became the second soldier of the 82nd Inf. Div. to be awarded the Medal of Honor. Marshall Foch, the French Supreme Commander of all Allied Forces, called SGT Alvin C. York the outstanding soldier of the war.

      e9781618587466_i0015.jpg

      Soldier of the 82nd division leaving the trenches in Belgrade, France, after being relieved.

      The sergeant himself was a celibate teetotaler and a non-smoker. Until his officers persuaded him that he was justified in breaking the Biblical commandment against killing, he observed all 10. A conscientious objector, he responded to the draft call and did his duty as a soldier in doubt and despair, making his beliefs known to commanding officers who were compelled to respect his sincerity. During training, his battalion commander back in Georgia quoted scripture — like the devil, to his own purpose — and won the debate by citing the first six verses of Ezekiel, Chapter 33, ending, But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hands. York also said that he never had known the meaning of love until he fought alongside his buddies.

      Ten days after the 82nd Inf. Div. was relieved on line during the Meuse-Argonne campaign, an armistice was signed which eventually would lead to an official end to the war. The armistice was to go into effect 1100 hours, Nov. 11, 1918, the 11th hour of the 11th month. The nightmare that had plagued Western Civilization was over. The world war was later referred to as the war to end all wars; logically anyone who had witnessed this destruction and massive slaughter never would want to repeat it. Ironically, as people were swearing that there never would be another war, a Bavarian corporal was discharged from the Army of Kaiser Wilhelm into a demoralized, depressed, guilt ridden German society, a society ripe for placing the blame for this disgrace on someone else. That corporal’s name was Adolf Hitler.

      After an extended stay in the area around Pravthoy, France, the men of the 82nd Inf. Div. finally received orders in February 1919 to begin turning in their equipment and transportation. On March 2, the division began the two-day, two-night train ride to Bordeaux. In April the orders for the shipment home finally arrived, and the first units of the division marched to embarkation camp on April 20. All units sailed from Base Section #2 at Bordeaux and landed in New York. At New York the division was split between Camps Upton, Dix and Mills, and demobilized as rapidly as the demobilization machinery could work.

      The unfortunate organization to return last was the 326th Inf., which was quarantined at Panillac and did not start for home until well in May. By June 1, 1919, practically every member of the division who did not desire further military service had returned to civilian life, and the division as a military organization had passed into history.

      In the course of its service during WWI, the 82nd Div. spent a total of 105 days in the front lines, advanced 11 miles and captured 845 German soldiers. The division suffered 1,035 killed and 6,387 wounded during the same period. In the service of their country, the soldiers of the All-American Division won two Medals of Honor, three Distinguished Service Medals and 75 Distinguished Service Crosses.

      A BRIEF HISTORY ABOUT THE EVOLUTION OF THE PARACHUTE

      As early as classical Greek mythology, man has dreamed of flying and descending from the heavens. The earliest record of a practical parachute design can be found in the experiments of Leonardo da Vinci in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Working with da Vinci’s ideas, others have explored different concepts through the centuries that followed. Between 1797 and 1804, Andre J. Garnerin made descents from balloons with parachutes of his own design, the last from 8,000 feet with a 23-foot canopy similar to modern chutes. The first parachute jump from a plane in flight was made by Albert Berry at Jefferson Barracks, MO, on March 12, 1912.

      Military parachutes were used on a limited basis during the First World War, principally by observation balloon crews as a means of escape when attacked by strafing fighters. Primarily through the efforts of GEN William Billy Mitchell, the United States organized a parachute test and development program in the summer of 1918 at McCook Field, Dayton, OH. The result was the Army Model A parachute, which was first jumped on April 28, 1919.

      From July to September 1940, a platoon of two officers and 46 enlisted men volunteered from the 29th Infantry Regiment to test the feasibility of employing paratroopers in combat conditions. The overwhelming success of this experiment gave birth to the present-day airborne forces. After several low altitude jumps, the first mass jump was carried out on Aug. 22. This led to the first jump involving a tactical problem on Aug. 29.

      More than 50 years ago, the first test parachutes used by US Army personnel opened with such a jolt the jumpers sometimes were knocked unconscious in mid-air. Luckily, by the time the 82nd All-Americans became airborne Aug. 15, 1942, improved parachutes called the T-4 and T-5 were available, and soon thereafter, the T-7. Still, all three chutes gave the user a bit of a jerk, since they opened canopy first.

      These early chutes — patterned after chutes designed for emergency use by pilots — had another drawback. They lacked a quick-release mechanism, thus requiring the early paratrooper to unfasten three snap hooks on the chute harness to free himself once he hit the ground. In the heat of WWII combat, troopers were jeopardized at times by the few extra seconds it took to release the chute.

      This flaw also provided deadly at the epic airborne assault on Sicily in 1943, when ground winds of up to 35 mph dragged some paratroopers to death because they couldn’t shed their chutes quickly enough.

      By the war’s end, though, an effective spring-release disc — also called an Irvin box — had been added to the T-7 for disengaging the chute with a twist of the wrist. All of the chutes, operated by static line, had 28-foot canopies. The canopies of reserve chutes of the T-4 and T-5 were 22 feet in width, while the T-7s reserve canopy was 24 feet wide.

      The T-10, a canopy-last chute, was hailed as a much-improved parachute when it was adopted in the 1950s. With a 35-foot main canopy, the T-10 produced less opening shock and descended more slowly than its forerunners.

      In addition to the T-10, today’s All-American paratroopers use the MC1-1B chute, known as the steerable parachute, because maneuverability is afforded by manually operated toggles (slip risers) and by a large elliptical cut in the rear of the canopy. These features of the MC1-1B, which evolved from the T-10B chute, enable chutists to steer clear of ground hazards, such as trees and power lines, and to land near, but not on top of, equipment.

      The MC1-1B, introduced in 1974, produces only a slight tug when the canopy opens and, with its anti-inversion net, the chance of malfunction is reduced. Additionally, and importantly, the steerable chute has a forward thrust of 7 to 10 mph. By turning the parachute into the wind, the paratrooper can reduce the descent speed by up to 10 mph, softening the landing.

      In military operations, parachutes also are invaluable in dropping weapons, vehicles and equipment. By the early 1950s, the development of 100-foot parachutes (with a 3,700 lb. capacity) permitted the first drop of a 105mm howitzer at Fort Bragg.

      In contrast, during WWII, several parachutes were used to drop a single dismantled 75mm howitzer. That resulted in the difficult task of finding and assembling all the pieces, sometimes amid enemy fire. Today, by utilizing several oversized chutes, loads of several tons can be airdropped. Furthermore, through LAPES (low-altitude parachute extraction), even palletized armored vehicles can be parachuted from cargo planes flying about 10 feet above the ground.

      e9781618587466_i0016.jpg

      THE AMERICAN GLIDER PROGRAM AND THE CG-4A

      In a memo dated Feb. 25, 1941, GEN Henry H. Hap Arnold, Chief of the Army Air Corps, directed that a study be conducted on the development of a glider that could be towed by an aircraft. In light of successful military glider operations carried out by several foreign armed forces, especially the German Eben Emael raid in 1940, GEN Arnold expressed an interest in the possible military value of an American transport glider. By April 1, 1941, his staff compiled a favorable report stating the characteristics desirable for a military glider. As a result of the report, the glider development effort took off at a rapid pace, involving several companies and several designs.

      Of the several types of gliders developed during the second World War, by far the most famous was the Waco CG-4A. In the course of the war almost 16,000 transport and training gliders were produced for the military; of these, 13,909 were CG-4A’s. While its wings were made of fabric-covered wood, the fuselage was constructed of welded steel tubing covered with fabric. Designed to carry a 1/4-ton truck (jeep) or 13 men, the nose of the Waco was hinged to allow it to swing up and facilitate loading and unloading. With a flight crew of two, it had a wingspan of 83.6 feet while the fuselage was 48 feet long. Its cargo area was 13.2 feet long and 7.2 feet high and had a maximum capacity of 4,060 lbs. Usually towed behind C-46 and C-47 transport aircraft in a single or tandem-tow configuration, the maximum tow speed was 120 mph, while the CG-4A had a stall speed of 50 mph. The Waco glider was in military service until 1953.

      Also used by American forces in several airborne operations was the British Airspeed Horsa glider. Much larger than the Waco CG-4A, the Horsa was of all-wood construction and could carry two 1/4-ton trucks (jeeps) or 28 equipped troops. Instead of a hinged nose for loading and unloading, the Horsa had a removable tail section. The Horsa had a wingspan of 88 feet and a length of 68 feet. Its maximum tow speed was 160 mph, with a stall speed of 48 mph.

      THE 82ND BECOMES AIRBORNE 1930 - 1943

      Throughout the 1930s the US managed to maintain a fragile neutrality in spite of flaring conflicts in China, Spain, Ethiopia and ultimately in Poland. The country seems oblivious to an apparent rise of global fascist dictatorships and their ambitions. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor caught the US completely unprepared. The American armed forces in 1941 were a fraction of their size during WWI, ranking among the smallest in the world. The US suddenly found itself having to win a two-front war. To accomplish this task, the War Department determined it would require an Army of 100 infantry divisions. The Regular and National Guard Infantry Divisions had been mobilized before the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941; attention therefore was directed at forming the remainder of the divisions required from drafted personnel.

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      Swifty Wilson, test platoon, 1941.

      On March 25,1942, the 82nd Inf. Div. was reactivated at Camp Claiborne, a new base outside of Alexandria, LA, on the Red River. From the start, anyone could tell this division was special. The division commander chosen to lead the newly-activated 82nd was BG Omar N. Bradley, the former commandant of Fort Benning and the Infantry School. Later in the war, GEN Bradley would command the First US Army in the Normandy invasion and then an Army group. He would later finish his Army career as one of the few five-star generals.

      The second in command of the 82nd Inf. Div. would be no less distinguished, BG Matthew B. Ridgway. GEN Ridgway would end the war as commander of the 18th ABN Corps and end his military career with four stars on his shoulders. These two men had a tremendous effect on the training and readiness of the 82nd. The division was turned into the showpiece of the Army after months of long, hard training. The All-American Division was one of the best, if not the best, in the Army.

      The 82nd Div. began assembling in Camp Claiborne in February 1942. A training cadre was provided by the 9th Inf. Div. The newly-created division would employ an experimental technique in development and training. The division was created from scratch, composed of nearly 16,000 draftees who would come primarily from Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee. The draftees would undergo basic training at the same time the division was taking shape. Initially, the 82nd would be a standard triangle unit, consisting of three regiments of three battalions each and have its own attached artillery.

      To stimulate esprit de corps in the 82nd, Bradley and Ridgway stressed the division’s outstanding WWI record in every aspect of training. GEN Bradley set up a visit by SGT Alvin York to talk with the men. On May 7, before the assembled division, York related his exploits in the Great War, including the events which led to his award of the Medal of Honor. SGT York’s talk was broadcast nationwide and inspired new training ideas, including individual proficiency in close range marksmanship.

      On June 26, 1942, GEN Bradley was reassigned as commander of the 28th Inf. Div. training at Camp Livingston, also in Louisiana, and elevated to division command. Shortly after the division changed commanders, the Army began changing the division’s designation. For a brief period in July, the 82nd was notified by the Army that it would soon become a motorized division. This designation would be short-lived, for on Aug. 15, 1942, before a review of the division, GEN Ridgway informed the troops that the 82nd was to become the first American airborne division and supply the cadre for the second, the 101st ABN Div.

      The news wasn’t greeted with a great deal of enthusiasm, as most had no idea what an airborne division was, and those that did showed very little excitement about flying in gliders or volunteering for Parachute School. As time went on and training progressed, attitudes changed and the troops did a magnificent job in meeting the new challenge. The new airborne divisions initially would consist of one parachute regiment of about 2,000 men and two glider regiments of about 1,600 men each, plus artillery and support units.

      The 504th PIR was assigned to the newly-designated 82nd ABN Div. The 325th and 326th Inf. Regts. became the 82nd’s glider infantry. The 504th, formed on May 1, 1942, was commanded at first by COL Theodore L. Dunn and later by the regiment’s executive officer, LTC Reuben H. Tucker.

      In the wake of all the changes, the newly-created 82nd ABN Div. was ordered to relocate to Fort Bragg, NC. The move was completed in mid-October. It was at this time the 504th joined the division, along with the 376th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion and Co. C, 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion. The division’s training was intensified at Fort Bragg. The paratroopers not only made training jumps, but also worked on tactics during field problems. The glider riders of the 82nd became well acquainted with their CG-4A Waco gliders. The fabric covered 15-man gliders would carry artillery, medical supplies, jeeps and other vehicles into future combat operations.

      Primarily, due to the scarcity of the CG-4A gliders, the 82nd ABN underwent another organizational change. The previous one parachute-two glider regimental structure of the division’s infantry was reversed on Feb. 12, 1943. The 326th GIR was replaced by the 505th PIR. In response to this change, Co. B,

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