82nd Airborne Division

Lore & Background

The 82nd Division was first activated on 25 August 1917 at Camp Gordon, Georgia, as an infantry division in the National Army. It acquired the nickname "All American" because its initial members came from all 48 states. The division fought in World War I, taking part in the Battle of Lorraine 1918 and the campaigns of St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne 1918. It was demobilized in May 1919 at Camp Mills, New York. In the summer of 1921, it was reconstituted and placed into the Organized Reserves as Headquarters, 82nd Division, later transferred to the Federal Building at Columbia, South Carolina. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the 82nd was reconstituted as the first airborne division of the US Army on 15 August 1942 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, under the command of Major General Matthew Ridgway.

In Their Own Story

The chute stings against his shoulder as the canopy catches, and the world tilts into a slow, screaming descent over a patchwork of wheat fields and hedgerows. Somewhere below, the thud of other chutes hitting the dirt is already a staccato drumbeat. He checks his M1 Garand, feels the cold steel of the trigger guard, and listens for the crack of 88s. The drop zone is supposed to be clear. It never is. He hits the ground in a roll, boots finding mud, and is already moving toward the sound of a village that doesn't yet know his name. The 82nd doesn't wait for the tanks. The 82nd is the tanks.

Reader's Guide

The 82nd Airborne Division is a US Army airborne infantry division specializing in parachute assault. Its shoulder sleeve insignia features an arched red banner with the letters "AA" behind a blue background, with a white-on-blue "Airborne" tab worn above. The division's history includes service in World War I and World War II.

Did You Know?

• The division's nickname "All American" was chosen in April 1918 by Major General Eben Swift to reflect that it had soldiers from all 48 states.
• The 82nd Division suffered 995 killed and 7,082 wounded in World War I.
• The division was officially activated as an airborne division on 15 August 1942 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.