82nd Airborne Division

The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne forces formation of division-size of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into hostile areas that has remained active since World War I and World War II. The division is commanded by Major General Brandon Tegtmeier. It was officially organized in the United States in 25 August 1917 at Camp Gordon in Georgia, remaining active until 1919, however it was reactivated in 1921, and has now been re-located to Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

The 82nd Infantry Division was the second United States infantry-combat division of eight to leave and arrive in England, and fight in France. The 82nd Infantry Division served with distinction on the Western Front in the final months of World War I. Since its initial members came from all 48 states, the division acquired the nickname All-American, which is the basis for its "AA" (pictured), on the shoulder patch. The Division took part in the Battle of Lorraine 1918, and the campaigns of St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne 1918. It was reconstituted into the Organized Reserves as Headquarters, 82d Division, on 24 June 1921 and was then based at the Federal Building located at Columbia, in South Carolina.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii on 7 December 1941 the 82nd Airborne Division would see combat with the command of United States Army General Omar Bradley who later on 15 August 1942, reconstituted the 82nd as the first airborne division of the US Army and fought in numerous campaigns during the war.

The 82nd Division was first constituted during World War I on 5 August 1917 as an infantry division in the National Army. It was organized and formally activated on 25 August 1917 at Camp Gordon, Georgia. At the time, the division consisted entirely of newly conscripted soldiers. Original enlisted men assigned to the division came from Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee, but during October 1917, nearly all of them were transferred to fill shortages in National Guard and National Army units, principally the 30th, 31st, and 81st Divisions, which were training at other camps in the Southern United States. Replacements for them were received mostly from Camp Devens, Massachusetts, Camp Dix, New Jersey, Camps Lee and Meade, Virginia, and Camp Upton, New York, the men hailing from New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. In the spring, 5,000 more replacements for transfers made over the winter were assigned from Fort Devens, Camp Gordon, Camp Upton, Camp Dodge, Iowa, and Camp Travis, Texas, along with a contingent of men from Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee.

The citizens of Atlanta held a contest to give a nickname to the new division, and in April 1918, Major General Eben Swift, the commanding general, chose "All American" to reflect the unique composition of the 82nd—it had soldiers from all 48 states in the Union. The bulk of the division was two infantry brigades, each commanding two regiments. The 163rd Brigade commanded the 325th Infantry Regiment and the 326th Infantry Regiment along with the 320th Machine Gun Battalion. The 164th Brigade commanded the 327th Infantry Regiment and the 328th Infantry Regiment and the 321st Machine Gun Battalion. Also in the division were the 157th Field Artillery Brigade, composed of the 319th, 320th and 321st Field Artillery Regiments and the 307th Trench Mortar Battery; a divisional troops contingent, and a division train. The division sailed to Europe in May 1918 to join the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), commanded by General John Pershing, on the Western Front. The 82nd Airborne Division was the first of five airborne divisions (11th, 13th, 17th, 82nd and 101st) to be formed in the United States during World War II, and was officially activated on 15 August 1942 at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, under the command of Major General Bradley with the classification of an airborne division.

The division's square insignia, is identifiable by an arched red banner embroidered with the letters "AA" (standing for "All American") behind a shade of blue. It serves as the service colors of the United States Army, with red representing artillery and blue for infantry. A white on blue "Airborne" tab is worn above the insignia. "All American" is the nickname given to the division when it was first formed at Camp Gordon, Georgia, in 1917, submitted by Vivienne Goodwyn. The insignia was approved in 1918 during World War I.

The double “A” refers to the nickname “All American Division” adopted by the organization during World War I. The newly form unit was composed of members, who came from all across all 48 states and given the nickname “All-American.” The shoulder sleeve insignia was redesigned for the 82nd Airborne Division and an Airborne tab was added on top, authorized on August 31, 1942.

Brigadier General William P. Burnham, who had previously commanded the 164th Brigade, led the division during most of its training and movement to Europe. In early April 1918, the division embarked from the ports in Boston, New York City and Brooklyn to Liverpool, England, where the division fully assembled by mid-May 1918. From there, the division moved to Continental Europe, leaving Southampton and arriving at Le Havre, France. The 82nd Division then moved to the British-controlled sector of the Somme, where it began sending small numbers of troops and officers to the front lines to gain combat experience. On 16 June, it moved by rail to the French sector. The division was briefly assigned to I Corps before falling under the command of IV Corps until late August. It was then moved to the Woëvre front.