A Summary History of the 82nd Airborne Division

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"All American"
(Original article written 6-15-08 by Jim Broumley) 

The 82nd Airborne Division is an elite parachute unit of the U.S. Army whose home base is at Ft Bragg, North Carolina. The Division has the ability to begin combat operations anywhere in the world within eighteen hours of notification. The primary mission of the airborne is airfield and seaport seizure. Once entry is obtained by parachute, helicopter, vehicle, or by foot, the terrain is secured to rapidly receive additional combat forces. Every soldier in the 82nd Airborne Division is jump qualified and almost every piece of combat equipment assigned to the Division can be dropped by parachute onto the battlefield.

The 82nd Division was organized on March 25, 1917, at Camp Gordon, Georgia. Members of the Division came from all over the country so the unit was given the nickname "All American." This is the reason for the distinctive "AA" on the unit's shoulder patch. Less than a year after its formation the Division was deployed to France to fight in World War I. In less than five months of combat, the 82nd participated in three major campaigns. The famous hero of WWI, Alvin York was a member of the 82nd Division. Sergeant York was awarded the Medal of Honor for attacking a German machine gun and killing twenty enemy soldiers and capturing one hundred and thirty-two others. After the war, the 82nd was demobilized in May 1919.

Paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division
board aircraft for a training jump in Oujda,
French Morocco. 6/2/1943 NARA 

The Division would gain its reputation in the next war. Recalled for World War II in March of 1942, the Division was re-designated the 82nd Airborne Division the following August. The 82nd was the first airborne division in the United States Army. During WWII the Division conducted parachute assaults into Sicily, Salerno, Normandy, and Holland. At the battle of Anzio in Italy, a German officer gave the paratroopers one of their many nicknames when he referred to them as "those devils in baggy pants."

The 82nd Airborne Division was not sent to the Korean War but rather began its use as America's strategic reserve and rapid deployment force. In January of 1968, during the Tet Offensive, the 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division was alerted and en route to Chu Lai within 24 hours. The 82nd stayed in Vietnam for 22 months of combat. The All-Americans fought in the Hué - Phu Bai area, and then later fought battles in the Mekong Delta, the Iron Triangle, and along the Cambodian border. The 3rd Brigade returned to Fort Bragg in December of 1969.

As the most highly trained light infantry division in the world, the 82nd Airborne has participated in practically every potential combat deployment of the U.S. Army since Vietnam. This includes Grenada in 1983, Honduras in 1988, the invasion of Panama in 1989, Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia and into Iraq in 1990-91, Bosnia in 1995, Kosovo in 1999, Afghanistan in 2002, and the invasion of Iraq in early 2003. As of 2007, elements of the 82nd Airborne Division are on rotation to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The 82nd Airborne Division also carries the moniker of "America's Guard of Honor." They are the nation's strategic offensive force, maintaining the highest state of readiness. Generations of veterans have lived up to the Division's motto. They truly went "All the way!"

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Oral Histories and Remembering the Forgotten War

 A reminder to talk to your relatives now.

It's great to get reader feedback. Over the years I have heard from several folks who read The Boldest Plan is Best who told me that their father or grandfather had served with the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion during WWII. Unfortunately, they also shared that their relative passed away without telling them about their experiences.

Way back in 2008, I wrote a post about the National Day of Listening, sponsored by StoryCorps. I shared then about doing an "oral history" session with my own dad about his service with the 187th Airborne RCT in Korea. It wasn't easy to get him to open up about it. He never talked about combat when I was growing up. A familiar story, I know. But I worked at it. I made it kind of a formal thing and recorded our conversations. That seemed to work to a certain extent. Having served myself might have helped. But I encourage you to do whatever it takes to get the veterans talking.

Here's an article I wrote based on those talks I had with my dad a few years before he passed away. It was the first thing I ever wrote and got it printed in the reader submission part of the old History Channel Magazine. I hope you enjoy it.

Remembering the Forgotten War

Corporal Bob Broumley, Kumwha Korea, 1953

Most of us who enjoy history have heard the cliché that the Korean Conflict is known as the "Forgotten War." However, clichés are often based on truth and this instance is certainly a prime example.

Most Americans do not know about the intensity of that conflict, its importance as the first "limited war," or its significance as part of our overall Cold War victory over communism. Although termed a police action, Korea was not a trivial event; from 1950 to 1953, approximately 1.79 million uniformed service members went into that theater of operations; 36,574 died and another 103,284 were wounded. And according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, we lost more than 173,000 Korean War veterans in 2007.

One of these Korean War veterans is Bob Broumley from Fort Worth, Texas. When the North Koreans crossed the Thirty-eighth Parallel to invade South Korea on June 25, 1950, Bob was enjoying the summer before his senior year at Tech High School. He would not wait to be drafted and joined the Army after high school. He took great pride in the fact that the two-letter identifier on his service number was "RA," which stood for "regular army" vs. "US" for draftees and "NG" for National Guard members.

Practice jump in Japan, 1952

Upon completion of infantry basic training at Fort Ord, California, and airborne school at Fort Benning, Georgia, 19-year-old Pvt. Bob Broumley shipped out to Korea. He, like most of the new soldiers on his troop transport, moved up as replacements in units that had heavy combat losses. Broumley's first assignment was as a rifleman with the 2/279th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, which had been mobilized from the Oklahoma National Guard.

The 2/279th Raider Platoon was tasked with gathering intelligence that included raiding the enemy trench for prisoners. Although assigned to a rifle company as a BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) man, Broumley accompanied the Raiders on one occasion. A section of the enemy trench between bunkers was selected. Automatic weapons fire would isolate that section from the bunkers on either end. An assault team would then go into the trench and kill or capture any enemy soldiers found there. Quick, violent, and dangerous, the operation was over in minutes.

Ceasefire Declared

After two trips to the line and a stint guarding prisoners of war on the infamous Koje-Do Island, Broumley transferred to the 187th Regimental Combat Team (Airborne) in September 1952. The 187 RCT was being refit in Japan as a theater reserve under the command of Brig. Gen. William Westmoreland. Broumley was ready for the challenge.

Sgt Bob Broumley, Fort Bragg, 1954

Through the winter and spring of 1953, the "one-eight-seven" trained hard in Japan. The days were filled with physical training, small-unit exercises, and practice jumps. The unit was always aware that they might be needed again in Korea. 

The stalemated war continued while both sides jockeyed for position in the armistice for which everyone was waiting. As those talks came close to an agreement, the Chinese Communist Forces threw a massive assault against the line, overwhelming South Korean forces. The 187 RCT was rushed to Korea once again to plug the gap, and Broumley (now a corporal) went with them. 

About a month later, on July 27, 1953, the armistice was signed. 

Broumley had enough "points" to rotate home shortly after the ceasefire. He served the remainder of his time at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with the 82nd Airborne Division. Staff Sgt. Bob Broumley left the service in 1954 and returned to Fort Worth. He got his job back in the grocery store where he worked during high school.

The 1st Armored Division "Old Ironsides"

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A Short History of the 1st Armored Division
"Old Ironsides"

The 1st Armored Division, nicknamed "Old Ironsides," is the oldest and most recognizable armor division in the United States Army. It was the first armored division to see combat in World War II. The Division is currently home-based at Fort Bliss, Texas, and is part of the US III Corps.

As part of the mechanization of the U.S. Army and the buildup for WWII, cavalry and reconnaissance units were brought together to form the 1st Armored Division at Fort Knox, Kentucky on July 15, 1940. Major General Bruce R. Magruder was the Division's first commander, serving in that capacity from July 1940 until March 1942. General Magruder is also responsible for the Division's famous nickname. In 1941, General George S. Patton Jr. had just named his 2nd Armored Division "Hell on Wheels." The 1st Armored Division needed a nickname too, so General Magruder held a contest to find a suitable name. Approximately two hundred names were submitted including "Fire and Brimstone" and "Kentucky Wonders." The General chose to study them over the weekend but none of the suggestions appealed to him. It happened that General Magruder had just bought a painting of the U.S.S. Constitution during a drive for funds for the preservation of that famous fighting ship, which is nicknamed "Old Ironsides." General Magruder was impressed with the parallel between the development of the tank and the Navy's "Old Ironsides" spirit of daring and durability. He decided the 1st Armored Division should also be named "Old Ironsides."

The 1st Armored Division boarded the Queen Mary at the New York Port of Embarkation, Brooklyn Army Terminal on May 11, 1942. Five days later the soldiers of the Division landed in Northern Ireland and trained on the moors. On October 29, 1942, Old Ironsides moved to England to depart for North Africa.

The 1st Armored Division's first contact with an enemy was as part of the Allied invasion of North Africa, Operation Torch on November 8, 1942. The Allies did receive unexpected, and heavy, resistance from Vichy-French units; however, the invasion forces suppressed all resistance in the beachhead area within three days. Old Ironsides then advanced toward Tunisia. The soldiers of the Division learned hard lessons about armored warfare and the harsh conditions of North Africa.

In January of 1943 Old Ironsides was part of II Corps and received the mission of defending central Tunisia against an Axis counterattack. In February the 1st Armored Division met with a superior German armored force at Kasserine Pass. The Division sustained heavy losses in personnel and equipment and was forced to withdraw. Old Ironsides was battered but kept in mind its lessons learned. The Germans outran their supply lines and faced determined Allied resistance. After three more months of hard fighting, the Allies could finally claim victory in North Africa. Old Ironsides was reorganized in French Morocco and then moved to Naples, Italy on October 28, 1943, to support the Allied effort there.

As part of General Mark Clark's U.S. Fifth Army, the 1st Armored Division took part in the attack on the infamous Winter Line in November of 1943. Old Ironsides then flanked the Axis forces in the landings at Anzio and moved on to participate in the liberation of Rome on June 4, 1944. The 1st Armored Division continued to serve in the Italian Campaign until German forces in Italy surrendered on May 2, 1945. In June of 1945, Old Ironsides was moved to Germany as part of the U.S. Army occupation forces.

In the drawdown of forces after WWII, the 1st Armored Division was deactivated on April 25, 1946. With the success of the Russian-made T-34 tank by the enemy at the outset of the Korean War in 1950, there was a renewed enthusiasm for armored forces in the U.S. Army. As part of the new buildup of forces, Old Ironsides was re-activated on March 7, 1951, at Fort Hood, Texas, and was the first U.S. Army unit to field the new M48 Patton tank.

Although the 1st Armored Division did not participate as a division in the Vietnam War, two of their subordinate units did. Company A, 501st Aviation and 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry served with distinction. Both units earned Presidential Unit Citations and 1-1 Cavalry received two Valorous Unit Awards and three Vietnamese Crosses of Gallantry. Neither unit was officially detached from the 1st Armored Division. Veterans of both units may wear the Old Ironsides as a combat patch. Also, in 1967 three Old Ironsides infantry battalions were formed into the 198th Infantry Brigade and deployed to Vietnam. Two of those battalions, 1-6th Infantry and 1-52nd Infantry, were returned to the 1st Armored Division.

As Vietnam wound down, the United States turned its attention back to the Cold War in Europe. The 1st Armored Division was moved to Germany in 1971, home-based in the West German city of Ansbach. The Division remained in Germany for the next twenty years as part of the American forces committed to a NATO defense of Europe.

In November of 1990, Old Ironsides was alerted for deployment to the Middle East in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. In less than two months the Division moved 17,400 soldiers and 7.050 pieces of equipment by rail, sea, and air to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Shield. On February 24, 1991, the 1st Armored Division crossed into Iraq to begin Operation Desert Storm as the leading unit in VII Corps' main flanking attack. Its mission was to destroy the elite Iraqi Republican Guards Divisions. In an 89-hour blitz across the desert, Old Ironsides traveled through 250 kilometers of enemy territory. They destroyed 768 tanks, armored personnel carriers, and artillery pieces. The 1st Armored Division also captured 1,064 prisoners of war. Old Ironsides returned to Ansbach, Germany on May 8, 1991. Their triumph was celebrated by a visit from the Vice President of the United States and participation in victory parades in Washington D.C. and New York City.

The 1st Armored Division was called to serve once again, this time in the Balkans. Old Ironsides was ordered to Bosnia-Herzegovina and part of Operation Joint Endeavor on December 14, 1995. The 1st Armored Division was relieved by the 1st Infantry Division and returned to Germany in November of 1996.

In 1999, Old Ironsides was deployed again. This time 1st Armored Division was supporting Operations Allied Force and Joint Guardian. Operation Allied Force took Old Ironsides soldiers to Albania in response to the ethnic cleansing and fighting there. Operation Joint Guardian was to uphold the United Nations Security Council resolution to bring peace back to the Kosovo region.

The 1st Armored Division began its participation in the global war on terrorism when it received deployment orders to the U.S. Central Command on March 4, 2003. By April 15th Old Ironsides was moving out to participate in Operation Iraqi Freedom. During their 15-month deployment, Task Force 1st Armored Division was the largest division-based task force in U.S. Army history. Units serving with the Task Force included brigade-sized elements from the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, the 1st Cavalry Division, the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, the 124th Infantry Battalion, the 18th and 89th Military Police Brigades and the 168th MP Battalion. At its height, more than 39,000 soldiers were part of Task Force 1st Armored Division. The Division took responsibility for Baghdad in April of 2003. Old Ironsides was scheduled to return to Germany in April of 2004, but their tour was extended by three months to defeat a Shia militia led by Moqtada Al Sadr.

The Division's 3rd Brigade was deployed to Iraq once again for Operation Iraqi Freedom III in January of 2005, this after only eight months at home. They were attached to the 3rd Infantry Division as part of Task Force Baghdad. The 2nd Brigade Combat Team (BCT) deployed to Kuwait in November 2005 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom IV. Old Ironsides' 1st Brigade deployed again to Iraq in January 2006.

In 2005, the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) commission determined that the 1st Armored Division should leave its home bases in Germany and move to Fort Bliss, Texas. While it took several years to accomplish the movement, Old Ironsides' division headquarters uncased its colors in May 2011.

Like their naval namesake, the 1st Armored Division carries with it the traditions and military values for which Old Ironsides has been known for over half a century. They also are the standing armor division of the United States Army, on the cutting edge of technology and tactics, and remain relentlessly strong today. Both active soldiers and veterans are proud to wear the 1st Armored Division patch and say, "I was with Old Ironsides."

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Mary Hays, AKA: Molly Pitcher

The Molly Pitcher Monument

Last week I posted about Hannah Duston and her escape from the Indians. Another monument to a strong female historical figure is the Molly Pitcher grave and statue in the Old Public Graveyard in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Molly Pitcher is one of those stories that can be filed under the heading of “If it ain’t true it outta be.” Of course, that’s my Texas heritage coming out. But I’m convinced that there really is only one Molly Pitcher, her real name was Mary Hays, and she’s buried in Carlisle.

Here's her story: During the American Revolution, Mary Hays followed her husband, William Hays, to war, as a large number of women did. In those days, women would follow the army to care for their soldier family members in a variety of ways, like cooking, sewing, laundry, or assisting with medical care. One other task these volunteers provided was bringing water to the soldiers during training, or even during battle. These women earned the nickname “Molly Pitcher.” Molly is a way of saying Mary, and Pitcher of course is for the pitcher of water they’d carry.

The current monument is from 1916.

William Hays enlisted in Proctor’s 4^th Pennsylvania Artillery in 1777. Mary first went with the battery to Valley Forge, then the next year to the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse in New Jersey. This is not disputed. During the battle, Mary was bringing water to the artillerymen in her husband’s battery. When her husband fell, either from a wound or heatstroke, Mary took over his job, using a ramrod to swab and load the canon.

Legend has it that during the battle she was seen working with the gun’s crew by General George Washington. The General supposedly congratulated her and made her a sergeant as a reward for her bravery. None of that can be proven, although Mary reportedly went by the nickname “Sergeant Molly” for the rest of her life. However, in 1830 a war veteran’s narrative was published that described the incident of a woman taking over for her husband on an artillery piece during the Battle of Monmouth. In it, the writer says that a British cannon ball passed between the woman’s legs, tearing through her skirt but leaving her unharmed.

After the battle, Mary Hays and her husband returned to their home in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. William Hays died in 1786. Mary later married again, to a man named John McCauley. In 1822, Mary was granted a pension by the state of Pennsylvania for her service. Mary died in 1832 and is buried in the Old Public Graveyard as Mary McCauley. The current Molly Pitcher monument was erected in 1916.

Union troops were behind this wall
during a Civil War skirmish.

There are a number of Molly Pitcher monuments. Some are in the form of street names, murals, and even business names. I believe that Molly Pitcher is a moniker given to women who followed their husbands to war during the Revolution. Mary Hays is the personification of that. Much like Rosie the Riveter was a name for women working in the defense industry during WWII and Naomi Parker was the inspiration for that. However, there is still controversy. You can read a Wikipedia article that does not question the existence of Molly Pitcher. An article on the American Battlefield Trust website, says that she is a composite character, made up of the many Molly Pitchers. Yet finally, there is an article from Smithsonian that says she probably never existed.

If you ever get the chance to walk around Carlisle, please do. Lots of history there from the Revolution to the Civil War. Take a look at the Old Public Graveyard on South Street at Bedford. It’s an interesting place, with the oldest burial from 1757. The east wall protected approximately 200 Union soldiers when Jeb Stuart’s Confederate cavalry raided Carlisle during the Gettysburg Campaign. They traded shots with Confederate skirmishers who were deployed in what would become Letort Park, on the other side of the creek. But that’s a story for a future post. 

Hannah Duston and Two Massacres

Hannah Duston's Capture and Escape from the Indians

The Hannah Duston statue is in
Haverhill, Massachusetts.

I did not make a special post for Women’s History Month last March. But I should have written about Hannah Duston (or sometimes it’s spelled Dustin). When I told my wife about Duston - the first woman in the United States to have a statue erected in her honor - she said, “This woman sounds like a badass.” I’d have to agree with that, based simply on her story. But the memory of Hannah Duston is also an example of how we interpret our history through the years.

I really enjoy it when I catch myself in some preconceived notion. When you think of Puritan settlers in 1600s Massachusetts, do you think of a bunch of devoutly religious, passive people, kind of like the pilgrim mythology? Me too! Then while I was on the west coast, I read the story of Hannah Duston in the book “Massacre on the Merrimack: Hannah Duston's Captivity and Revenge in Colonial America” by Jay Atkinson. That book dissuaded me from my preconceptions and when we were recently passing through Massachusetts, I just had to take a look at the area where this story took place.

On the base of the statue you'll 
find a panel that shows Thomas
Duston defending his children.

First, here's the story in a nutshell:
Haverhill, Massachusetts, is on the north side of the Merrimack River, just 14 miles west of the Atlantic, or thirty-five miles north of Boston as the crow flies. Puritan settlers first arrived as early as 1640. Almost fifty years later, when our story takes place, it was still the edge of civilization, assuming the perspective of the English settlers. One of those settler families was the Dustons: Thomas and Hannah and their nine children.

During King William’s War (1688 – 1697), the governor of New France encouraged Native American tribes to raid English settlements. On March 15, 1697, Abenaki Indians from Quebec, made a raid on Haverhill. A “garrison house,” that was more heavily fortified (think brick, stone, or heavy logs) than your average farmhouse was on a hill above the Duston farm, but some distance away. As they had been instructed, eight of the Duston children headed that way when they heard the raid begin. Hannah, age 40 at the time, had given birth to her ninth child a couple of weeks earlier. She had a difficult birth and was still recovering. Present that morning was a neighbor/nurse, Mary Neff. Husband Thomas was working on building a brick garrison house of his own about half a mile away. When he heard the gunfire and whoops of Indians, he mounted his horse and headed for his house.

Another panel shows the killing
of the Indians.

When Thomas got to his house, he saw Indians heading across his fields. He knew that they would be able to catch his other children heading for the garrison house, so he grabbed his rifle and went to get between the Indians and his kids. Hannah, Mary, and the newborn were to sneak out a back door and make a run for it on their own. Thomas was successful in blocking the Indians who were after his kids. They withdrew when Thomas and the children made it to within rifle range of the three militiamen who were in the garrison house. Thomas borrowed a fresh horse and headed back with one of the militiamen to find his wife, but it was too late.

The Abenaki killed 27 colonists and took 14 captives, two of those were Hannah and Mary. The Indians took them on a speed march away from any potential pursuers. If any of the captives slowed them down, they were killed. Hannah’s newborn was stripped from her arms and killed in front of her. On the trail she and Mary received help in their survival from a fourteen-year-old boy named Samuel Lennardson who had been taken from Worcester, Massachusetts up to a year prior and had some modicum of trust from their captors.

The Duston Garrison House.

After weeks on the trail, other captives had all been killed or traded away. Hannah, Mary, and Samuel were left with a family group of two warriors, three adult women, and seven children. Along the trail Hannah had, along with the horrors she had witnessed, been told that her husband and children had all been killed and that when they arrived at their destination she would be tortured and either killed or sold into slavery. While camping on an island in the Merrimack River near present-day Boscawen, New Hampshire, the Indians let their guard down and all went to sleep. One version says that the warriors shared a bottle and passed out. Regardless, Hannah enlisted Mary and Samuel to participate. After the Indians went to sleep, they were able to get ahold of hatchets. Hannah and Samuel each killed one of the men while they slept. The three then proceeded to attack the women and children. Hannah left one of the children alive, a boy who had been kind to her on the trail. He subsequently fled. One of the women was severely wounded but also escaped. Hannah scalped the bodies in order to collect a bounty offered by the colony and to prove her story. The three captives made their escape in one of the Indian canoes, heading down the river to an English settlement.

The Aftermath
Hannah never wrote down her story, nor did Mary or Samuel. Hannah died in Haverhill sometime between 1736 and 1738. However, several people have written the story, claiming that they interviewed Hannah for the details. The most prominent of these was Cotton Mather. We know that she really did take the Indian’s scalps because her husband petitioned the government of the Massachusetts Colony to collect the bounty.

About a hundred years after Hannah’s death, her story was resurrected and she became a heroine. Some historians believe the story resonated with the public because of the Indian removal efforts that began in the 1820s. The first statue in her honor was erected in 1874 in Boscawen, New Hampshire (the site of her escape). The 35-foot statue depicts her with a hatchet in one hand and scalps in the other. In 1879 a statue of Hannah was placed in the GAR park in Haverhill. This one has Hannah holding a hatchet, but she’s pointing with the other hand as if to say, “You were bad.” On the sides of the base are depictions of the four events in her story: her capture, her husband’s defense of the children, killing her captors, and returning in a canoe. Today, some question why Hannah Duston was elevated to hero status, particularly considering that she killed six children along with the adults, like the tone of this article from Smithsonian. I’m afraid I don’t agree. You just can’t judge someone in those circumstances through the lens of our modern morality. And although it’s not right to say “they did it too” as an excuse, one source said that many of the settlers killed in the Abenaki raid were children. And what about Hannah's newborn?

By the way, the garrison house that Thomas was working on got finished. You can visit it, just outside of Haverhill. Like visiting a Civil War battlefield, when you’re stopping off at Dunkin’s and fighting the going to work traffic, it’s hard to visualize what it was like there in the 1600s. The Hannah Dustin statue and the Duston Garrison House help us remember.