Tag Archives: 82nd Airborne

Jumpin Jim

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80 Years Ago Today:

Brigadier General (Army of the United States, Captain in the Regular Army) James “Jumpin’ Jim” Gavin (USMA 1929), commander of the 82nd “All American” Airborne Division, checks his equipment before boarding a C-47 at Cottesmore airfield near Rutland, England for Operation Market Garden on 17 September 1944. He was in Chalk number one of Serial A-7, 316th Troop Carrier Group. The aircraft was piloted by Major Kendig, CO of the 44th Troop Carrier Squadron.

National Archives and Records Administration Still Pictures Unit SC 232810

Note his M1 Garand along with the M1911A1 on his hip and a fighting knife behind the pistol. Gavin had jumped into Sicily carrying a lighter folding M1A1 Carbine but the gun jammed on his first encounter with the enemy, leaving the general to switch to the big .30-06 battle rifle as his personal weapon moving forward.

Gavin assumed command of the 82nd the month before Market Garden on 8 August 1944, the third Commanding General of the Division during the war, after Omar Bradley who led the reformed division in 1942 when it was still a “leg” unit, and Matthew Ridgway who had commanded the All Americans in Sicily, Italy and at Normandy. Jim was the only American general officer to make four combat jumps in the war.

For the record, a lookback by the IWM on “The Bridge Too Far” that was Market Garden and the Arnheim operation. 

Gavin, at age 37, was also the youngest general to command an American division during the war. He was later the youngest Regular Army lieutenant general when promoted in July 1954, at age 47.

Bazooka Boy Scout

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In this 1960s Army recruiting poster, we see PFC Vernon K. Haught, of the 82nd ABN Divison’s 325th Glider Rgt, around the final act of the Battle of the Bulge in January 1945, as he strolls in the snow-covered countryside near Ordimont, Belgium.

While the M1 2.36-inch Bazooka on his shoulder is likely his go-to should an errant Panzer poke its nose out of the woods, the thin-handled knife on the German army belt around his waist probably got a lot more daily use. The blade seems to be a Norwegian-style speiderkniv, or scout knife, of the kind commonly used by boy scouts in Western Europe at the time, differing from the beefier U.S.-style PAL or Western Cutlery-made fixed blade Boy Scout knives sold back home in the 1940s.

Also, note the M1 bayonet strapped to his leg.

After all, “Be Prepared.”

Happy birthday, All Americans!

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Drawn from all 48 states at the time, (hence it’s designation as “All American”) the 82nd Infantry Division was formed in the new “National Army” on 5 August 1917, shortly after the U.S. entry into World War I and stood up at then-Camp (now Fort) Gordon, Georgia soon after.

Consisting of the 325th, 326th, 327th and 328th Infantry regiments along with the 319th, 320th and 321st Field Artillery Regiments and the 307th Trench Mortar Battery, they embarked for France the next April, going on to see hard service at St. Mihiel and the Argonne.

And of course, as the 82nd Airborne Division, they have been serving up that Airborne Kool-Aid around the world since 1942.

Army tries out new Airborne Vehicle

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With the looming 75th anniversary this week of the more than 22,000 Allied paratroopers and glider-borne light infantry dropping behind German lines in Normandy on the eve of D-Day, I thought this was relevant. During Exercise Immediate Response 19, the 173rd Airborne Brigade got to test out it’s newest vehicle addition, the Army Ground Mobility Vehicle (AGMV), in Europe of course.

This, obviously, opens us up to a look at the gear, weapons, and special equipment of the 82nd and 101st Airborne during Overlord, as presented by the Army’s Center for Military History.

Camelot comes to Bragg, a study in a more refined time

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A relaxed President John F. Kennedy talks to three “All American” officers of the 82nd Airborne Division during his visit to Fort Bragg in North Carolina, 12 October 1961

JFK, a Navy man, of course, has his hands in his pockets but his suit fits great and would blend right in on Mad Men. Note the officers as well, with shined jump boots, bloused and starched OD fatigues (complete with sharp creases) and tie-downs for the M1911 holsters. The WWII-era M1 Carbines (the Army had not moved to the M16 at the time and the M14 was often seen as too bulky for airborne operations) as well as the old Duck Hunter camo covers on their steel pots complete the setup.

That will get your attention

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A relatively quiet day during the Battle of the Bulge: Posed U.S. Army Signal Corps photo of an 82nd Airborne Div machine gun nest “somewhere in the Ardennes.”

Note the big M2 .50-caliber Browning heavy machine gun in a ground defense role with a spare barrel literally chilling out to the left. “Ma Deuce” still fills this same role today, and will likely for generations to come. Turns out you just can’t beat 100~ rounds of 671-grain APIT headed out per minute as long as the ammo holds up.

Also, note the M1919 .30-06 light Browning to the right for close-in work. Together with the above set-up, this one post can own that field out to 2,000m against advancing infantry– until the StuGs and panzers show up anyway, at which point it becomes time to rapidly displace to the rear.

Stand up, hook up

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On this day 37 years ago:

Note the M1 helmets and woodland BDUs, the latter were still around until the mid-1980s and the former had just been introduced

14 May 1980, more than 150 female Paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne participated in the first ever all-female parachute jump in the history of the U.S. Army at Fort Bragg, N.C. Not bad considering the first women jump school candidates were only selected for pre-training in 1974.