The 82nd Airborne Division is an active duty airborne infantry division of the United States Army, specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areas. Based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the 82nd Airborne Division is part of the XVIII Airborne Corps.
The 82nd Division was constituted in the National Army on 5 August 1917, and was organized on 25 August 1917, at Camp Gordon, Georgia. Since its initial members came from all 48 states, the unit acquired the nickname All-American, which is the basis for its famed "AA" shoulder patch. Famous soldiers of the division include Sergeant Alvin C. York, General James M. Gavin, Senator Strom Thurmond (325th GIR in World War II), Senator Jack Reed, R&B singer Lou Rawls, actor William Windom, country music singer Craig Morgan, former Syracuse University football coach Ben Schwartzwalder, fashion critic/choreographer Bruce Darnell and Congressman Patrick Murphy (the first Iraq War veteran elected to Congress).
The 82nd Division was redesignated on 13 February 1942 as Division Headquarters, 82nd Division. It was recalled to active service on 25 March 1942, and reorganized at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, under the command of Major General Omar N. Bradley.
During this training period, the division brought together four officers who would ultimately steer the US Army during the following two decades: Matthew B. Ridgway, Matthew D. Query, James M. Gavin, and Maxwell D. Taylor who became the commander of the 101st Airborne Division in 1944. This was following Bill Lee's heart attack. Under General Bradley, the 82nd Division's Chief of Staff was George Van Pope. The Allied invasion of Sicily was originally to be kept a secret.
On 15 August 1942, the 82nd Infantry Division became the Army's first airborne division, and was redesignated the 82nd Airborne Division. In April 1943, its paratroopers deployed to North Africa under the command of Major General Matthew B. Ridgway to take part in the campaign to invade Italy. The division's first two combat operations were parachute assaults into Sicily on 9 July and Salerno on 13 September. The initial assault on Sicily, by the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, was the first regimental-sized combat parachute assault conducted by the United States Army. The first glider assault did not occur until Operation Neptune as part of D-Day. Glider troopers of the 319th and 320th Glider Field Artillery and the 325th Glider Infantry instead arrived in Italy by landing craft at Maiori (319th) and Salerno (320th, 325th).
In January 1944, the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which was temporarily detached to fight at Anzio, adopted the nickname "Devils in Baggy Pants", taken from an entry in a German officer's diary. While the 504th was detached, the remainder of the 82nd moved to the United Kingdom in November 1943 to prepare for the liberation of Europe.
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