A nice little audio clip, which includes an interview with one of the survivors of the 82nd's jump over Normandy on D-day.
LINK
LINK
Post Reply
1 of 1
82nd Airbone Division turns 100
1,579 Views |
9 Replies |
Last: 6 yr ago by Sapper Redux
Was never in the 82nd, much to the disappointment of a first cousin who jumped into Panama and was in then Gulf War, but many thanks to my senior NCOs who would always get sidetracked with a good "Back at Bragg....." story!
This reminds me of a funny HS story. I knew I wanted to serve in the Army but I didn't really know much about any of the different units or even really what a Ranger was. I wanted to be a Combat Engineer until I learned about the Abrams Tank and after that, it was Armor or nothing as far as I was concerned.JABQ04 said:
Was never in the 82nd, much to the disappointment of a first cousin who jumped into Panama and was in then Gulf War, but many thanks to my senior NCOs who would always get sidetracked with a good "Back at Bragg....." story!
So, sometime during the summer after I graduated HS in 1988 in Waco, my brother and I went over to visit this hot cheerleader chick he knew. As it turned out, this girl's older brother (who was like 23 or something) was home on leave from the Army. He had just finished some training operation in Alaska.
Anyway, turns out this guy was super hooah, Airborne, Ranger, 75th Ranger Regiment. He starts telling us Army stories and talking about how great the Rangers are, etc. During his storytelling, he kept going off specifically on the 82nd Airborne Division. Talking about how they think they're so great because they invaded Grenada, etc. But, what stuck out in my mind (besides his 4.9L Turbo TransAm which he explained was the best TransAm ever) was what he kept calling them. Even to this day, whenever I hear 82nd, what immediately pops in my head is this guy's storytelling about what was probably "Eighty - feminine hygiene product" but with his accent and one cigarette in his mouth sounded to me like "Eddy Deuxsh Bag". Now I don't know if there's still that level of rivalry between the Rangers and the Airborne but, that was my first introduction to Unit pride and it is just burned in to my memory. "Eddy Deuxsh Bag".
Almost everyone hates the 82nd. It isn't limited to the Rangers.
I dealt with them twice. The first time they were providing additional troops to Baghdad before the 05 elections. Despite not knowing anything about the AO we had been in for almost 14 months, they proceeded to try and tell us what we were doing wrong (in their eyes), and ignored every bit of advice they received on even the most minor things. I heard rumors about how badly the Iraqis hated them, especially when they owned the terrain.
The second time was in New Orleans after Katrina. They did more damage to the Naval Reserve base in Algiers than the damn hurricane did. My buddy caught an E-5 stealing a sofa from the PX. There was a Naval vessel docked at the post to provide aid. They allowed Cav on their ship to eat and hang out. They kicked off the 82nd.
The 82nd had an incredible history from WWII. In some respects, it feels like they've been coasting on that.
I dealt with them twice. The first time they were providing additional troops to Baghdad before the 05 elections. Despite not knowing anything about the AO we had been in for almost 14 months, they proceeded to try and tell us what we were doing wrong (in their eyes), and ignored every bit of advice they received on even the most minor things. I heard rumors about how badly the Iraqis hated them, especially when they owned the terrain.
The second time was in New Orleans after Katrina. They did more damage to the Naval Reserve base in Algiers than the damn hurricane did. My buddy caught an E-5 stealing a sofa from the PX. There was a Naval vessel docked at the post to provide aid. They allowed Cav on their ship to eat and hang out. They kicked off the 82nd.
The 82nd had an incredible history from WWII. In some respects, it feels like they've been coasting on that.
BigJim49 AustinNowDallas
Joined:
Jun 24, 2001
Posts:
17,330
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Some time ago, I read about the D Day paratroopers drop that day .
One wrote of being fired at and the trooper next to him was hit by a shell and DISAPPEARED !
One wrote of being fired at and the trooper next to him was hit by a shell and DISAPPEARED !
BigJim49AustinnowDallas
Guess I should keep the whole I was in the 82nd at one time to myself.
You and Alvin York, the baddest ass until Audie Murphy came along (that's Alvin, not you Irish 
)
) Irish_Man said:
Guess I should keep the whole I was in the 82nd at one time to myself.
I have no problem with the 82nd. I just getting anyone ever in sidetracked with a good "back at Bragg... story". Easy way to kill some time when you want to a break.
Quote:
I dealt with them twice. The first time they were providing additional troops to Baghdad before the 05 elections. Despite not knowing anything about the AO we had been in for almost 14 months, they proceeded to try and tell us what we were doing wrong (in their eyes), and ignored every bit of advice they received on even the most minor things. I heard rumors about how badly the Iraqis hated them, especially when they owned the terrain.
I have heard that almost exact same description of many units deployed to lots of places. The other one is the "You won't believe how screwed up this place was and they sent us in to fix it."
I'm happy to acknowledge the really good units. The 101st and 10th Mountain were fantastic and I heard good things about the 25th. Other units had bad or complicated reputations. There are tons of great soldiers in the 82nd, but they do have a reputation (somewhat earned in my own experience) of being full of themselves to the possible detriment of the mission.