82nd Airborne facts
While investigating facts about 82nd Airborne, I found out little known, but curios details like:
After receiving the Medal of Honor for jumping on two grenades, Jacklyn H. Lucas proceeded to conquer his fear by joining the 82nd Airborne in which during training his parachute failed and fell 3,500 feet and was unscathed. Oh, and joined the Marines when he was 14.
An 82nd Airborne supply clerk made a parachute jump with no training. His orders were inaccurate, and his chain of command thought he'd been through Jump School, so he jumped anyway.
In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across. Here are 14 of the best facts about 82nd Airborne I managed to collect.
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In April 2003 the 82nd Airborne Division fired into a crowd of Iraqi civilians who were protesting their presence at a school within the city of Fallujah, killing 17 unarmed Iraqis.
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Bradley was promoted to Major General in 1942 and given command of the 82nd Infantry Division. He later transformed the unit into the famed 82nd Airborne Division.
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The American 82nd Airborne Division saw heavy action at Anzio.
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On September 16, 1994, Jimmy Carter successfully persuaded Haitian dictator Raoul Cédras to step down peacefully after reminding him of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division's victorious reputation and while 4,000 such members were already on their way in the air to invade Haiti to oust him from power
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Travis Mills a US 82nd Airborne Army Staff Sgt who was critically injured losing most of his arms and legs while on patrol in Afghanistan to a IED. He's one of only five quadruple amputees from the Iraq & Afghanistan wars to survive this type of injury. His motto: "Never Give Up, Never Quit"
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-- (D-Day) A U.S. paratrooper from the 82nd Airborne Division, Martin Hersh, was found dead in a German foxhole. Surrounding him were the corpses of 9 dead German soldiers. He was out of ammunition and his rifle was broken. This happened in the middle of the night in complete darkness. (6-6-44)
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The 82nd Airborne Division was involved in heavy fighting, but since it was primarily a defensive battle for the Americans the airborne unit never paradropped during the fighting.
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He was given command of the 504th Parachute Infantry of the fairly new 82nd Airborne Regiment in 1946.
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After a heavy naval and aerial bombardment, the invasion began with American and British paratrooper drops. It was the first combat drop of the famed American 82nd Airborne.
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Henry Hill, of *Goodfellas* fame, was in the 82nd Airborne division
What is true about 82nd airborne?
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The Deputy Commanding General of the US Army's 82nd Airborne is a British Paratrooper
Jack Lucas was not only the youngest Marine to earn the Medal Of Honor in WW2. He also joined 82nd Airborne in the early 1960's and survived a jump in which both his parachutes failed to open - source