My Dad in the 82nd Army Airborne

My Dad died in 1995, he was a veteran of World War II and served in the 82nd Airborne during the Korean War era of the early 1950s. I know very little about his military service, he didn't talk much about it and his WWII records were stolen, lifted, or lost in Times Square when he returned home on a New Years Eve. When my Mother died in 2011 I inherited a box of photos, and newspaper clippings. From these I've pieced together his journey with the 512th and the 508th division of the 82nd Airborne.

Many veterans from that era have died, others have forgotten more than they remember, and others wouldn't think of using the internet to connect with war buddies from the past. I'm hoping family members doing genealogy and history searches such as mine will help connect the dots, and maybe be able to contribute to the little bit of knowledge I have in my search.

The 82nd Airborne is legendary for their feats in WWII. In order to understand their significance and contributions you can either talk to a veteran, although they are disappearing fast, or read one of the writings and accounts of those who were there.

History takes on a whole new meaning when someone you love participated in the real time events. My Dad was on a destroyer in the Navy in World War II, but since I don't have his records, I'll read what I can on the 82nd Airborne.

Texas and New York

In the newspaper clippings was an account of Operation Longhorn, my Dad's unit, the 508th Regiment was listed as participating Airborne unit and was part of a massive parachute jump. As I've read about this in various sites this exercise involved more than 100,000 military personnel over a seventeen day period in Ft. Hood Texas.

I believe it's during this time my Dad met my Mother when she was visiting her sister in Texas. But they never talked about how they met. In his military record is showed he had a four month military absence, but there is no detail. From what I've read it was not uncommon to get separated from your unit and they just have to wait for a way to communicate (no cell phones) and get transportation back to your unit.

Dad also participated in Exercise Snowstorn near Turin New York. I don't have too much information about this exercise, but at this point he had been attached to the 623rd Quartermaster.Company.

My Dad died in 1995 and I never really got to ask about the time he served in WWII or in during the Korean War. When my Mom died I found a box of photographs and military pictures I had never seen before.

The Army still trains their Airborne division at Ft. Bragg, a classmate of my son's just finished flight school this year and got her wings. Congratulations Kalee for being a third generation paratrooper and a member of the elite group of Airborne.

My Dad trained in 1950 at Ft. Bragg as a paratrooper.

Military veterans and history buffs like collecting badges, patches, and memorabilia from the 82nd Airborne. eBay is a great place to find paratrooper treasures. The most desirable items are from World War II and can go as high as $1,000 for uniforms, jackets, and helmets.

Drop me a message on why you stopped my, what brought you here and your interest in the 82nd Airborne.