Army celebrates 75th anniversary of the American paratrooper

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  • In this photo provided by the U.S. Army, parachutes open overhead as waves of paratroopers drop out of planes over Holland during operations by the 1st Allied Airborne Army in September 1944. (AP Photo/U.S. Army)
  • Members of the 82nd Airborne relax on a hill near Point Salines Airport in Grenada, Nov. 2, 1983. The forces are continuing a securing action on the island. (AP Photo/Pete Leabo)
  • Members of a unit of the 82nd Airborne, heavily armed with everything from rifles to barbed wire, rest as they await orders in Detroit’s East Side, July 25, 1967, as they joined National Guardsmen and police in their efforts to quell a riot that started on Sunday. (AP Photo)
  • An 82nd Airborne trooper looks over his shoulder to take a last look at Grenada before boarding a Military Airlift Command plane for the trip home at Point Salines airfield on Friday, Nov. 4, 1983. (AP Photo/Pete Leabo)
  • Pfc. Edward Vargo, of the 82nd Airborne Division, from Apple Valley, California gets a warm welcome back to Fort Bragg, North Carolina from girlfriend Robin Powers, Jan. 8, 1990, after serving in combat in Panama. Flag is red white and blue. (AP Photo/Bob Jordan)
  • Paratroopers from the 782nd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division watch as C-17 Globemaster IIIs air drop combat cargo bundles carrying food and water in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, October 11. (U.S. Army photo/Spc. Micah E. Clare)
  • U.S. Army paratroopers with the 82nd Airborne Division sit in an Air Force C-17A Globemaster III before an airdrop during a joint operational access exercise (JOAX) at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., Feb. 9, 2011. JOAX is a joint Army and Air Force training exercise held to practice large-scale personnel and equipment airdrop missions. (DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Greg C. Biondo, U.S. Air Force/Released)
  • Artillerymen with the 82nd Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team prepare to hook up an M119A2 105mm howitzer to a UH60 Black Hawk helicopter during air assault training Feb. 8, 2013, at Fort Bragg, N.C. The artillerymen are assigned to 3rd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod)
  • ** ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND EDITIONS OF FEB. 18 – 19 – FILE ** Paratroopers of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division drop into Fort Bragg, N.C.’s Sicily Drop Zone, Oct. 7, 2003. Formed in World War II, the 82nd Airborne jumped into Italy, flew on gliders into Normandy and later parachuted into Holland. Today, the 82nd serves as the nation’s ready-reaction force, with one brigade of paratroopers always available to jump into a fight should the president call. But the last time the 82nd actually parachuted into combat was in 1989, landing in Panama to help oust dictator Manuel Noriega. (AP Photo/The Fayetteville Observer, David Smith, File) **MAGS OUT, NO SALES**
  • Members of the 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division march in formation, as they return from deployment to Afghanistan, at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., Sunday, Oct. 31, 2004. The troops were sent to Afghanistan to provide security during the elections there. (AP Photo/The Observer, David Smith)
  • U.S. Army and British paratroopers perform a static-line jump at Holland Drop Zone in preparation for Combined Joint Operational Access Exercise 15-01 at Fort Bragg, N.C., April 11, 2015. Combined Joint Operational Access Exercise 15-01 is an 82nd Airborne Division-led bilateral training event at Fort Bragg, N.C., taking place April 13-20, 2015. This is the largest exercise of its kind held at Fort Bragg in nearly 20 years and demonstrates interoperability between U.S. Army and British Army soldiers, U.S. Air Force, Air National Guard and Royal Air Force airmen and U.S. Marines. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Sean Martin/Released)
  • Army paratroopers descend toward Holland drop zone during an airborne proficiency jump on Fort Bragg, N.C., Feb. 11, 2015, The soldiers are assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Mary S. Katzenberger