The 82nd Division was activated at Camp Gordon, Georgia, on 25 August 1917. It was one of the National Army divisions of conscript soldiers. As the Division filled, it was discovered there were soldiers from every state. Through a popular contest, the nickname "All American" was chosen to reflect the unique composition of the 82nd.

Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 brought the United States to war again. The 82nd Infantry Division was called to active duty on 25 March 1942 with Major General Omar Bradley as commander and Brigadier General Matthew Ridgway as assistant commander. At Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, the Division was organized as a triangular division, built around three infantry regiments. Alvin York was invited to visit the Division to build esprit-de-corps. A Division song was even written for the occasion. In June, Ridgway succeeded Bradley in command of the 82nd.

On 19 January 1946, the 82nd returned to Fort Bragg and began training for the uncertain Cold War years. The 82nd became a strategic deployment force as it trained for a variety of conditions and tested new airplanes with greater capacity and range. In 1948, the 82nd was allotted to the Regular Army, ensuring its active status.

In 1957, the 82nd underwent reorganization for the Pentomic structure. The Division consisted of five Airborne Battle Groups that were capable of independent operations on a nuclear battlefield. Fortunately, that concept did not have to be tested in a real war. In 1964, the 82nd was again reorganized under the ROAD concept, which called for three brigades of infantry, each with three battalions, and a brigade of artillery with three battalions, plus the usual division support elements.

In 1965 the 82nd was able to test the ROAD concept in combat. On 29 April the 3rd Brigade (1st and 2nd 505th and 1st 508th) was alerted for deployment to the Dominican Republic in Operation POWER PACK. The Brigade arrived on 30 April and secured the Duarte Bridge over the Ozama. A link up was conducted with Marines in Santo Domingo and a corridor was established to isolate the rebel forces. An attack was launched by rebel forces on 15 June, but was stopped by the 82nd after two days of heavy fighting. Most of the Division returned home by late summer 1965. The 1st Brigade remained to maintain order. By 21 September 1966, the last elements redeployed to Fort Bragg.

The 1960s were a turbulent decade. The 82nd sent small contingents to the Congo in 1964 and 1967. The Division also participated in several civil disturbance operations. The largest were in Detroit in 1967 and in Washington, DC, in 1968.

With the TET Offensive in Vietnam during February 1968, additional US troops were needed in a hurry. On 14 February, the 3rd Brigade deployed to Vietnam in Operation ALL AMERICAN. The Brigade arrived at Chu Lai and moved north to Phu Bai near Hue. In March, the 3rd Brigade troopers fought alongside the 101st in Operation CARENTAN I. The Brigade conducted combat operations for 22 months, fighting along Highway 1, the Song Bo River, Hue, and Saigon. In September 1969, the Brigade conducted its last combat operation in Vietnam -- YORKTOWN VICTOR -- in the iron triangle. The 3rd Brigade returned to Fort Bragg and the 82nd on 12 December 1969.

During the 1970s, the 82nd was alerted several times. An antitank task force armed with the new TOW missile deployed to Vietnam in the spring of 1972. Other alerts such as the Middle East crisis of 1973, the Zaire hostage crisis of 1978, and the Iran hostage situation of 1979, did not see the 82nd deploy. The 82nd was, however, the first US Army unit to participate in the Multinational Force and Observers peacekeeping mission in the Sinai in March 1982.

On 25 October 1983, the combat capabilities of the 82nd were put to the test again in Operation URGENT FURY to rescue American students and prevent revolution on the Caribbean Island of Grenada. The Division conducted airland operations at Point Salines Airfield on the south side of the island. Fighting lasted several days as the 82nd encountered the People's Revolutionary Army and Cuban forces. Using aviation assets, the 82nd rescued students on the Lance aux Epines peninsula and captured General Hudson Austin, commander of the People's Revolutionary Armed Forces. The last 82nd elements returned to Fort Bragg on 12 December 1983.

On 17 March 1988, the 1/504 airlanded in Honduras as part of GOLDEN PHEASANT, an exercise designed to ensure regional security. The 2/504 parachuted in the next day. The exercise provided a show of support for Honduras and tested the rapid deployment capabilities of the 82nd.

On 20 December 1989, the All American Division conducted its first combat parachute assault since World War II. The 82nd parachuted into Torrijos Airport, Panama, in Operation JUST CAUSE to oust a dictator and restore a duly elected government. Armored vehicles -- the M551 Sheridan -- were parachuted into combat for the first time. Airmobile operations were conducted against Fort Cimmarron, Tinajitas, and Panama Viejo. The Division moved to Panama City where it took part in the attack against Noriega's headquarters and his eventual surrender. The last elements of the 82nd returned home on 12 January 1990.

It was not long before the 82nd was back in combat again. On 2 August 1990, Iraqi armor and troops rolled into Kuwait. The 82nd deployed on 8 August in Operation DESERT SHIELD. Standing across the border from the Iraqi tanks, the 82nd drew a line in the sand with its light M551 Sheridans, TOW missiles, and AH-64 Apache helicopters. The United States assembled an allied coalition of forces and committed to the largest military deployment since Vietnam. Air strikes against Iraq began on 16 January 1991. On 24 February 1991, the ground phase of the war --- Operation DESERT STORM -- began. The 82nd conducted airmobile and mounted operations on the allied left flank, penetrating deep into Iraq. With its mission complete, the 82nd began to deploy home on 7 March. By April, the entire Division was back at Fort Bragg.

Early in the evening of 18 September 1994, nearly 3,000 paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division were enroute to Haiti to launch Operation RESTORE DEMOCRACY. Aviation elements were already deployed to the nearby island of Great Inauga. Elements of the 3/73 Armor were waiting aboard ships off the coast. When Haitian leaders heard the 82nd Airborne Division was on the way, a peace agreement was reached, and the 82nd was recalled. From 26 September to 25 October, elements of the 3/73d Armor supported peacekeeping operations in Haiti.