What does it mean to be a Paratrooper? To many, it simply means, “Those crazy guys with the maroon berets that jump out of planes.” Granted, we do jump out of planes and wear maroon berets but, that is not all that we, as Paratroopers, are. The 82nd Airborne Division has a rich history that, if read and understood, will explain what it truly means to be a paratrooper. The 82nd Airborne Division was created on August 17, 1917 as the 82nd Infantry Division at Camp Gordon, Georgia. The nickname, “All Americans,” was given because soldiers in the 82nd came from all 48 States. The Division was deployed to France in the spring of 1918 where they fought in several campaigns against the German Imperial Army. It took nearly five months of brutal fighting but, eventually the German Army was beaten into submission. At the end of World War I, the Division was demobilized for over 20 years. In 1942, just a few months after it was reactivated, the 82nd became the first airborne division in the Army and was given the name, 82nd Airborne Division. After making two combat drops, one in Sicily and another in Salerno, Italy, the 82nd was tasked to take on the largest airborne assault in history. On the 5th and 6th of June 1944, the Division loaded up and were among the first Troopers to assault Normandy, France. After more than a month of relentless, bloody combat, the Division was pulled back to England and the post battle report read, “…33 days of action without relief, without replacements. Every mission accomplished. No ground gained was ever relinquished.” Those Troopers set the standard of excellence for the rest of the Division during those weeks spent assaulting the French coast. Recently, I was tasked out to present honors at a funeral for a former Paratrooper. As we were sitting in the mortuary, listening to a story about this man’s life, I began to understand more about my chosen profession. This man had enlisted in the US Navy at the ripe old age of 14. After his time...