LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the Walter
E. Hughes Tri-State Mid-Hudson Chapter of the 82nd Airborne Division
Association Inc. on August 14, 2016

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is moved with great respect and reverent
esteem to pay tribute to the men and women who so courageously and hero-
ically serve and have served in the Armed Forces of the United States;
and
WHEREAS, Members and former members of the Armed Services from the
State of New York, who have served so valiantly and honorably in wars in
which this country's freedom was at stake, as well as in the preserva-
tion of peace in peace-time, deserve a special salute from this Legisla-
tive Body; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to commemorate the 30th
Anniversary of the Walter E. Hughes Tri-State Mid-Hudson Chapter of the
82nd Airborne Division Association Inc. to be celebrated at a Luncheon
on Sunday, August 14, 2016, in the Officers Club at West Point Military
Academy, West Point, New York; and
WHEREAS, The members of the Walter E. Hughes Tri-State Mid-Hudson
Chapter of the 82nd Airborne Division Association Inc. are honored to
recognize its founder, Walter E. Hughes, a distinguished World War II
paratrooper who was recently inducted into the New York State Veteran's
Hall of Honor; and
WHEREAS, Walter E. Hughes was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1925; at
the young age of 12, he worked as a deckhand on his stepfather's tugboat
for three dollars a week; when the vessel was pushed into auxiliary
service at the start of the war, Walter became a merchant seaman at 14;
and
WHEREAS, Four years later, Walter E. Hughes entered into the service
of the United States Army, proudly serving his country during World War
II; as a member of the 82nd Airborne, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment,
he took part in some of most famous battles and missions of the war; and
WHEREAS, The 82nd Airborne Division Association was organized in
England, prior to the Normandy Invasion in 1944; and
WHEREAS, The 82nd Airborne Division Association is for anyone who has
ever served in the 82nd Airborne Division, and who is currently serving
on active duty on jump status, or has ever served in any of the
uniformed services on either jump or glider status and was honorably
discharged; and
WHEREAS, Currently, the 82nd Airborne Division Association is
comprised of members who have served with the 11th, 13th, 17th, 82nd,
and 101st Airborne Divisions; 187th, 503rd and 508th Airborne Regimental
Combat Teams; 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) as well as troopers from
Special Forces, Airborne Rangers, Marine Corps Recon, Navy SEALS and Air
Force Special Tactics personnel; and
WHEREAS, For many years, the 82nd Airborne Division Association has
strived to further develop the bond between current and past Airborne
forces of the United States Military, maintain a record of the history
and accomplishments of Airborne Troopers, maintain a close liaison with
active Division, support the 82nd Airborne Division Memorial Museum,
provide scholarships through the Association Educational Fund to recent-
ly separated Active Duty Troopers and Dependent Children of Veterans,
and Active Duty Troopers, and honor the Jumpmaster, NCO and Trooper of
the Year, as well as provide support to Veteran and Active Wounded
Warriors of the Division; and
WHEREAS, Today, the 82nd Airborne Division is an active-duty, modular
airborne infantry division of the United States Army; the Division is

stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, one of the largest military
training areas in the world; and
WHEREAS, The 82nd trains for airborne assault operations into enemy-
denied areas, with a specialization in airfield seizure; under the
command of the XVIII Airborne Corps, the 82nd is the Nation's Global
Response Force; once ordered, it can mobilize, load, and land anywhere
in the world in less than 36 hours to perform combat operations, assist
United States allies, and provide humanitarian assistance; and
WHEREAS, The 82nd Airborne Division was constituted in the National
Army on August 5, 1917, to support the United States' entry into World
War I; it was officially organized on August 25, 1917, at Camp Gordon,
near Atlanta, Georgia; and
WHEREAS, After noticing that there were men from each of the 48 states
in the Division, Vivienne Goodwyn had the honor of choosing the
Airborne's nick-name, The All American Division; the original Division
shoulder sleeve patch of a red square with a blue circle in the middle
would soon have Troopers adding a double AA; and
WHEREAS, The 82nd Airborne Division was one of the first seven United
States divisions to arrive in England, and flight in France, where it
participated in the Battle of Lorraine in 1918, and the campaigns of St.
Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne; and
WHEREAS, The 82nd Airborne Division demobilized on May 27, 1919, at
Camp Mills, New York, after returning home from World War I; it was
reconstituted into the Organized Reserves as Headquarters, 82nd Divi-
sion, on June 24, 1921, and was housed at the Federal Building in Colum-
bia, South Carolina; and
WHEREAS, Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Division
was re-designated on February 13, 1942, as Division Headquarters, 82nd
Division, and was ordered into active service on March 25, 1942, at Camp
Claiborne, Louisiana, under the command of General Omar Bradley; and
WHEREAS, On August 15, 1942, the Division was reorganized and desig-
nated the 82nd Airborne Division, the United States Army adopted and
developed the airborne concept, and the 82nd would be the first division
to receive this designation; and
WHEREAS, Major General Matthew Bunker Ridgway led the Division to
North Africa in May of 1943, where it intensely trained for the airborne
assault onto the island of Sicily for Operation HUSKY; in September of
1943, General Mark Clark, Fifth Army, requested the 82nd to drop onto
the Salerno beachhead to help secure the Italian foothold established by
the Allies; Operation AVALANCHE consisted of two consecutive night jumps
.SO DOC S R6120 RESO TEXT 2015
which accomplished the mission and eliminated any doubt the Allies would
be pushed back into the sea; and
WHEREAS, While the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment stayed in Italy
to fight, the rest of the 82nd headed for England to prepare and train
for Operation NEPTUNE, the airborne assault of Operation OVERLORD, the
Allied offensive into Normandy, France; joined by the 507th and the
508th Parachute Infantry Regiments, the 82nd assaulted Normandy with
12,000 Parachute and Glider troops, on June 6, 1944; and
WHEREAS, Their mission was to destroy vital Germany supply bridges and
capture causeways leading inland across the flooded areas behind the
Normandy beaches where seaborne forces would land to gain control of
roads and communications; the 82nd fought for 33 days without relief or
replacements, and once again successfully completed the mission; and
WHEREAS, The final airborne assault for the 82nd Airborne Division
during World War II was into Holland in September of 1944; Operation
MARKET GARDEN would have the All Americans perform a day time jump into
Nijmegen; and

WHEREAS, On the next day, 200 men of the 82nd performed a daytime
crossing of the fast moving Waal River in an attempt to secure the oppo-
site end of the Nijmegen Bridge; German resistance was fierce, but the
All Americans pushed through, secured the bridge, and opened a route to
the Rhine River and into Germany; and
WHEREAS, The All Americans briefly rested after Holland, but the final
German offensive in December of 1944, the Battle of the Bulge, ended any
reprieve; and
WHEREAS, During the drive to end the War, the Division liberated a
work camp at Wobbelin, Germany; the 82nd also received the unconditional
surrender of 146,000 men of the 21st German Army at Ludwigstlust; and
WHEREAS, World War II ended in May of 1945, and the 82nd Airborne
Division would receive the honor of Occupation Duty in Berlin; it is in
Berlin where the Division received its second, and most famous nickname,
"America's Guard of Honor" from General George S. Patton, after he
reviewed the Paratroopers; and
WHEREAS, Following World War II and into the early 1960s, the 82nd
Airborne Division trained hard during the Cold War to become the
nation's Strategic Reaction Force; they participated in numerous and
varied exercises containing up to 60,000 men, within the United States,
and trained in Greenland, Alaska, South America, Turkey and Africa; and
WHEREAS, In April of 1965, with communism attempting to emerge in the
Western Hemisphere, the 82nd Airborne Division deployed to support Oper-
ation POWER PACK in the Dominican Republic; and
WHEREAS, In response the Tet Offensive of 1968, in the Republic of
Vietnam, General Westmoreland, MACV commander, requested a brigade of
the 82d Airborne Division be sent immediately to support United States
operations; after serving 22 months in Vietnam, 3rd Brigade troopers
returned to Fort Bragg in December of 1969; and
WHEREAS, On October 25, 1983, the 82nd was called to the tiny island
of Grenada to assist the nation's democratic government to defeat a
communist uprising; the first unit to deploy in Operation URGENT FURY
was a task force of the 2-325th Infantry; and
WHEREAS, Operation URGENT FURY tested the division's ability to deploy
as a rapid deployment force, however, the 82nd was once again successful
in defending democracy and American interests; and
WHEREAS, On December 20, 1989, the All Americans conducted their first
combat jump since World War II onto Torrijos International Airport,
Panama, to oust ruthless dictator, Manuel Noriega, and restore the duly
elected government to power; the victorious paratroopers returned to
Fort Bragg on January 12, 1990, in style, conducting a mass jump onto
Sicily Drop Zone, Fort Bragg; and
WHEREAS, Six days after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990,
the 82nd became the vanguard of the largest deployment of American
troops since Vietnam; the first unit to deploy to Saudi Arabia on August
8, 1990, was a task force of the 2nd Brigade; and
WHEREAS, Soon after, the rest of the division followed; their intense
training began in anticipation of paratroopers fighting it out in the
desert with the heavily armored Iraqi army; their training concentrated
on chemical defense, anti-armor tactics and live-fire maneuver exer-
cises; the battle cry picked up by the paratroopers was "The road home
... is through Baghdad."; and
WHEREAS, On January 16, 1991, Operation DESERT STORM began when an
armada of Allied war planes pounded Iraqi targets; the ground war began
six weeks later on February 23, 1991, with the 82nd conducting flanking
movements deep inside Iraq; and
WHEREAS, After the liberation of Kuwait, the 82nd began deployment
back to Fort Bragg, with most of the division returning by the end of

April of 1991; when America was attacked on September 11, 2001, Presi-
dent George W. Bush called upon the American military to fight global
terrorism; and
WHEREAS, In June of 2002, Task Force Panther, comprised of elements
from the 505th Infantry and other 82nd units, deployed to Afghanistan in
support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF); Task Force Devil, comprised
of the 504th Infantry and support elements replaced Task Force Panther
in January of 2003; and
WHEREAS, In February of 2003, 2nd Brigade, deployed with the Division
Headquarters to Kuwait in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF); the
Division conducted sustained combat operations throughout Iraq; the 2nd
Brigade remained in Iraq attached to the 1st Armored Division and
continued to conduct combat missions; and
WHEREAS, The Division Headquarters along with 3rd Brigade and elements
of Division Artillery, Division Support Command, and Aviation returned
to Iraq in August of 2003 to continue command and control over combat
operations in and around Baghdad; and
WHEREAS, The 1st Brigade deployed to conduct combat operations in OIF,
in January of 2004, and the 2nd Brigade redeployed to Fort Bragg in
February; the Division Headquarters was relieved by the 1st Marine
Expeditionary Division in March of 2004, and the remaining 82nd forces
in Iraq redeployed to Fort Bragg by the end of April of 2004; and
.SO DOC S R6120 RESO TEXT 2015
WHEREAS, In September of 2004, the 82nd's Deployment Ready Force,
1-505 deployed in support of OEF6, supporting Joint Task Force -76 and
the Afghanistan elections; in December of 2004, the 82nd's 1-17th Caval-
ry, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 325th Infantry deployed to Iraq to
provide a safe and secure environment for the country's first-ever free
national elections; in September 2005, Task Force 2- 325 and Task Force
3-504 deployed to Iraq in support of the Iraqi national elections once
again, and units redeployed in December of 2005 and January of 2006
respectively; and
WHEREAS, More than 3,600 Paratroopers from the 82nd, conducted a
no-notice deployment in support of Joint Task Force Katrina for Opera-
tion All American Assist on September 3, 2005; while supporting relief
efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Task Force led daily
search-and-rescue operations in high water areas, resulting in more than
900 people and countless pets rescued; additionally, they evacuated
almost 5,000 residents from throughout New Orleans and the surrounding
area; and
WHEREAS, In June of 2006, the Division was reorganized into a modular
division structure which included the 1st Brigade Combat Team, the 2nd
Brigade Combat Team, the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, the 4th Brigade Combat
Team, the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, and the Headquarter and Head-
quarters Battalion; and
WHEREAS, The 2nd Brigade Combat Team deployed to OIF in January of
2007, as the lead brigade of General Petraeus' Surge Strategy to reclaim
Baghdad from insurgents and the 1st Brigade Combat Team deployed to Iraq
to provide theater security throughout the country; and
WHEREAS, The Division Headquarters and Division Special Troops Battal-
ion (IF Gladius) and other Division elements deployed to Afghanistan in
early 2007 for a 15-month assignment as Combined Joint Task Force 82
(CJTF-82) and the United States troop contribution to NATO's Interna-
tional Security Assistance Force (ISAF); and
WHEREAS, During Operation ENDURING FREEDOM VIII, CRT-82, commanded by
Major General David M. Rodriguez, served as the National Command Element
for over 27,000 United States Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and
civilians in Afghanistan; in 2009, 2nd Brigade Combat Team assumed the
role as the ground component of the Global Response Force for the

Department of Defense, and in 2010, they deployed to Haiti in support of
humanitarian relief following a devastating earthquake; and
WHEREAS, The 82nd Airborne Division received orders from Forces
Command on March 2, 2009, to prepare, once again, for deployment in
support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM; they departed in May of 2009, for
Regional Command East (RC-E), Afghanistan, and accepted the transition
of authority from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) on June 3,
2009; the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the division, along with 700 addi-
tional training and support personnel, arrived in the country in August
of 2009, and took up positions in RC - West and South; and
WHEREAS, CJTF-82s mission was to support the Government of the Islamic
Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) in rebuilding the region's security
forces, social institutions, including governance, economics, and
infrastructure, while neutralizing an insurgency hindering regional
stability; in May of 2011, 2nd Brigade Combat Team deployed to Iraq in
support of Operation NEW DAWN; and
WHEREAS, Today, as they have in recent deployments and throughout the
Division's history, the troopers who wear the red, white and blue patch
of the 82nd Airborne Division are truly America's Guard of Honor; and
WHEREAS, Our Nation's veterans deserve to be recognized, commended and
thanked by the people of the State of New York for their service and for
their dedication to their communities, their State and their Nation;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the Walter E. Hughes Tri-State Mid-
Hudson Chapter of the 82nd Airborne Division Association Inc. on August
14, 2016; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the Walter E. Hughes Tri-State Mid-Hudson Chapter of the 82nd
Airborne Division Association Inc.