Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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Here We Go, All the Way: Celebrating National Airborne Day by STEPHANIE CRIDER While the fi rst offi cial Army parachute jumped took place on Aug. 16, 1940, it was in August of 2002 that then President George W. Bush proclaimed Aug. 16, as National Airborne Day. Since then, the Airborne & Special Operations Museum (ASOM) has celebrated the event with gusto each year. This year, National Airborne Day will be celebrated on Saturday, Aug. 13. Pre- ceremony music will start at 9:30 a.m., followed by a parachute demonstration at 10 a.m., and then the opening ceremony, which will include a performance by the 82nd Airborne Chorus, will begin. If you can’t make it to the ceremony, don’t worry; the chorus will perform again at 11:30 a.m., and 12:15 p.m. The freefall exhibition just happens once, though, and it is defi nitely a must-see event. In the spirit of Airborne brotherhood and camaraderie, the jump team represents several airborne entities. “It is a combined team,” said Paul Galloway, Executive Director for the Airborne Special Operations Museum Foundation. “We have the Golden Knights representing the U.S. Army; the 82nd Airborne Division All-American Freefall Team, which represents the airborne paratroopers, and the Black Daggers from USASOC representing special ops.” Some of the day’s activities include a special forces ODA Team. “That stands for Operational Detachment A-team, which is a Special Forces team — it is the Green Berets,” said Galloway. “They will have their ‘toys’ with them. That display will be in the lobby.” Meet the folks who pack the parachutes that bring the paratroopers to safety. They will be doing packing demos throughout the day. Another favorite to keep an eye out for is the 82nd Airborne Division static display. The military police will have a display, too, which usually includes some armored humvees. Galloway noted that there are usually asurgical hospital tent and a 155 howitzer at the event, too. World War II re-enactors are usually a big hit at National Airborne Day as well. It’s usually warm out, so plan to visit the MWR tent, where they will have snacks and refreshments for sale. In years past, about 2,000 to 2,500 people would attend. Last year though, attendance reached nearly 4,000, an occurrence that Galloway attributes to two things; “The change from last year — and this is ongoing — is that the 18th Airborne Corps Commander AND the Mayor invite you to the event. Now, it is a joint event with the Army and the city of Fayetteville. We also dedicated Iron Mike last year.” Iron Mike’s relocation from Fort Bragg to ASOM was a big deal indeed, and this year there is yet another great reason to draw big crowds — the N.C. Veterans Park that opened on July 4. “What I hope for, is that those who come down for National Airborne Day will see it and will stop and enjoy it, and that they will take that experience home and share it so more people will come,” said Galloway. “The Veteran’s Park is seeing a lot of visitors since it opened. What we are seeing is that a lot of people who are visiting them are visiting us and vice versa, which is exactly what we want.” Although the day’s events end at 3 p.m., the museum will be open until 5 p.m. ASOM has many fi ne exhibits, but Galloway pointed out that some of the best exhibits are living, breathing and walking around among the museum visitors. “We’ve got great volunteers who have amazing stories,” said Galloway. “And the main thing the volunteers are asked to do is to share a story and listen to a story. Our tag line is ‘The Legend Continues.’ We are an educational platform, and we want to share the exploits of the airborne and special operations soldiers and pass along the ethics and basically the characteristics of today’s military that are very positive and very important for the young people of America to know.” Celebrate America’s heroes and our community’s paratrooper heritage everyday, but especially on Saturday Aug. 13, National Airborne Day, at ASOM. Find out more at http://www.asomf.org/pages/news_pr_detail.php. STEPHANIE CRIDER, Associate Editor, Up & Coming Weekly, COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. Serving Lunch THE and Dinner MONDAY • Martini Monday’s, $3 Flavored Martinis WEDNESDAY • $2 Cocktails THURSDAY • $1 Beers FRIDAY • Drink Specials 7 Available for Hail and Farewells, Corporate and Private Functions. 102 Person St. • Fayetteville • 910-222-8237 Al bl fl d WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM SATURDAY • $5 Flavored Martinis ll Cd 102 P S F ill 910 222 8237 AUGUST 10-16, 2011 UCW 9 Week Live DJs Each Night Days a