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All American Week 2023 kicks off with paratroopers' run

An entire week of events to honor and celebrate military members and families kicked off Monday at Fort Bragg with the 4-mile All-American Run.
Posted 2023-05-19T14:03:43+00:00 - Updated 2023-05-23T09:16:53+00:00

An entire week of events to honor and celebrate military members and families kicked off Monday at Fort Bragg with the 4-mile All-American Run.

The tradition – a celebration of the soldiers and their service – dates to 1986 and began with 18,000 paratroopers pounding the pavement along Long Street.

"I look at these flat-bellied, barrel-chested men and women and I'm impressed," said retired Army Gen. Arnold Gordon. "They always remind me that our best generation is still yet to come."

Among the spectators was Jim Borer, who came all the way from California to celebrate with his son.

"I did manage to find my son – who's a company commander of D4 – as they ran by," he said. "I really didn't expect that given the mass of humanity out there representing all of us and doing their part for a free world."

In 2023, All American Week honors the 40th Anniversary of the 82nd Airborne Division's role during the nation's invasion of Grenada in 1983. It's also a chance to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Serving as a paratrooper brings an incredible esprit de corps and camaraderie, much of it forged on the battlefield.

"There's something about when everyone comes back and you relieve all those old memories, all those old friendships that never really went away," said Maj. Gen. Christopher Laneve, 82nd Airborne commander.

The All American run is just the start of a week of competitions and celebrations as the paratrooper vie for the Commander;'s Trophy.

All American Week runs May 22 to May 25 at Fort Bragg. It will be the last All American Week at Fort Bragg before it is renamed Fort Liberty.

Other events include:

May 22: Old Timers Breakfast at the 2nd Brigade Combat Team’s Falcon Café

May 23: All American Week 10-Miler at Simmons Airfield, Prayer Breakfast at the Iron Mike Conference Center, 82nd Airborne Division Memorial Ceremony at the 82nd Airborne Museum and Family Fun Run on Ardennes Street.

May 24: All American Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the 82nd Airborne Division’s Hall of Heroes

May 25: 82nd Airborne Division Review on Pike Field

See a full list of events online.

There are also sports competitions and a 34-foot tower viewing on the first three days of the festival at the U.S. Army Advanced Airborne School. The events are open to veterans, service members and families, and some are open to the public.

All American Week took a two-year break during the COVID-19 pandemic but returned in 2022. Organizers said All American Week 2023 will honor the 40th anniversary of Operation Urgent Fury: the United States' invasion of Grenada in 1983.

"All American Week gives paratroopers, past and present, a chance to celebrate their service in America’s Guard of Honor and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice," organizers said.

All American Week is designed to highlight the legacy of the Fort Bragg unit known as America's Guard of Honor.

"We are the nation's immediate response force," Ltc. Brett Lea, spokesperson for the 82nd Airborne Division, said last year. "We are the people who answer the call when the president calls, and we are able to deploy anywhere in the world in 18 hours. To deploy, fight and win."

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