325th Glider Infantry Regiment " Let's Go"

Commanded by Colonel Walter M. Whitman, the 325th Regiment was officially activated as part of the 82nd Division on 25 August 1917 at Camp Gordon, near Atlanta, Georgia. Being a National Army division, the regiment was composed of draftees. The only personnel actually assigned to the regiment however, were a small cadre charged with the task of preparing for the thousands of draftees who would soon be flooding the camp.

The unit of which the 325th Regiment was a member, the 82nd Division was comprised of officers and soldiers from what most would consider the "Deep South". This changed a few weeks into the training program. The War Department issued orders instructing the division to send all of its soldiers, minus a 783 man training cadre to other camps. Leaders watched as their soldiers departed to be replaced by soldiers from all regions of the United States. It was noted that the 82nd Division was now made up of soldiers from every state in the union. It is from this fact that the 82nd Division received its nickname "The All American Division" and is represented by the "Double A" patch worn today.

World War II
After the war, the colors of the 325th Regiment were cased but were to be unveiled once again on March 25, 1942 under the command of Colonel Claudius Easley. Located at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, the Regiment was again to be part of the 82nd Division. Late in July 1943, the heavy equipment arrived that would turn the regiment into the 325th Motorized Infantry Regiment.This suddenly changed when the Chief of Staff, General Marshall had decided that the 82nd Division would be an excellent division to use as a base for his proposed Airborne force. General Omar Bradley, because of his excellent work in training the 82nd Division, was to be transferred to the 28th Division which was having a great deal of trouble in meeting its training objectives. General Matthew Ridgway, the 82nd Assistant Division Commander, would become its Commander.

The 325th Glider Infantry Regiment was formed and given the task of arriving into battle by glider. Parachutes could, and often did, wind up scattered for miles on a drop zone. The same held true for equipment and supplies. The glider was the answer to all these problems. As long as a glider stayed in one piece, the items inside it would too. This meant no more searching through the swamp looking for the missing barrel to a Howitzer. Jeeps could also fit into a glider. Best of all, troops could be put into a glider and land as a coherent fighting unit.

The 325th GIR Website: http://325th.boards.net/

The 325th GIR Server IP: 74.91.120.45:27015