Before members of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Association arranged to meet Friday to celebrate the combat group's 100th anniversary, most had no idea how old the brigade actually was.
Association President Terry Aubrey said he thought the brigade, which was the first army combat unit to go to Vietnam and the last to leave, had been formed in Okinawa in 1963. But a few months ago, Aubrey said, he found out the brigade actually had roots in Arkansas, dating back to 1917.
Aubrey said about 75 active duty and retired members of the brigade still live within a two-hour radius from North Little Rock, where about 20 members gathered for an anniversary celebration at Camp Robinson's Arkansas National Guard Museum on Friday.
"They have a little kick in their step," Aubrey said of the troops. "Even though we are as old as we are, we still think we're the bee's knees."
According to the association, the 173rd Infantry Brigade was formed in 1917 in North Little Rock at Camp Pike, which has since been converted to Camp Robinson. It sent troops to both world wars.
In 1963, the 173rd was reorganized as an airborne brigade in Okinawa. Taiwanese soldiers observing the troops' parachute jumps and gave them the nickname "sky soldiers," which they still use today.
A few men in the room raised their hands when keynote speaker Col. Franklin Powell asked who had made one of the famous parachute jumps with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Powell thanked them for their service.
"I know you lost a lot of friends there, just as we've lost a lot of friends in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places," Powell said. "We would not be the military we are today if not for you gentlemen. You learn your tactics, techniques and procedures from those before you."
In 2000, the 173rd Airborne Brigade was reactivated again in its current home base in Vicenza, Italy, after brigades were inactivated in the 1990s after the Cold War. Its troops have since served five tours in the Middle East, including the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and four tours in Afghanistan.
Friday afternoon, brigade members mingled in the Arkansas National Guard Museum, admiring old rifles, flags and photographs.
Aubrey encouraged them to collect and donate their own war memorabilia. The museum doesn't have any items from what he said is the most highly decorated brigade in the army since the Vietnam War.
Aubrey said the brigade's members are close-knit, having weathered conflict together.
"When I go to other bases, they'll wear their combat patch on their shoulder," he said. "It's not like being in the herd. If you wear the patch, it doesn't matter. We got you."
Retired brigade member Don Walton said he and a friend from the brigade traveled about three hours from Oklahoma to attend Friday's ceremony. Walton said about 500 people attended the group's reunion in Italy in July.
"I felt it was the thing to do," Walton said of attending the events. "We're a veterans' organization, and we're there for each other."
Metro on 08/26/2017