Origins
Paratroopers are good vounteers! Hal Roed, 13th and 82nd Airborne Divisions, WWII, noted that there was little or no communication between the troopers of the local unit accociations acitve in the Twin Cities area. Phone calls to the various groups resulted in a meeting on March 19, 1996 at American Legion Post #435 in Richfield, MN. It was attended by veterans of the 13th, 17th, 82nd, & 101st ABN Div's, 187th ABN RCT and 173rd ABN Brigade.
At the meeting, discussion generally centered on a couple of questions.
- What are the pros and cons of forming a group that "All" Airborne qualified veterans could belong to regardless of branch or unit affiliation?
- Are there functions or purposes which such a group could provide that the unit associations were not.
The answer to both questions was, "YES"! Within a month, two more meetings were held that resulted in the naming of the group, MIDWEST ALL-AIRBORNE ALLIANCE and the design of the groups logo, patch as seen on our website masthead. Discussion started over what activities should be involved in.
May and June of 1996 were busy months for the group. Meetings were held weekly until the middle of June when planning was completed for the first "MIDWESTALL-AIRBORNE DAYS." All-Airborne Days have continued every year since then!
As time has passed, other Airborne Veterans have become active in the group; Rangers, Special Forces, Navy, ect.
Founding members
- 13th ABN Div
- Hal Roed
- 17th ABN Div
- Mel Therrien
- Bob Fergusen
- 82nd ABN Div
- Bob Erikson
- Dave Sepeda
- 173rd ABN BDE
- Trudell Gurerue Jr.
- 187th ABN RCT
- Dennis Wells
- Jerry Huntington
- Jack Miller
- 11th ABN Div
- Jack Running
- Rangers
- Emerson Gates
- Don Benjamin
- Special Forces
- John Roy
- John Murphy
- Bill Bray
- Roger Albertson
