Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Jerry Griffis | Brig. Gen. William A. Turner, acting commander, 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley,...... read more read more
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More than 250 Veterans and their families from the Society of the 1st Infantry Division received a tour of Fort Riley and visited with active-duty Soldiers from the division July 27.
The visit coincided with the 98th reunion of the society, which is hosted annually. This year, Kansas City was chosen for the venue due to the proximity to Fort Riley and the fact the division celebrated its 100th anniversary this year.
The visit provided an opportunity to visit with active-duty Soldiers on Fort Riley and see both the differences and similarities that exist in today’s Army and those of years past.
“I got to talk to people from all across the country,” said Cpl. Devin Harward, a cavalry scout with 5th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Inf. Div., “which just goes to show, at least for me, it doesn’t matter where you are from, you can do something great for your country.”
The group began at the division headquarters, where the veterans received a tour of the headquarters building and Victory Park, located just outside. The tour continued to the Cantigny Dining Facility, where division Soldiers, old and new, mingled, ate and laughed together.
K. Paul LeGrice, a company commander with 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, during Vietnam, was one of many veterans who spoke of their appreciation of the experience.
“The hospitality shown here today is great,” LeGrice said. “It is the first time I have been back on an active-duty base in 15 years and it’s nice to see all of this activity and to see Soldiers doing Soldier things.”
Harward and others waited outside the dining facility to welcome the veterans to Fort Riley.
“I think it must be pretty interesting to see how things have changed, improvements that have been made, things that have stayed the same in a lot of cases,” Harward said. “There are still those continuing on their legacy today.”
The group of veterans toured some of Fort Riley’s barracks and motor pools.
One veteran, Sie Moore, who was a sergeant in the Combat Aviation Brigade during Vietnam, visited Fort Riley for the first time. Moore chuckled after seeing the barracks on Fort Riley and commented that if he had known how good things were going to be, he would have stayed in.
Moore said it was just good to meet with the young Soldiers.
“It’s kind of like when you really have a good friend that you miss being around for a while and you reconnect and you have that same camaraderie, it’s like you have always been there,” Moore said. “So, the Soldiers of today, even though they are young and some are young enough to be my grandchildren …they still carry on a tradition just like I did, because then I was only 19.”
For some veterans, it was a time to catch up with old friends and reminisce about days past.
The Society of the 1st Infantry Division concluded their tour with a visit to the 1st Infantry Division Museum and the U.S. Cavalry Museum, both located on Fort Riley.
| Date Taken: | 07.27.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 08.04.2017 11:14 |
| Story ID: | 243732 |
| Location: | FORT RILEY, KS, US |
| Web Views: | 184 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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