Benning to mark 75th anniversary of paratrooper

Fort Benning will pay homage to its past on Saturday by celebrating the 75th anniversary of the American paratrooper at Lawson Army Airfield.

The event, which is open to the public, begins at 8 a.m. and commemorates the first jump at Fort Benning.

In 1940, the War Department approved the formation of a test platoon of Airborne Infantry from Fort Benning's 29th Infantry Regiment. About six weeks after the platoon was formed, the first jump was made over Lawson Army Field on Aug. 16, 1940.

The Liberty Jump team, a group of civilian World War II airborne re-enactors, will drop into the airfield from a C-47, the type of plane used during most World War II airborne assaults. The Liberty Jump team is scheduled to jump into Lawson Army Airfield Saturday at 9 a.m. "We have quite a lineup," said Lt. Col. Korey Brown, commander

of the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment. "It looks like right now the Liberty jumpers have 13 and it could go to as many as 18 by Saturday. They are going to jump in World War II uniforms and it will be a real throwback to 75 years ago." The event will feature the modern-day paratrooper force as they jump from UH-60 helicopters, a C-130, and a C-17 over the airfield.

"The fact that we will go from the past to the present is neat," Brown said.

The planes and helicopters will be on display after the jumps.

This story was originally published August 13, 2015 at 10:28 PM with the headline "Benning to mark 75th anniversary of paratrooper ."