22-05-2025
82nd Airborne Division inducts 7 into 2025 Hall of Fame: 'It makes you humble'
FORT BRAGG — The first time retired Command Sgt. Maj. Andrew McFowler arrived at the 82nd Airborne Division, he was a battalion sergeant major on the corner of Ardennes Street.
Several years later, he was a brigade sergeant major for the 3rd Brigade Combat team when his team was pulled from conducting live fire exercises at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Johnson, Louisiana, and ordered to return to Fort Bragg to prepare for deployment.
McFowler and his brigade were sent to the Middle East for combat operations in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
On May 21, McFowler again stood near Ardennes Street to become one of seven paratroopers inducted into the 82nd Airborne Division's Hall of Fame this year.
'There are so many great people in this division, and they picked a few and it makes you say, 'What did I do to get this,'' McFowler said ahead of the ceremony. 'It makes you humble.'
McFowler said that during his 35 years in the Army, which ended in 2001 when he was the senior enlisted leader for the U.S. Army Forces Command, he considered his assignments in the 82nd among the best he ever had.
The latest paratroopers inducted into the Hall of Fame are among 85 others in the division's 107-year history 'whose reputations will never decay among All Americans,' current division commander Maj. Gen. James 'Pat' Work said during the induction ceremony.
'They inspired leaders and led alike when the stakes were high,' Work said.
This year's inductees served between 1975 and 2020 and led in roles from squad leader to division commander, Work said.
Two were division commanders, one was a division command sereant major and three were brigade command sergeants major.
'Their journeys through Grenada, Panama, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan led to this Hall of Heroes. Each story is compelling in its own merits,' Work said.
Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Cliff Burgyone is another inductee.
Burgoyne was senior enlisted leader for the division from October 2019 to July 2020 and retired from the Army as the senior enlisted leader of III Corps after 37 years of service.
Following the ceremony, Burgoyne said that when he first enlisted in the Army, his dream job was to be an airborne first sergeant.
'You serve in the division really to protect our nation. This is who we call, we call the 82nd Airborne Division when there's a problem in the world, and you have to be ready,' he said.
Burgoyne said he is humbled to be part of the Hall Fame with others who helped develop him and others to be successful in the Army and life.
'If you take a look at the people in the crowd, they're the people and the legacy of this division,' he said.
Paratroopers, Burgoyne said, are willing to do anything for their fellow paratrooper, regardless of the sacrifice.
He said he is glad his son-in-law and daughter are now part of the division's legacy.
'What I'm proud of is just watching young paratroopers doing things without fear,' Burgoyne said. 'It's unique, because it's not taught.'
Other paratroopers inducted into the division's Hall of Fame this year are:
• Retired Gen. Richard D. Clarke, who was a a battalion commander in the division when he prepared and deployed his unit twice on short notices during the initial phases of the Global War on Terror.
Clarke was commander of the 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, deploying from January-June 2003 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and from January-April 2004 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Eleven years later he commanded the division and deployed with the headquarters, which served the Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command Headquarters during Operation Inherent Resolve.
Clarke retired from the Army in October 2002 as commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida.
• Retired Lt. Gen. William Steele, who served in multiple roles in the division including battalion commander of the 2nd Battalion, 504th Infantry, and as division commander from 1993 to 1995, when he mobilized the division during Operation Uphold Democracy. The operation led to an airborne assault to oust Haiti dictator Raoul Cedras and restore democracy. Steele and the first wave of paratroopers were ready for combat assault when Cedras stepped down knowing that 61 C-130s were full of paratroopers en route. Steele retired from the Army as commander of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 2001.
• Retired Command Sgt. Maj. L. Barnard Basnight, who was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 325th Infantry not long after enlisting in 1975.
Basnight rose through the ranks, becoming command sergeant major for the Combat Aviation Brigade. Since retiring in 2006 from the Victory Brigade at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, Basnight has continued to contribute as a military and veteran advocate in the 82nd Airborne Division Association, Veterans of Foreign Wars and other organizations.
• Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Rodger Blackwood, who was a leader in Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 73rd Armor. He helped integrate airborne armor for the division's rapid deployment capabilities and was part of the first Sheridan tank element from the 82nd to deploy during Operations Desert Shield and Storm, playing a critical role in the capture of Ali Al Salem Airfield in Kuwait.
Blackwood retired from the Army in 2013 as the senior enlisted leader for the U.S. Army Cyber Command.
• Retired Command Sgt. Maj. David C. Henderson, who served as first sergeant for the 4th Battalion, 325th Infantry Regiment when it had a key role during the seizure of Omar Torrijos International Airport and Fort Cimarron in Panama during Operation Just Cause. Henderson also deployed with the division during Operation Desert Shield and spearheaded response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Henderson retired from the Army in 1999 as the senior enlisted leader for the division's 1st Brigade Combat Team.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Who was inducted into the 82nd Airborne Division Hall of Fame 2025?
