Cantigny welcomes Big Red One vets
The First Division Museum at Cantigny Park this month will welcome veterans of the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division, known as the "Big Red One," for a national reunion.
The reunion will be conducted Wednesday to Sunday, June 17 to 21, at the Westin hotel in Lombard by the Society of the First Infantry Division, headquartered in Ambler, Pennsylvania.
The First Division Museum invites veterans attending the reunion to visit Cantigny Park for tours of the museums and gardens and to play golf. The museum's largest artifacts, including a World War II landing craft and Vietnam-era UH-1 Huey helicopter, will be on display especially for the reunion, as well as for the general public.
The 1st Infantry Division is the Army's oldest division. It served with great distinction in World War I, World War II, Vietnam and Desert Storm, as well as in Germany and the U.S. during the Cold War. Elements of the 1st Infantry Division have participated extensively in Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq and in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
The annual Big Red One reunion draws upward of 600 veterans from around the country. Cantigny last hosted the event in 2004. Those who served in the 1st Infantry Division or any unit attached to it are encouraged to attend. Further details, including the reunion schedule of events, are online at 1stid.org.
To contact the First Division Museum at Cantigny, 1S151 Winfield Road, Wheaton, call (630) 260-8130 or visit firstdivisionmuseum.org.