On May 2, 1966, Third Army General Order 161 directed the activation of a Basic Combat Training Center at Fort Campbell. In January 1968 the remainder of the 101st joined the “Always First” Brigade during Operation Eagle Thrust where, for the first time, an entire division was deployed by air into a combat zone.

The 1st Brigade was sent for duty in Vietnam in July 1965. This was the official ceremony reactivating the famed “Screaming Eagles” of World War II. T.L.Sherbourne, the first commander of the new “PENATOMIC” airborne division. Taylor presented the colors of the 101st Airborne Division to Maj. 21, 1956, Secretary of the Army Wilbur M. In April 1950, the post became a permanent installation and was re-designated Fort Campbell. The 11th was in residence there until early 1956. In the spring of 1949, the 11th Airborne Division arrived at Campbell following occupation duty in Japan. Following WWII Camp Campbell was selected as a storage site for nuclear weapons, this storage site became known as “Clarksville Base” and was a top secret installation that at one time held 1/3rd of America’s nuclear arsenal. From that time until the end of World War II, Camp Campbell was the training ground for the 12th, 14th and 20th armored divisions, Headquarters IV Armored Corps and the 26th Infantry Division. Early in the summer of 1942, the post’s initial cadre, one officer and 19 enlisted men, arrived from Fort Knox, Kentucky. Within a year, the reservation designated as Camp Campbell was developed to accommodate one armored division and various support troops, or a total of 23,000 men.

The site was selected July 16, 1941, with construction beginning Feb. He was elected colonel of the First Tennessee Volunteers, the “Bloody First,” and is remembered in history as he led his regiment in the storming of Monterey in 1846 with the cry, “Boys, follow me!” The post is located between Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee. William Bowen Campbell, the last Whig governor of Tennessee. Fort Campbell, Kentucky, is named in honor of Brig.

Special forces gunship 1957-1959