Sam Brownback: “on June 8, 1917, the U.S. Army officially organized the First Expeditionary Division. That means tomorrow is the 90th…”

“on June 8, 1917, the U.S. Army officially organized the First Expeditionary Division. That means tomorrow is the 90th anniversary of what is now known as the 1st Infantry Division or the ``Big Red One,'' headquartered at Fort Riley, KS. The Big Red One has an unsurpassed history of answering the call to duty, and it is vital to our Nation's fight against determined enemies. We are fortunate to have these fine soldiers defending our freedom. As the oldest, continuously serving division in the history of the U.S. Army, the Big Red One enjoys a long and proud tradition of defending America. It also has a tradition of being the first. During World War II, Big Red One was the first to reach England, the first to capture a German city, the first to fight in North Africa, and the first on the beaches of Normandy on D-day. It was the first division to deploy to Vietnam and spearheaded the armored attack into Iraq at the start of Desert Storm. The Big Red One has a long and proud heritage that we should honor and celebrate. On August 1, 2006, I was proud to welcome the Big Red One's headquarters back to Fort Riley, KS. The division has a vital, new mission of training military transition teams for both Iraq and Afghanistan.”