Photo By Spc. Jennifer Brady | Master Sgt. Cedric King, a paratrooper assigned to the Warrior Transition Battalion at...... read more read more
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FORT BRAGG, N.C. - It was barely sunrise but the humidity felt like it had already reached its peak. A loud bang and a thick cloud of smoke from the howitzers filled the air. As the sun rose over the eastern skyline, it shone upon an endless wave of 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers.
Although they had just started their trek, the humid air had already covered some of their faces with beads of sweat.
It was only a four-mile run down Longstreet Road, a route every division paratrooper completes regularly. However, one motivated paratrooper knew it would be a challenge. He knew he had to push himself to reach the end as he began to struggle at the last stretch. He had started out leading the All American Week Division Run formation, but now found himself being almost defeated by the hill that he had already conquered so many times before.
For the first time since losing his legs in Afghanistan, Master Sgt. Cedric King, a paratrooper assigned to the Warrior Transition Battalion at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, returned to participate in the opening event of the Division’s All American Week, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, May 18, 2015.
King was one of more than 15,000 paratroopers to participate in this year’s run, supported by a strong airborne community of family, friends, and veterans.
King said that over the years spent in the division, he started seeing All American Week for what it really was, instead of just running and playing sports. It’s a way for paratroopers to interact with the veterans of the division and to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation.
“As I continued to do this, I started seeing that it was more than just a formation, that it was more than just standing on Pike Field. It’s more than that. It’s a legacy and I’m coming back and being a part of that.”
King’s story began in 2012 while deployed with 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. During a foot patrol in Afghanistan, he stepped on a pressure plate improvised explosive device. He was medically evacuated to Walter Reed, where he began his long path to recovery.
“This injury kicked my butt,” he said. “I didn’t want the injury to have the last say so.”
With a never-quit mentality honed during his time in division, King continuously pushed himself during his recovery.
“This place teaches you, when you fall down, you get back up. You keep fighting. You keep competing,” said King. “Just because I got my legs blown off doesn’t mean I [have] to stop coming to run and compete.”
King said he “begged” Brig. Gen. Brian Winski, the 82nd Airborne Division deputy commanding general-operations, for a chance to participate in the run.
“I told him, ‘Sir, I think I can do it. I think I can run the whole run without stopping,’” King recalls of his conversation with Winski.
King came from Maryland to North Carolina to be able to run with the division. Even though King struggled during the run, he continued to push through to the finish line with the help and encouragement of his fellow paratroopers.
“I gave it all I had and I couldn’t come up that hill no more, but I still kept making forward progress,” he said. “If I gave everything, there’s room for me to get better. How are you going to get better if you didn’t give it all?”
Next month, King will be moving back to his home in Spring Lake, North Carolina. King is set to retire in three weeks, but he said it would not be the last time he will set foot on the streets of Fort Bragg.
“You better believe [you’ll] see me out here,” King said. “I’m going to be back here next month running down Ardennes [Road].”
He said he would be back stronger and faster next year.
“I’m going to run it next year with them,” he said. “I’m going to bust them next year.”
| Date Taken: | 05.21.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 05.22.2015 12:47 |
| Story ID: | 164280 |
| Location: | FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 139 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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