History

When the United States Army wanted to expand its field artillery training facilities for World War I, it chose a site northwest of Fayetteville. They named it Camp Bragg in honor of North Carolina native and veteran of the Mexican-American War, Braxton Bragg. Camp Bragg, established in 1918, became a permanent post and was renamed Fort Bragg in 1922. Fort Bragg was renamed again to Fort Liberty on June 2, 2023.

Fort Liberty’s rich airborne history and tradition were informally launched in 1934 when artillery spotters jumped from a balloon platform. In 1940, Fort Liberty (Fort Bragg at the time) expanded overnight from a sleepy peacetime post of a few thousand soldiers to a sprawling training cantonment of more than 60,000 men. As a result of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States entered World War II, and thousands of troops were deployed for battlefronts in every corner of the world. In 1942, army airborne units trained at Fort Bragg. The post has been “Home of the Airborne” ever since. Today, Fort Liberty is the world’s largest airborne facility, with more than 45,000 military personnel. Among the 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Liberty is home to the 18th Airborne Corps, Special Operations, the “Green Berets,” Psychological Operations Command, the Delta Force, and the colorful “Golden Knights” of the U.S. Army Parachute Team. 

Sites to see

Non-military or Department of Defense (DOD) cardholders must obtain a visitor's pass to tour Fort Liberty. They can be obtained at the All-American gate. Once on base, visitors will find military monuments, the 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum, and the JFK Hall of Heroes.

The Patriots, Past & Present Trail