In celebration of the 99th birthday of the “Big Red One” and the 241 st birthday of the Army, the 1st Infantry Division will host its annual Victory Week starting Monday. The public is invited to witness events of camaraderie and remembrance throughout the week.
Victory Week officially begins with the Victory Run around Fort Riley’s Custer Hill at 6:30 a.m. Monday morning.
Members of the public are encouraged to attend Victory Week unit sporting events, which will begin Monday with basketball, bowling, softball, soccer, flag football, Danger’s Dash, skeet and trap shoot, arm wrestling, a biathlon, fishing and the Warrior Competition. Other sporting events include combatives, weightlifting, a tug of war and the Ten-Miler race.
The division will look to the future Monday with the signing of the 100th Anniversary Committee Charter. The Big Red One will celebrate 100 years as the nation’s first division in 2017, and the signing will establish the 100th Anniversary committee and provide a framework from which the committee can plan events for the next three years.
Also that day, a D-Day Commemoration Ceremony will celebrate the 1 st Inf. Div.’s role in World War II and honor those who died in the assault on Omaha Beach. While Victory Week is a time for celebration, it is also a time to honor the sacrifices made by men and women who fell while serving with the division. Traditionally, the names of troops who died in the previous year while serving with the division are etched into stones that are unveiled in Victory Park. With no new stones to add this year, all those from the 1st Inf. Div. who have made the ultimate sacrifice will be remembered in a wreath-laying ceremony at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in Victory Park.
The 1 st Inf. Div. and Fort Riley will honor all veterans of the Vietnam War with a welcome-home ceremony at 2:30 p.m. also on Wednesday. Veterans of the war are invited to attend and receive the well-earned welcome home and thank you they may not have received decades ago. Members of the public are encouraged to attend the ceremony on Marshall Army Airfield to extend their gratitude to these brave individuals. For more information, see www.riley.army.mil/vietnamveteranswelcome.
Victory Week will conclude Friday with a Division Review and Victory Cup Ceremony, where the unit that earned the most points competing in qualifying sporting events throughout the week is named the winner.
Please note that visitors to Fort Riley who do not have Department of Defense ID cards will need to obtain a Fort Riley Access Pass or badge at the Visitor Control Center, Building 885, located just outside the Henry Gate Access Control Point. As wait times for passes can increase during periods of higher traffic, Fort Riley encourages visitors to apply for a temporary pass or badge early by stopping by the Visitor Control Center, calling (785) 239-2982 or emailing usarmy.riley.imcom-central.mbx.des- vcc@mail.mil.
