Veteran 82nd Airborne paratrooper honored as grand marshal of 2024 Philadelphia Veterans Parade

It's been 60 years since Albert El wore his uniform overseas.

He first joined the U.S. Army National Guard in 1959, later becoming active duty.

"I was in artillery," says El. "I was gonna be an aerial photographer."

He says that was his original assignment, but after he went to Fort Bragg for airborne training, he took a different path and never did photography.

The Army was short on artillery, so he ended up volunteering for an elite infantry unit. El became a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army.

"I have over 30 something jumps," he says. "But we did search and rescue."

El points out the wings on his uniform from an early picture of himself in the service.

"You're volunteering to do this mission because the government need it done," he says.

Stationed in Okinawa, he served in Taiwan and Korea. He says in the military, "you meet so many different people."

"I was the only brother in the unit," says El. "But we're all one, cause we willing to die for each other."

He says that if you're a veteran, "you my brother."

El left the military in 1964, but he continued his mission of serving.

"On Thursdays I go to veterans court," he says. "I'm one of the senior mentors."

He also uses his passion for history to inform the present.

El has paintings of different military regiments, like the Buffalo Soldiers, and says he likes to share the history.

He collects historic items for the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs (VA) Museum, where he's volunteered for more than two decades. The museum is inside the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

"I'm the curator and I run the museum," he says. "It's the military history people normally don't get, don't even know about."

He's also bringing that history to life as a reenactor.

"I'm the president of the Third Regiment, United States Colored Troops," says El.

The Philadelphia native will be the grand marshal in this year's Veterans Day Parade.

"I went to Edison High School," he says. "We had the largest amount killed in Vietnam than any other high school in the country."

While El says he feels good about being chosen as the parade's grand marshal, he adds that "all veterans should be recognized."