"Triple Nickle" - I've Learned Something New...

[Panther_99FS]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/25/black.paratrooper/index.html

[jmig]

I went there thinking it was about the 555 fighter Sqd. I am glad I did. That was very educational. Thanks for the link, P.

[rpjkw]

Great link, GREAT read! :medals: Thanks, P.

Bob

[Cazzie]

Thanks P., a great read.

[cheezyflier]

very cool. i love to learn about people who refuse to held back no matter what.

[TeaSea]

No secret in the Airborne community...we all know who the "triple nickel" were.

Now, some years ago, a good friend of mine was aide-de-camp to a General officer, who was asked to speak at a reunion of the 555th. This particular officer (who though retired, is still active in the training of deploying forces, and therefore will not be identified in this forum) was a fine soldier and paratrooper, excellent leader, and a great speaker.....unfortunately, history was not his strong suit.

He'd been asked to speak to these WWII era paratroopers, and that's all he knew. (In the Airborne community, a WWII Paratrooper is like a god).

So, our general, who in the spirit of the evening has had more than a few, and is none too steady on his feet, gets up to speak. He goes on to extol the virtues of these older gentlemen having met the enemy in combat, defeated the Nazi's and lived to tell the tale...at which point the audience becomes a little subdued....since they had been denied the opportunity for European or Pacific combat. My buddy leaned forward at this point and tugged on the General's sleeve and said "sir, the 555th wasn't deployed to Europe or the Pacific, they were not allowed."

There was a pause, and then our General blurted out over the open mike (please remember, this room was filled by these distinguished older men and their wives) ---

"Well they should ******ing well have been deployed, they were paratroopers weren't they!?"

At which point the room erupts in thunderous applause and adulation, the little faux paus completely erased, our General a hero, the 555th reunion members ecstatic, the wives embarrassed, and they all went on to get completely drunk.

True story.

The 555th basically developed many of the techniques used by smokejumpers in both Canada and the U.S. and was the basis for these firefight techniques. Due to the concern over advertising to the Japanese that their attack was even potentially causing concern, their work during the war was kept very quite, hence our General's general (pun intended) ignorance of the subject. That should not take away from their very real contribution to the war effort.

[Ken Stallings]

All of these African-American soldiers earned so much more than we ever afforded them. That general earned himself a drink with that recovery! I cannot imagine the indignity of seeing POW's afforded privileges not accorded to yourself by your own nation!

Ken

[Panther_99FS]

TeaSea,
Thanks for that tidbit :ernae:

[TeaSea]

I was told that story by my buddy, the aide-de-camp some years ago, and actually had a chance to confirm it with the General himself in an Irish bar in Stuttgart, after consuming multiple Black and Tans. Both the General and I were retired at that point...as is my friend the aid.

There's a large organization of 555th vets here in Tampa, and a few were involved in OEF/OIF Vets support here. We have the large VA hospital in St. Pete.