Three vets pass on

Joe Harris, believed to have been the oldest surviving WWII Paratrooper, died March 14 at the young age of 108. 72 jumps before he got out – hardly a 5 jump chump.

SGT Harris was a member of A Company of the 555th Parachute Infantry, aka the “Triple Nickels” or sometimes the “Buffalo Nickels.” They were an all-black unit of the US Army. (The Buffalo Nickels refers to the unit from which these men volunteered, the 92th “Buffalo” Division at Ft. Huachuca.

The unit was originally slated to become replacements during the Battle of the Bulge, but the crisis ameliorated (didn’t know I knew that word, huh) before they could be sent overseas. Instead, they were sent west on a top secret mission within the US.

Harris was among the last surviving members of the historic 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, nicknamed the Triple Nickles. The battalion helped protect the U.S. from deadly Japanese balloon bombs, according to Robert L. Bartlett, a retired Eastern Washington University professor who specializes in the 555th. In 1944 and 1945, the Japanese launched thousands of the balloons to be carried by the Pacific jet stream to the U.S. mainland to explode and start fires.  AP

The Japanese had launched 9,300 Fu-Go incendiary balloons toward the US, each with four incendiary bombs and a conventional explosive bomb.  Roughly 1000 made landfall, and a bit over 300 actually started fires.

In reaction to the German counterattack that began the Battle of Bulge, the Airborne Command considered reorganizing the 555th PIB as a single reinforced Airborne Rifle Company, and sending it to Europe to reinforce the battered Airborne units already there. However, before this could happen the crisis had passed, and the 555th PIB was instead alerted for deployment to the West Coast. The men of the 555th PIB hoped that they would get into the war against the Japanese, but that was not their new mission. According to Sergeant Walter Morris, “It was a secret mission called Operation Firefly. We thought we were going overseas to [Gen. Douglas] MacArthur’s theater.” It wasn’t until they arrived in Oregon, in May 1945, that they learned they would be fighting the Japanese on the fire line in the Western United States.

…The 555th worked on twenty-eight fires during the 1945 season. Of these, fifteen fires were “jumped” or parachuted to. While some United States Forest Service reports refer to some employees as smokejumpers, the 555th were reported as paratroopers on all fire reports.  Wiki

I’m guessing the Army wanted credit…regardless, these were early smoke jumpers. At a time when their country barely tolerated them, these men signed that famous blank check. Mr. Harris lived in Compton, CA and also retired from the Border Patrol.

H/t to Jeff LPH

Now, to the opposite extreme – Hollyweird.   Army vet Bruce Glover died March 12 at the age of 92, according to his son Crispin Glover (George McFly in the “Back to the Future” movies) .

His son isn’t the Hollywood connection – Mr. Glover was a legit Bond villain. Remember back to “Diamonds are Forever” – not to Jill St. John, although she was memorable at the very least – to Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd, the two assassins who kept trying to punch Mr. Bond (James Bond)’s ticket for good.  Hollywood Reporter

Mr. Glover was drafted in 1953 and served till 1955. Stationed in Korea, the timing of his enlistment suggests he saw little if any combat. IMDB credits him with 150 various appearances.

And we close with Aramis, also known as Anjin-san. Richard Chamberlain, nicknamed ‘King of the Mini Series’ died Saturday in Hawaii at the age of 90. Best known for “Doctor Kildare and “The Thorn Birds” as well as the two above from Richard Lester’s “The Three Musketeers” and the original “Shogun”, Chamberlain was one of those actors who seemingly was around forever. But… he was one of ours.

Born George Richard Chamberlain in Beverly Hills on March 31, 1934, the actor originally studied at Pomona College to be a painter. But after returning from the Army, where he had served as an infantry clerk in the Korean War, Chamberlain decided to try acting.  CBC

All of you, may you be a week in Heaven before the Divil knows ye’re dead.

Category: Army, Korea, We Remember, WWII