2d Ranger Company vets recall their service

Army.mil interviews four of the surviving veterans of the Second Ranger Company – the Buffalo Rangers. We’ve talked about them before – they were the only Ranger Company that was all black, recruited from the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion – the Triple Nickel – which was an all-black unit before desegregation. The Second Ranger Company deployed to Korea in December, 1950 and were attached to the 7th Infantry Division. In February, 1951 they were reattached to the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team.

From the interview;

The four men — Donald Allen, Richard Briscoe, Herculano Dias, and Winston Jackson — proudly served in this historic company, [Sergeant Major of the Army Raymond] Chandler said.

“I was fascinated by their incredible stories of heroism and danger in wartime and their continued service as mentors and trainers of young Soldiers at home stations,” he said.

Dias, a sergeant who served in the Army four years, noted the company was the “first and only all-black Airborne Ranger outfit” in the whole Army.

“We were the only all-black Ranger outfit to make a combat jump. We jumped March 23, 1951, in a place called Munsan-Ni, Korea,” Dias said.

He recalled losing fellow members, seeing intense combat, and enduring the brutal winter. When he and his fellow Rangers arrived in Korea, in December 1950, snowfall accumulations were high and temperatures were sub-zero, Dias said.

“A lot of guys were evacuated for frostbitten feet because the equipment we had was not sufficient,” he said.

Category: Army News