National Airborne Day!
National Airborne Day is set on the day of the first parachute jump conducted by the Army’s Parachute Test Platoon on August 16th, 1940.
On the morning of 16 August 1940 the jump began. After the C-33 leveled off at 1500 feet and flew over the jump field, Lt. Ryder was in the door ready to jump. Warrant Officer Wilson knelt in the door waiting to pass the Go Point. When this was reached, he slapped Lt. Ryder on the leg and the first jump was made. Now Number One moved into position. Slap! “Go! Jump!”
Still no movement.
It was too late now to jump on this pass. Mr. Wilson motioned Number One to go back to his seat. As the plane circled Mr. Wilson talked to Number One. Number One wanted another chance. Okay, this time we’ll do it. Back into the jumping position and once again, slap!
Sadly, no movement. Number One returned to his seat.
Private William N. “Red” King moved into the jumping position in the door. Slap! Out into American military immortality leaped Red King… the first enlisted man of the test platoon to jump out of an airplane. Number One was transferred to another post and anonymity. Now there were forty-seven. Was Number One a coward? I don’t think many experienced jumpers would say so. There are things some men cannot do at a given time. Possibly another time would have been fine. He wanted to. He intended to. He just could not… at least that morning.
The first US airborne operation was in support of Operation Torch, November 1942, in North Africa when 531 members of the 2nd Battalion 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment flew 1600 miles in 39 C-47s, of which only ten aircraft dropped their pacs, the rest landed because of navigation difficulties and low fuel.
Ten years ago, 3rd Battalion, 75th Rangers secured an airfield in Kandahar in support of Operation Enduring Freedom on October 19, 2001. On March 23rd, 2003, A Company, 3/75th conducted an airborne operation to secure an airfield in Northern Iraq a few days before the 173rd Airborne Brigade parachuted into Northern Iraq when the Turks wouldn’t allow the 4th Infantry Division to off-load and invade Iraq from their borders.
In years past, the 82d Airborne Division Association, mostly the DC Chapter, had to lobby to get recognition for National Airborne Day from the Senate every year, until 2009 when the Senate made it permanent.
We used to get a Presidential Proclamation every year, but for some reason, we haven’t had any since 2008.
That’s me, on my ass as usual, in the days before Eric Shinseki;
Category: Politics
Happy National Airborne Day y’all!
It was H-minus HOURS ago! J/k
Tilting a beer to all the Paratroopers at the great AA in the sky.
Happy Airborne Day, to those to who love to jump out of perfectly good airplanes.
… and Happy Airborne Day to our Missing Man. I hope his wings are spread wide and he’s floating.
When is National Signal Day?
Hell yes! I believe the first military aircraft belonged to Signal, and without aircraft, there would be no Airborne…
^LIKE^
GOOD TIMES!
And it keeps my doctors at the V.A employed.
ATW & Sappers forward
Hope all you Airborne types had a great day yesterday. OK, have another good one today. And tomorrow.
National Boiler Technician (BT) Day?
I missed the 20th Anniversary by a month, graduating Airborne School at the 101st school, in September 1960. In 2 years with the 506th and 2 more as a HUEY crewchief, in A co, (Air Mob), 101st, I got plenty of jump time. My first 10 jumps, and several more later, were from Piston powered aircraft. Jump #11 was my first C-130 Turbo Prop ride. Back then, just after the original sin, I jumped C-119, C-123, C-124 aircraft. Good times. Great memories.
I really need to get this day on the calendar…I keep missing it. Maybe that is why my A/C broke!
I miss the adrenalin rush of stepping in to total silence. Had to stop at 64 (plus some unofficial foreign ones), after the doctor told me I wouldn’t be walking if I did any more. Maybe I will jump one more time when my kids earn theirs! They still allowing that at Jump School? Or do you have to be still Active Duty?
They used to let non-Active people jump?!
I was up the hill as an Instructor with 2-29 IN and qualified, couldn’t jump. The reason was you have to been ‘on (jump) status’. Biggest kick in the nuts was we’d have to go to Bragg to have new equipment jumped to be certified for Army wise adoption.
Military efficiency at its finest, 5 minutes walk to Airborne School, had to go TDY to watch crap get thrown out of an aircraft.
During special events the 1/507 will let civilians jump out the towers. Always a kick watching a kid jump out multiple times with perfect form.
Check out the Phantom Airborne Brigade in Florida.
I miss it.
That looks pretty cool. “..miss it” means you have jumped with them. Safe (equipment, etc)? I only ask out of interest for myself.
No, I have not. I was part of an Airborne site a few years ago that referenced the P.A.B. Some had jumped with them and stated that their ducks were in line, but that was 6-7 years ago.
By “miss,” I mean I miss being a Paratrooper.
Knees in the Breeze!
I am a life long leg and proud of it! the extra pay never seemed enough to justify the risk. now i am a fast roping guru from a helo but jumping out of a airplane… not so much ….
If my chute don’t open wide…Aw, shit!
Proud to have served in 2/509th for fifteen months, the first airborne infantry battalion to jump into combat in WWII. Back in its days in Germany in the 1960’s, it was known as the “Nickel-O-Nasty” and many of us used to yell “Geronimo” on our way out the door of a C-130 or C-141. The 509th PIR moto is “All the Way,” which is embossed on bottom of the regiment’s DUI.
I was in 1/509th. Reported just before or after New Years ’73, Mainz, Germany at Lee Barracks. Around June, first Bat was sent to Vicenza, Italy.
I remember the LT asking for volunteers to jump. Seems the ‘chutes had a use by date and a bunch needed to be repacked. so, everyone who signed up rode in duece-and-a-halfs so some Italian airbase not too far from Caserma Ederle.
Anyway, air support was UH-1s. About the second or third jump, I noticed how long it took to get on the ground. It was around August, hot and humid. Not as bad as Polk, and didn’t hold a candle to S.E. Asia, but thick air.
So I’m thinking, dense, heavy air … I wonder if I can do a standing landing?
I remember hearing about it in barracks BS sessions … so, I thought I’d give it a shot.
When my turn was next, I carefully observed my descent and drift rate, (it was very nearly dead calm), and decided to go for the gusto.
Sure enough, grabbing as high as I could reach on my risers, I pulled myself up, and right before I hit the ground, I let go, and just as advertised, that acted just like a brake and the landing shock was like stepping off of a curb.
As I was snickering to myself and thinking, ” Wow, that really works!” I realized I’d landed right next to my platoon leader.
Oops.
Thinking quickly, I executed a right PLF, jumped to my feet, slapped my thighs like at Benning, and sounded off with, “Airborne!”
He was neither fooled, nor amused, and I got a quick counseling session.
Big Belated Salute to my Pickle Suited Floating Target Brothers. Signed up for but didn’t make the physical requirements cut to jump out of perfectly good airplanes. Lots of respect given to those. Did help some of them dispose of mass quantities of fermented and distilled beverages back in the day when on detached duty with the 82nd wayward boys.
So this guys having trouble deploying his chute and as he was going down, he sees this dot coming towards him which turns out to be some guy with half his clothes burnt off so the chutist yells to the guy passing him and asks if he knows anything about parachutes so the guy says no and then asks the parachutist if he knows anything about boilers.