Airborne & Camp MacKall

11th Airborne Division armpatch

The original idea for an American airborne came from Gen. Billy Mitchell in 1918.  His  commander, Gen. Pershing agreed, but once the WWI Armistice was signed, the plan was terminated.  In the late 1920’s, Germany began training parachute units and in the 1930’s, they led the world in gliders.  Russia created the Air Landing Corps in 1935.  Japan started in 1940 with German instructors.  The U.S. did not take note until Germany was successful.on Crete in 1941.

Pvt. Everett Smith , Camp MacKall
My father Smitty.

The American tradition was born when 48 men jumped at Ft. Benning on Aug. 16, 1940, where  Private Eberhard, who was afraid of jumping, was the first to yell “Geronimo”.  Gen. William Lee is considered the “Father of the Airborne.”  My father, Everett Smith or “Smitty” (as you’ll get to know him), also did not care for heights or jumping, so I asked him – “Why volunteer?”  He shrugged and said, “They pay you more in the paratroopers.”  Smitty had a dry sense of humor which you will see more of in the letters he wrote to his mother in future posts.  He did however accept his boot camp, sharp shooting, glider & parachute training as a way  of learning new things he would otherwise have never experienced. [One of his statements driven into me – ” Like any job, always try your best.”]  Since he was 27 and much older than other recruits, he was often referred to by the nickname of “Pops.”

courtesy of the U.S. Army Signal Corps

The 11th Airborne Division was formed on Feb. 25, 1943 and their conditioning was so severe that most of the men felt combat would be a breeze.  They were the first A/B division formed from scratch, so instead of following the manuals – they were writing their own.  The camp was under construction 24/7 and they took classes sitting in folding chairs and easels were used for map reading, first-aid, weapons, foxholes, rules of land warfare, communications, field fortifications, and so on.  Between May and June one battalion at a time went to Fort Benning for jump school.

When the time came for Stage A of jump school, it was scratched since the men were already as fit as possible.  Stage B, was learning to tumble, equipment knowledge, sliding down a 30′ cable and packing a parachute.  In Stage C, they used a 250-foot tower, forerunner to the one at Coney Island, to simulate a jump.  Stage D, they earned their jump wings and boots.  In June, the units began training in every circumstance that might arise in combat.

glider postcard taken on Camp MacKall field

The gliders used were WACO CG 4A, boxlike contraptions with wings.  The skeleton was small gauge steel covered with canvas; a wingspan of 84 feet, length of 49 feet and carried 3,700 pounds = two pilots and 13 fully loaded soldiers or a jeep and 6 men. The casualty list developing these appeared endless to the men.  Smitty could not listen to “Taps” without tearing up, even in his later years.

21 June, the division entered the unit training program.  During July, all units went on 10-day bivouacs and to Fort Bragg.  Glider formal training occurred at Maxton Air Base.

Parachute ‘school’

In July, in Sicily, Operation Husky went terribly awry, due to the weather conditions –  3,800 paratroopers were separated from their gliders and each other.  The casualty rate was exorbitant.  This created serious doubts about the practicality of a division size airborne.  Proof would rest on the shoulders of the 11th and their commander, Gen. Joseph May Swing.  A demonstration called the “Pea Patch Show” was displayed for Sec. of War, Stimson.  He gave Swing a positive review, but it did not convince Gen. Marshall or McNair.  The fate of the Airborne Command rested on the upcoming Knollwood Maneuvers.

1943 jump training

General Order No. 1 listed the original organic units of the 11th Airborne Division as follows:

Headquarters, 11 A/B Division

Headquarters Company, 11^th A/B Division

Military Police Platoon, 11 A/B Division

408^th A/B Quartermaster Company

511^th A/B Signal Company

711^th A/B Ordnance Maintenance Company

221^st A/B Medical Company

127^th A/B Engineer Battalion

152^nd A/B Antiaircraft Battalion

HQ & HQ Battery, 11^th A/B Artillery

457^th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion

674^th Glider Field Artillery Battalion

675^th Glider Field Artillery Battalion

187^th Glider Infantry Regiment

188^th Glider Infantry Regiment

511^th Parachute Infantry Regiment

__________________________

Total = 8,321 men

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Smitty’s hometown of Broad Channel sent out a free issue of “The Banner” to every soldier and this became another source of back-home info, along with his mother and friends:

News that Smitty got from home:  Broad Channel was getting their own air raid siren.  His neighbors, the Hausmans, heard from their POW son in the Philippines.  And – his divorce papers were final, Smitty was single again.

Click on images to enlarge.

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Military Humor – 

Donald, learning as you go…

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Farewell Salutes – 

James Christon – Milwaukee, WI; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS Bunker Hill

Richard David – Schaumburg, IL; US Air Force, WWII, Korea, Major, Bronze Star

Weldon Hanson – Cleburne, TX; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 187th Reg/11th A/B Division

Henry ‘Peach’ Greene – KY, OH & FL; US Army, WWII

Ralph Iossa – Madison, NJ; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 11th Airborne Division

Thomas Keal – Scottsdale, AZ; US Army Air Corps/A.F. (Ret. 30 yrs.), Korea, Col.

Eugene Peeks – Mt. Pleasant, MD; US Army (Ret. 20 yrs.), Vietnam, Sgt., Bronze Star

Kenneth Stevens – Stroudsburg, PA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 221st Medical/11th A/B Division

James Tancreti – Woburm, MA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 11th Airborne Division

William Yauch – Bateville, AR; US Army, Iraq, Cpl., 2nd Infantry Division

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