75th National Airborne Day

16 August 2015 is the 75th Anniversary of the United States Airborne, of which my father Smitty belonged when he volunteered for the 11th Airborne Division.  My best wishes go out to ALL the paratroopers both past and present!!

Pvt. Smith Camp MacKall

The Army will honor the 75th anniversary of the American paratrooper with — what else? — a large jump into Fort Benning, Georgia.

The commemoration, led by the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade, will mark 75 years since the War Department approved the formation of a test platoon of airborne infantry from Fort Benning’s 29th Infantry Regiment. Less than 45 days after it was formed, on Aug. 16, 1940, members of the test platoon made their first jump from a Douglas B-18 over Lawson Army Airfield.

On Aug. 15, today’s paratroopers, along with the Liberty Jump Team, a group of civilian World War II airborne reenactors, will jump into that very same airfield.

“This entire year, we’ve been very cognizant of the 75th anniversary,” said Lt. Col. Korey Brown, commander of 1st Battalion, 507th Parachute Infantry Battalion, and commander of the U.S. Army Airborne School. “It’s a very key year for the airborne community.”

The United States was a little late to the game when it came to airborne operations, but today the Army is “the leading force in the world because of the soldiers who volunteer to be airborne,” Brown said.

“Being an airborne soldier is all volunteer,” he said. “The spirit that the paratrooper brings to a unit or to a fight is second to none.”

The concept of airborne soldiers originated with founding father Benjamin Franklin, who envisioned a time when soldiers would be delivered to the battlefield from the air, Brown said.

From the booklet, A Paratrooper’s Faith.  The superb story of this booklet and the man who inspired it can be found at Anne Tullidge Bell’s site, Tales Along the Way:

Heroism is simple, and yet it is rare.  Everyone who does the best he can is a hero.___ Josh Billings

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My previous post for this day, of which I am very proud, can be found HERE!!

Information found at the U.S. Army website.  My gratitude also goes to the great friends and visitors who drop by to help honor the troops that fought for the freedoms we enjoy today.

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Military Humor – Donald Duck’s attempt at being a paratrooper!!!

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Farewell Salutes – 

James Boudreau – Weymouth, ME; US Army, WWII

John Crawford – Ft. Worth, TX; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 675th Artillery/11th Airborne

John DiNucci – Alexandria, VA; US Navy, WWII, ETO, Destroyer escort

Gabriel Fonseca – Eurgene, OR; US army, WWII, PTO, Signal Corps

William Gnadt – Spokane, WA; US Army, Korea, 187th RCT

Llyod LaRue – Mantuna, NJ; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 503rd/11th Airborne

Frank Mooney – Angola, NY; US Navy, WWII, UD crew

William Rhodeas – Woodburn, OR; US Army, WWII, PTO, Amphibious Engineers

James Rush – Stottville, NY; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 511th/11th Airborne

Thomas Tunney – Surfside Bch., SC; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 187th/11th Airborne

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