78th National Airborne Day

Aug 16

Posted by

“Airborne All The Way”

Author Unknown

These men with silver wings

Troopers from the sky above

In whom devotion springs

What spirit so unites them?

In brotherhood they say

Their answer loud and clear.

“Airborne All the Way.”

These are the men of danger

As in open door they stand

With static line above them

And ripcord in their hand.

While earthbound they are falling

A silent prayer they say

“Lord be with us forever,

Airborne All the Way.”

Saint Mike

One day they’ll make their final jump

Saint Mike will tap them out

The good Lord will be waiting

He knows what they’re about

And answering in unison

He’ll hear the troopers say

“We’re glad to be aboard, Sir,

Airborne All the Way!”

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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Airborne Humor – 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Farewell Salutes – 

John Barber – Toledo, OH; US Army, Vietnam, Captain, 101st Airborne Division

Billy Enzor – Ft. Lauderdale, FL; US Army, 187th RCT

Warren Evans – Clarksville, TN; US Army Korea & Vietnam, Colonel, 187th RCT, 2 bronze Stars

Edward Fallon Jr. – Boston, MA; US Army, Korea, 101st Airborne Division, pathfinder

Francis ‘Red’ Grandy – Russell, NY; US Army Air Corps, WWII / Star & Stripes photographer

Henry Kalb Jr. – Atlanta, GA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 11th Airborne Division

Larry Noll – Sheldon, WA; US Army, 82nd Airborne Division

Anothony Patti – Bronx, NY; US Army, 82nd Airborne Division, medic

William Shank – Harrisburg, VA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, 1st Lt., 338th Fighter Squadron/8th Air Force, Purple Heart, KIA

Reymund Transfiguracion – Waikoloa, HI; US Army, Afghanistan,  3/1st Special Forces Group, Sgt. 1st Class, KIA

Charles Watson – Vero Beach, FL; US Army, Artillery/11th Airborne Division

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SHOUT OUT !!!

Personal Note – I know I promised a post for the women on the home front for today, but the calendar has changed my schedule.  That post will appear Monday, 20 August 2018.

Thank you.

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About GP

Everett Smith served with the Headquarters Company, 187th Regiment, 11th A/B Division during WWII. This site is in tribute to my father, "Smitty." GP is a member of the 11th Airborne Association. Member # 4511 and extremely proud of that fact!

Posted on August 16, 2018, in Current News, Korean War, SMITTY, Vietnam, WWII and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 105 Comments.

  2. Lavinia Ross | September 30, 2018 at 7:54 PM

    I enjoyed the poetry and the slide show, GP!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. Equipping | September 7, 2018 at 9:06 AM

    Thanks for following my blog; you are very kind. Thanks for your like of my posts.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. The Emu | September 1, 2018 at 7:13 AM

    Only a Military poet could write those words and capture the Soul of an Airborne Warrior.
    Cheers gp.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  5. Equipping | August 30, 2018 at 6:43 PM

    Thanks for following my blog, and for your like of my post; you are very kind.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  6. SLIMJIM | August 24, 2018 at 3:20 AM

    Hats off to Airborne!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  7. Ashley's Blog | August 23, 2018 at 11:20 PM

    Thanks for sharing!!! I love it!

    Like

    Reply
  8. srbottch | August 20, 2018 at 4:15 PM

    In Basic Trng, we would sing a cadence song while running, ‘I wanna be an Airborne Ranger, I wanna live a life of danger…’. While we were only new soldiers, it still pumped you up singing that…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  9. America On Coffee | August 20, 2018 at 3:41 AM

    An intriguing featured photo that compliments the other sequence of images. A beautiful tribute!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  10. gramatrudy | August 19, 2018 at 10:52 PM

    Her grandfathers jumb

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  11. gramatrudy | August 19, 2018 at 10:51 PM

    She did it in remembrance of his jumb in WWII.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  12. gramatrudy | August 19, 2018 at 10:47 PM

    My granddaughter just jumped June 6 2018 in Norway with the French.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  14. smilecalm | August 18, 2018 at 3:32 PM

    i was talked into
    jumping out of a plane,
    almost 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  15. Mrs. P | August 17, 2018 at 10:38 PM

    Wonderful poem and the slideshow is awesome. I couldn’t help but think how proud you must be of your dad. I imagine holding those silver wings and looking at the pictures in the slide show and feeling…WOW…my dad did that!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  16. oldpoet56 | August 17, 2018 at 2:30 PM

    I really like this a lot Sir, it is excellent, it is an honor to reblog this for you.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  17. Klausbernd | August 17, 2018 at 1:55 PM

    A great tribute again, dear GP Cox! Thank you for sharing the poem and a most impressive slide show.
    Wishing you a wonderful weekend. We have finally had some rain and it’s cooling down to normal temperatures again. Hope your fine!
    The Fab Four of Cley Xx Xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  18. roughwighting | August 17, 2018 at 12:11 PM

    You brought a bit of a tear in my eyes. Actually, more than one. My dad was a paratrooper in WWII. He made his final jump a number of years ago, but I hear him within me as I read the poem out loud. He’s applauding… and saluting.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  20. Gallivanta | August 17, 2018 at 6:00 AM

    Great poem and slide show. Wonderful.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  21. Movin' it with Michelle | August 16, 2018 at 7:28 PM

    My husband was Airborne for four years.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  22. Karen Evans | August 16, 2018 at 6:40 PM

    A wonderful tribute verse and you must be very proud of “Pops.”

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  24. Gypsy Bev | August 16, 2018 at 5:39 PM

    Someone today was talking about planning a visit to Vietnam. A man, who was working with us said, “It wasn’t a great place to land when I parachuted down during the war.” These are brave men through all our conflicts.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  25. Sheila Clapkin | August 16, 2018 at 2:34 PM

    I am able to continue my Stand
    ing Farewell salutes…thank you so much. Looking forward to Monday!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  26. John W. Howell | August 16, 2018 at 2:24 PM

    Thank you for the slideshow and poem, GP. Definitely, we should honor those men.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  27. PARTNERING WITH EAGLES | August 16, 2018 at 12:25 PM

    Great slideshow; the cartoon – Willie & Joe? (didn’t see Mauldin’s mark in the corner…)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  28. Jacqui Murray | August 16, 2018 at 11:41 AM

    What a wonderful poem, GP. I’ve never seen it but it says it all. My daughter considered USAFA but ended up at USNA. She was quite impressed with AF history.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  30. Don Ostertag | August 16, 2018 at 11:05 AM

    AIRBORNE – ALL THE WAY!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  32. Peter Klopp | August 16, 2018 at 9:50 AM

    Airborne All the Way is a beautiful poem, GP. Any idea who wrote it?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  33. DC Gilbert | August 16, 2018 at 9:32 AM

    Very nice! I enjoyed that.

    And so much more eloquent than “Stand up, hook up, shuffle to the door …”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  34. Dan Antion | August 16, 2018 at 9:05 AM

    Great post – very nice tribute to a vary special group. I love that cartoon about the pilot.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  35. SCLMRose | August 16, 2018 at 8:56 AM

    Love the poem. Salute to your father and all the paratroopers!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  36. Teagan R. Geneviene | August 16, 2018 at 7:54 AM

    Wow… that gave me goosebumps, GP. Have a thriving Thursday.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  37. The Tactical Hermit | August 16, 2018 at 7:14 AM

    Great Post GP. Here’s to all the Paratroopers, past and present!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  38. Dan Hen | August 16, 2018 at 6:39 AM

    I heard Rod Serling talk once ( Twilight Zone ) . He had been a paratrooper and he claimed that some of his story ideas came to him as he waited to jump — keeping his mind off of the jump.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  39. derrickjknight | August 16, 2018 at 6:33 AM

    Excellent photo of Smitty

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  40. beetleypete | August 16, 2018 at 6:19 AM

    “Geronimo”!
    Nice tribute, GP. My youngest uncle was in the paratroops, but it was during the 1950s, and he was lucky enough to never have to go into action.
    Best wishes, Pete.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  41. ekurie | August 16, 2018 at 6:17 AM

    I have done skydiving before and cannot imagine the courage it takes to jump into combat. Thankful for our military.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  42. lobotero | August 16, 2018 at 6:16 AM

    My uncle told me that the Glider Force was nothing but a semi-controlled crash….LOl chuq

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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