WWII Glider Stands as a nod to Camp MacKall, NC
HOFFMAN, N.C. (Tribune News Service) — The Army’s Special Forces, Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations soldiers have been tried, tested and trained at Camp Mackall for decades.
But long before the first Green Beret was built amid the remote satellite installation several miles west of Fort Bragg, Camp Mackall was home to the nation’s parachute and glider training amid World War II.
The U.S. Army Special Warfare Center and School honored that history as it dedicated a replica of a Waco CG-4A glider that now welcomes visitors from Camp Mackall’s Ashemont Road entrance.
The glider — which is raised above an intersection that also features a flag pole, historical marker and welcome sign — was built to be a sturdier version of the original CG-4A gliders. The nose of the glider includes a metal frame salvaged from an actual glider that was found, crashed, in a nearby swamp in recent years.
The glider has replaced a UH-1 Huey helicopter that had been on display at the location. Officials said the Huey is being refurbished and will eventually be relocated to another part of Camp Mackall.
Several World War II veterans attended the ceremony, including a paratrooper who jumped into Normandy, France, on D-Day alongside glider forces, a glider infantryman and a glider pilot.
Russ Seitz said he could remember riding in a glider very similar to the one now on display as a soldier at Fort Bragg in 1944 and 1945. It would have been towed by a C-47, quietly pulled through the air behind the much larger plane.
Seitz pointed to how the nose of the glider had a hinge to allow it to open upward so jeeps or other equipment could be driven inside.
“There’s a bench on each side,” he said. “There is a sensation when you’re being towed.”
During the war, the Army ordered 13,900 gliders, made of wood and metal covered in fabric. And they would be used across Europe, China, Burma and India and were often used as a complement to paratroopers, carrying additional troops, howitzers and vehicles.
The flying machines, which used a set of skids to land, were nicknamed “Gooney Birds,” “Flying Coffins,” “Tow Targets” and “Silent Wings.”
Lt. Col. Seth A. Wheeler, the commander of 1st Battalion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group, said the ceremony was a unique opportunity to reflect on Camp Mackall’s past and commemorate its history.
Now a small but growing camp housing mostly special operations facilities, Camp Mackall was once a bustling Army installation 7 miles from Fort Bragg’s western training areas.
Construction at the camp, originally named Camp Hoffman, was begun in late 1942, according to officials. And most of the work was finished in four months, with buildings created out of temporary materials such as plank siding and tar paper.
The installation was renamed Camp Mackall on Feb. 8, 1943, in honor of Pvt. John Thomas Mackall, who was thought at the time to be the first paratrooper casualty in World War II.
The glider’s tail number, 111242, corresponds to the date Mackall died, Nov. 12, 1942.
Wheeler said Camp Mackall is the only Army installation named after an enlisted soldier.
Now a relatively austere camp, Wheeler said the installation has a lofty wartime past.
“Camp Mackall was an installation to behold, with over 65 miles of paved roads, a 1,200 bed hospital, two cantonment areas with five movie theaters, six beer gardens, a triangle-shaped airport with three 5k foot runways and a total of 1,750 buildings including three libraries and 12 chapels,” he said.
The camp was home to U.S. Army Airborne Command, which needed greater maneuver areas and airfields to train the expanding airborne and glider units.
All five U.S. Army airborne divisions have ties to Camp Mackall, officials said. The 11th, 13th and 17th Airborne Divisions were headquartered at the camp. Additionally, the 82nd Airborne Division and 101st Airborne Division at Fort Bragg trained at Camp Mackall.
Camp Mackall was home of the airborne and glider infantry for three-and-a-half years.
At the war’s end, Airborne Command moved to Fort Bragg. And a few years later, the Army began using Camp Mackall as a training location for a new kind of unit, Special Forces.
Drew Brooks can be reached at dbrooks@fayobserver.com
(c)2018 The Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville, N.C.)
Click on images to enlarge.
############################################################################################
Military (Airborne) Humor –
############################################################################################
Farewell Salutes –
Anthony Brando – Jersey City, NJ; US Navy, WWII / US Army, Korea
Francis Costello – Victoria, CAN; RC Army, WWII
Mike Dunsmore – MI; US Army, Vietnam, 1st Cavalry Division, Purple Heart
Cletis Eades – Grandview, TX; US Army Air Corps, WWII, pilot
Makato Harano – Kealakekua, HI; US Army, WWII
Victor Klopping – Des Moines, IA; US Army, WWII
Henry ‘Hank’ Lee – Zanesville, OH; US Army, Vietnam, Corps of Engineers, Lt. Colonel (Ret), West Point grad
Joseph Orosz – Westlake, FL; US Army, Korea, 187th RCT
Roger H. Swartz – Palatine Bridge, NY; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, Medical/11th Airborne Division
Matthew Zieringer – Chicago, IL; US Army, WWII, Korea & Vietnam, Major (Ret. 22 y.)
############################################################################################
Posted on August 19, 2019, in Current News, Korean War, Uncategorized, Vietnam, WWII and tagged Airborne, Army, Camp MacKall, Glider, History, Military, Military History, Tributes, veterans, WW2, WWII. Bookmark the permalink. 100 Comments.
I don’t understand how a glider would take off – was there some sort of slingshot mechanism? If they were carrying jeeps or men, they must have been pretty heavy. Thanks
LikeLiked by 1 person
A glider is pulled behind an aircraft and then released to glide back down to land. What amazes me are cruise ships – don’t they look too large and too top-heavy to sail?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I did not know gliders were used in the war. “Flying Coffin” was not an auspicious moniker for these planes. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It got that nickname from the time of development of the glider. Smitty couldn’t bear to hear ‘Taps’ after going to so many funerals during that time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They got the nickname Flying Coffin during development because a coffin company made parts for the CG-4A glider. Gooney Bird was the nickname for the C-47. The American glider was always referred to by the Glider Pilots as CG-4A. Only the British nicknamed their American CG-4A through Lend Lease, Hadrian.
The CG-4A was used I. Every Major combat operation: Sicily, Burma, Normandy, Southern France, Holland, Bastogne, Rhine Crossing and the Philippines. They did resupply after Normandy invasion to the combat area at La Londe, France while the airfield was under construction. There was also two gliders snatch out of Remegan Germany loaded with critically wounded solders. They were taken to a hospital in a matter of minutes as apposed to three days by truck due to the heavy bombing of roads and bridges.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for contributing your information. It is much appreciated.
To my father who helped develop the glider, after all the funerals he had to attend, called them flying coffins too.
LikeLike
Did your dad know Francis Arcier? Our Glider Pilot reunion on Oct 10-12th will be held in Fayetteville NC. Thursday night and Friday night we will be at Iron Mike’s and Lt Col Lindsay will be our guest speaker at our Saturday night Banquet. Susan Pinter is the grand daughter of Francis Arcier and she is our chaplain.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know of the reunion, I receive the “Voice of the Angels”, but I am unable to attend due my better-half’s medical issues. I keep hoping – one day.
I don’t recall my father ever mentioning Francis Arcier, but he rarely mentioned people by name. If he did speak of the war, it was always “The 11th A/B did this (or that)….”
LikeLike
Wonderful!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well worth reading gp, what amazes me is the fact that in your post you mention that the glider was capable of carrying jeeps and other equipment, I would have thought this impossible due to its construction, either way mate, a great post as to be expected from you, cheers.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Most people picture a small glider in their minds, but this was capable of carrying quite a bit – it was the ground that caused most of the problems…..
LikeLiked by 1 person
Speaking of a small world, Joy Neal Kidney lives about 35 miles from where I was born and raised. I did all my serious shopping in Des Moines, and have visited her blog, thanks to her presence here on yours.
I have a cousin who once towed recreational gliders. He said it was so completely nerve-wracking, he finally got out of it after a couple of seasons. He kept imagining himself in the glider, and just couldn’t stand the thought that he might have towed some inexperienced someone to injury or worse. I never realized the gliders were used in war, or that they were capable of carrying passengers and cargo. It makes me a little nervous to think about it, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dad wasn’t all that fond of them. Actually I haven’t heard from any one who liked them.
Glad to hear you and Joy have made a connection!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Any idea how many Allied or US troops perished from “friendly-fire” type glider accidents?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I do not have that data, Eric. I can ask around at some of my contacts, but being as the glider was only being developed when my father went in and he said he went to almost daily funerals, I would expect the answer to pretty high.
LikeLiked by 1 person
No worries.
I asked only because as you might know I’m from the aviation MRO sector and in the 1970s worked on gliders. I would never send a glider into a combat situation.
I wonder how many of the hot shots who pressed gliders into combat actually went in themselves.
Reminds me of the idiotic cavalry generals who ordered men to “go over the top” during WW1.
Sorry if I come across as ranting.
Peace.
LikeLiked by 1 person
No problem, Eric. Thank goodness my father’s General Swing only used them once. I’d hate to think if they were mandatory on every mission!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know we’ve discussed this before GP “the generations today are not getting the information on: patriotism. Why we have fought and the reasons for our fighting”. The curriculum in our schools should cover the historical facts of the recent wars . A student can best understand where the country has been by educating him about the more current affairs (a cause to look back). I can see why there is fighting amongst our young generation(s )…there is no education or training that has nutured their needed love for country. Thanks for your wealth of information. Cheers!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I couldn’t agree more!!
LikeLike
Family and country are worthy investments. We’ve failed via automated cruising and high tech. 😟🙏
LikeLiked by 1 person
So true!
LikeLiked by 1 person
have they relocated?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have an email into the Camp MacKall historian trying to find out the answer to that question, believe it or not. Joy asked me as well.
LikeLike
oh, nice. thanks
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey Sarge, Just heard back from the historian today and discovered he is no longer in that department, but he will be taking a trip to Camp MacCall when the weather cools down a bit and he’ll get back with me. As far as he knows right now, the Huey is not yet back in the camp.
LikeLike
interesting. thanks for the work
LikeLiked by 1 person
Anytime.
LikeLike
Recommendation for you, GP: https://nicholasrossis.wordpress.com/2019/08/21/yummy-insects/
New food experiences. Lol Michael
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, think you’re funny, eh? haha, yeah you are!
I can handle a lot of things, but maggots make me squirm!! ugh!
LikeLiked by 1 person
:-)) Here at the discount market – we are really far away from normal civilisation too 😉 – the offer one sort of frozen insect burgers. You can decide to eat potatoes from the regional fields, powered by hormones, or this. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Do you plan on having any?
LikeLiked by 1 person
No. really not! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
such history and historical sites need always to be preserved. Great post!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Kevin. That’s my thoughts exactly!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I found it surprising that a glider could be pulled into the air with a jeep or other equipment inside. I had no idea they could hold that much.
LikeLiked by 2 people
We often think of gliders as 2 or 3-seater toys, but these were anything but. Thanks for sticking with me all these years!!
LikeLike
Thank you for the history lesson
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was so thrilled to hear that Camp MacKall’s history was going to be saved, I was hoping others would be as well.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on depolreablesunite.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Rick!
LikeLike
You have to be just a bit crazy to jump out of an able airplane but you have to be really crazy to ride a box with wings and no engine. Controlled crash?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, of course! 🙂 Just as war is totally organized chaos!
LikeLike
My researches have led me to read about Operation Husky in Sicily and the battles at Arnhem. How anybody could have wanted to take up glider warfare I do not know. That poster “Join the Glider troops” is much more fact than humour, with casualties sometimes running at 50% and more.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My father said in developing them, he was going to funerals almost daily.
LikeLike
50% is a bit high. The highest loss for glider pilots, which was more than Normandy and Holland combined, was in the invasion of Germany, operation codenamed Varsity. About eighty six pilots were killed. There were a total of about 1,952 glider pilots who flew in components of the 17th Airborne. Gliders were VERY EFFECTIVE in getting in much needed equipment. In most cases the landing zones were secure by the airborne paratroopers once they had jumped into their drop zones. The problem with the German invasion was that the landing zones were not secured because to avoid another Holland the Army and AAF decided to drop everything at once on top of the area around Wesel and to take the Rhur industrial area. That meant double tow of gliders to have enough planes. The objective was the same as Holland just a little bit up and across the Rhine River. The Germans knew we were coming yet we effectively landed the majority of our gliders without hazard. If you look at the reclamation photos you would be amaze at the number that were intact or had minor damage.
People tend to make out the glider as being one of these death traps. That was no more a death trap than an airborne getting caught in the trees or a C-47 being shot down. People die in war but the majority of the glider operations (which were the same as all the major airborne paratrooper operations) were successful. The use of jeeps, which were many that came in by glider, was very useful for the airborne in moving radios and other heavy equipment including medical trailers and artillery. The artillery crews did not have to go and find the pieces of the howitzers like the paratoopers did and put them together. They came in intact with up to seven of the artillery crew and were set up quickly to aid in taking out the 88s hidden in the trees. We have had a thousands lot of glider pilots in their Association who flew three and four glider combat missions and they will tell you that their ability to get the glider in was no different than any job in the Army in combat. “I was doing my job” have heard that hundreds of times.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think it is great that the camp is being preserved too – and nice story G
LikeLiked by 1 person
I appreciate all you visits!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
😉
😊🖐
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Flying Coffins,” and “Tow Targets” don’t sound like optimistic monikers. But I’m guessing they were useful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t think they were as much as the military thought they would be, mostly (IMO) because of the terrain.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on John Cowgill's Literature Site.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you very much, John!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are very welcome very much.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Never a dull moment” and “That’s a camo net!” deserve to be engraved on a memorial somewhere very very public …
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad to hear it!!
LikeLike
Being inside one of those gliders over Normandy must have been frightening. Fragile, unarmed and unpowered it takes a special kind of person to use one in battle.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You and I agree on that!! I’ll bet the men at the time did as well!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great history, must have been so scary going to war in one!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree. But then again, going to war is scary.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great article. Oh, the cartoon about the paratrooper with the camo net instead of a proper canopy! Back when I was working narcotics for the Army, a memeber of the DST team at Bragg told me that the highest incidence of drug abuse in the Army was among those who did parachute rigging. Scary thought.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes it is. If they were my men, I’d do daily drug tests after hearing that!!
LikeLike
Super story, GP. Thanks
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure. I’m happy the heritage of that camp is being preserved!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I realized the number of WW2 vets has seriously dwindled! I figure survivors are in their 90s now, for those who came in as men/boys around 18, near the end. I wonder if the last one standing will be known as such (like it was with Civil War vets).
LikeLiked by 1 person
I remember years ago when they announced the last WWI veteran had died. Despite not knowing much about the first world war, I felt sad, like an end of an era had passed quietly and without recognition.
LikeLiked by 4 people
The last British soldier lived to be well over a hundred. His book, “The Last Fighting Tommy: The Life of Harry Patch” is wonderful and I am sure it will provoke tears as Harry realises that “War isn’t worth one life”. It’s well worth reading and if you can ever see the BBC documentary about Harry, that is even better.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for the info, John. I’ll look into it. I’m ashamed to say, I do not know as much about WWI as I should.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Practically Historical.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Much appreciated!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Another interesting article about a defense device I missed. Love the comic.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So glad you found it interesting, Jacqui. That means a great deal.
LikeLiked by 1 person
BTW, thanks for noticing my post about my new book. I don’t get a lot of activity on jacquimurray.net so was happily surprised to see your ‘like’!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Of course I’m there!! After all these years following you – I’d be a sorry friend if I didn’t show up!! 🙂
LikeLike
I love the nicknames they gave. One of my wife’s late uncles flew in glider training in the UK. One of my great uncles on my fathers side also. Brave lot as I look at them as flying coffins 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
And according to my father – they were. While they were developing them, he said he went to a funeral nearly every day. That explained why he couldn’t listen to Taps, even on TV.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah, that is sad.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is heart-breaking…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great article GP. It helps bolster NC’s claim to be “First in Flight” and first to train people to jump out of a perfectly good glider or airplane.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, you might get an argument from someone who jumped from those first gliders – they wanted to get out of them!! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Interesting post , GP. Flying coffin is an apt name for it. Looks like a very unsafe flying machine. However, with glider training, Capt. Chesley Sullenberger used that knowledge to have the emergency landing on the Hudson River called “The Miracle on the Hudson.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Excellent example, Rose!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree to Pete! A wonderful article. Thank you. Best wishes, Michael
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Michel!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Always a great pleasure, GP! Best wishes, Michael
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would never want to be in those gliders , especially under fire and darkness . Not Airborne material , I guess . I like the idea of honoring the WWII glider force . The Huey might well be put alongside .
LikeLiked by 1 person
It just might – sort of a before and after?
LikeLike
It must have been an amazing place in its heyday.
LikeLike
When my father was there, they were still building it. The pines of NC that you see in the pictures were used to construct the barracks, chapels, etc. as their training was going on.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A very interesting article, GP. I was pleased to read that the camp is named after an enlisted man, and his date is featured on the exhibited glider. It must have been terrifying to sit in those things, completely vulnerable to ground fire, and dependent on the towing aircraft not being shot down. Brave airborne troopers all.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know my dad sure didn’t like them, but it was up to the 11th Airborne to get them developed for the war. He said he had no idea how many funerals he had to attend during that period, but it was a lot.
LikeLiked by 1 person
One of my Dad’s friends was in a glider that landed at Arnhem. He used to tell awful stories about them being shot out of the sky, or crashing after the tow plane was damaged. After being captured by the SS at Arnhem, he was treated quite badly before ending up in a mixed POW camp in eastern Germany. He was finally freed by the Russians, when they advanced in 1945. In later life, he was a heavy drinker, and died quite young as a result.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So sorry to hear that. I thank you for contributing the story, Pete. That couldn’t have been easy for you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for posting this, GP. The Glider troops and command are a piece of the fabric of that great War that gets little attention.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Certainly MY pleasure!!!
LikeLike
I can only imaging the men inside those gliders wanting to land safely, even though it was in a war zone. Another great post. You are stitching the history or the armed forces together, bit by bit (and we appreciate it).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Land, sea, air and home front were all interconnected in this war (not like today), so I try to give a variety of nods to everyone. Thanks coming around this morning, Dan!
LikeLike
The article is dated 2018. I wonder if they’ve relocated the Huey by now.
Victor Klopping’s daughter, Carol Klopping Atkinson, is a neighbor five houses north of us.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Small world, eh?
I can not find any recent news about the Huey, I’ll have to get back to you. I used know the Camp MacKall Army Historian, maybe I can reach him again.
LikeLiked by 1 person