I think it was Korea.
Astromancer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:Did you know:
Clark Terry, celebrated jazz trumpeter had to wait until the early 80's to
receive his diploma from the Armed Forces School Of Music? I don't have all of
the details, but I do know he was a Navy musician...What I don't know is if he
has served during WWII or the Korean Conflict...
sancochojo <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Another Unit worth noting, "The Triple Nickel"
When the all-black 555th Parachute Infantry Company, remembered by
many as the "Triple Nickel," arrived at Fort Benning, Ga., for
airborne training in December 1943, it marked a significant
milestone for black Americans in the combat arms.
Retired Col. Porcher L. Taylor recently asked a couple of
soldiers if they'd ever heard of a unit called the "Triple
Nickel." "Yeah, that's the MP company over here," the soldiers said,
referring to the recently inactivated 555th MP Co. at Fort Lee, Va.
Taylor, 69, couldn't help but chuckle at the innocent case of
mistaken military identity. "They didn't know. So, I took time to
tell them something about it, and they were real interested," he
said.
For Taylor and the almost 1,000 members of the 555th Parachute
Infantry Association, the nickname bears witness to a legacy of the
first black airborne unit, the 555th Parachute Inf. Bn.
"It's a part of history that really needs to be told," said
Taylor, a Petersburg, Va., native and member of the Tri-Cities
Chapter, one of 26 555th PIA chapters.
The "Triple Nickel" began its trek into airborne history Dec. 19,
1943, as the 555th PI Co.
Almost a year later, the unit became a battalion and included
riggers, jumpmasters, pathfinders and communications soldiers.
The 555th PIB didn't deploy overseas during World War II. It
was mobilized to fight a threat closer to home as "smokejumpers,"
airborne firefighters.
Under this mission, soldiers made more than 1,000 jumps,
fighting forest fires in Oregon and California, some of which were
started by Japanese incendiary balloons.
In December 1947 the 555th was redesignated as the 505th
Airborne Infantry Regiment and assigned to the 82nd Abn. Division.
Members of the original "Triple Nickel" went into combat during
the Korean War, joining such other airborne units as the 2nd Ranger
Co. and the 187th Abn. Combat Team.
The association keeps busy today handing out annual
scholarships to college students, donations to local Department of
Veterans Affairs hospitals and to black history museums, said
retired Lt. Col. John T. Boyd Jr., a past president of the Tri-
Cities Chapter.
"Airborne has always been an elite unit of the Army," said
Boyd, a 52-year-old Vietnam veteran from Richmond. "During World War
II, the African-American soldier wasn't allowed to serve in an elite
unit. So, a gentleman began to train 16 soldiers using the same
techniques he observed from the training of white troops.
As more attention is focused on the exploits of black soldiers in
World War II, especially through the awarding of seven Medals of
Honor last year, Boyd and others in the 555th PIA feel the time is
right for the public to embrace their legacy, too.
As a teenager, retired Lt. Col. John Edward McNeil Sr. saw Fort
Bragg's first group of black airborne soldiers when they attended
his church in Fayetteville, N.C.
"They had on those highly shined boots and those crisp,
starched olive drab uniforms and those glider patches on their caps.
I made up my mind, right after high school, that I wanted to be one
of those guys," said McNeil, 64, who served eight years as an
enlisted paratrooper before becoming an officer, first in the Signal
Corps and later in military intelligence.
"Every black paratrooper can say he is standing on the
shoulders of those 16 men who graduated in the original class of
paratroopers, and we should never forget it."
---------------------------------
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
Visit your group "scifinoir2" on the web.
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
---------------------------------
---------------------------------
Yahoo! FareChase - Search multiple travel sites in one click.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
SPONSORED LINKS
Science fiction and fantasy Music genres Genre magazine
---------------------------------
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
Visit your group "scifinoir2" on the web.
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
---------------------------------
"Excuse me while I whip this out."
Cleavon Little , "Blazing Saddles"
---------------------------------
Yahoo! FareChase - Search multiple travel sites in one click.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page
http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/LRMolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
