The formation, organization, and operation of the U.S. Army
Parachute Test Platoon in June 1940 is a well-known story in the annals of
special purpose, special mission organizations. This was, however, the first of
two test platoons at the Army’s Parachute School at Fort Benning. The second
was activated on 30 December 1943 and originally contained 20 enlisted men and
6 officers, the majority transferring from the 92nd Infantry Division, then
stationed at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. The unit designation for the second Test
Platoon was 555th Parachute Infantry Company. The 555th was the Army’s first
and only all-black airborne unit. During its major action in World War II,
Operation Firefly, the 555th (or “Triple Nickel”) would initiate and refine
special operations techniques still in use today.
On 18 February 1944, 16 of the 20 enlisted men completed
airborne training and received their coveted jump wings. Two weeks later, on 4
March, the six officers followed suit. These men formed the company cadre. As
new members of the company reported for training, the cadre rotated through
specialized training courses, such as jumpmaster, pathfinder, rigger,
demolitions, and communications. Many of the early noncommissioned officers
attended Infantry Officer Candidate School and, once commissioned, returned to
the 555th. When the company reached a strength of 7 officers and 119 enlisted
men, it shifted from individual to unit training. The progression of training
was typical for parachute units at the time, although in most other units
soldiers went through the training as individual fillers and not as a group or
unit.
Another significant difference in training that the 555th
initiated was in moving the men through leadership positions. On virtually
every training jump, a different tactical objective was included. Enlisted
soldiers were rotated behind the lines through as platoon and squad leaders as
well as on weapons crews. Bradley Biggs, a platoon leader of the 555th, wrote
later, “Over the period of these exercises each trooper had the opportunity to
lead and command, and to learn each assignment in a crew-served weapons team.
This leadership development made it possible for so many to be promoted.” On 17
July, the company transferred to Camp Mackall, where it was assigned to the
Army’s Airborne Command. The size of the company continued to grow. On 9
November, the company was redesignated Company A, 555th Parachute Infantry
Battalion, commanded by Captain James H. Porter. The battalion was authorized a
strength of 29 officers and 600 enlisted men. Everyone in a leadership position
moved up, squad leaders became platoon sergeants, platoon leaders and sergeants
became company commanders and first sergeants, and so on.
Two events, separated by almost three years, came to bear on
the history of the Triple Nickel. In Japan, the Doolittle raid on Tokyo and
other cities in the home islands in April 1942 shocked the Japanese. Until
then, they had believed the U.S. was not capable of invading the home islands.
They began to make plans to avenge the insult committed by Doolittle and his
raiders. They called this the “Fu Go weapons project.”
Meanwhile, in Europe, Hitler launched his last fateful
offensive, cutting through the American and British lines in the Ardennes Forest.
The 82d and 101 St Airborne divisions were badly chewed up by this battle and
needed many replacements. The 555th was alerted for duty in Europe but only as
a reinforced company with a strength of 8 officers and 160 enlisted men. This
downgrading action was necessary because the 555th was below its authorized
battalion strength and had not yet begun its battalion training. In April 1945,
just as the skeletonized company was completing almost three solid months of
training in the field and was ready to rotate to Europe, the German Army
collapsed. By this time, however, another threat had developed. Later that
month, the Triple Nickel was transferred to Pendleton, Oregon on a highly
classified mission, Operation Firefly. Having already made its mark in airborne
history, the 555th was about to stamp that mark in indelible ink. It would
accomplish this by fighting behind the lines in the U.S. northwest.
Beginning in November 1944, the Japanese had started their
campaign to make the United States pay for Doolittle’s raid. This campaign
consisted of sending balloons with incendiary bombs aloft so they would be
carried by the prevailing upper winds (what we now call the jet stream) to
America. Once over land the balloons would descend and drop their incendiary
clusters. The Japanese believed most of these incendiaries would land in large
West Coast cities and cause great havoc. In reality, most of those that made it
to the West Coast landed in uninhabited areas and became a serious problem for
the U.S. Forest Service, whose job included fighting forest fires in National
Parks and Forests.
The Forest Service had been created in 1905 by President
Theodore Roosevelt and had begun fighting fires almost immediately. By 1925 it
was using planes to spot fires and within four years was able to drop supplies
from planes to fire fighters on the ground. In 1940, the first parachute jump
was made on a forest fire. The following year, the U.S. Forest Service
Smokejumpers were organized.
When the balloon bombs were first discovered, military
intelligence offices noticed that the ballast bags contained sand. Samples of
this sand were delivered in secret to scientists of the U.S. Geological Survey
to see if it was possible for them to pinpoint either the balloon launch sites
or, at least, the origin of the sand. Four scientists, Clarence s. Ross, Julia
Gardner, Kenneth Lohmann, and Kathryn Lohmann, examined the sand. These
scientists were able, based on unique mineralogical and paleontological
assemblages, to confirm two likely sites on the east coast of Japan. Later
aerial reconnaissance corroborated the exact location of the second site and it
was subsequently bombed.
Working with the War Department, the Forest Service had been
able to prevent any widespread reports about the balloon bombs, although some
articles had appeared without attributing any cause to the fires. The Chief of
the Forest Service, Lyle F. Watts, was interviewed on radio in late May 1945,
describing the balloon bombs in some detail. What was not mentioned was the
fear that the balloon bombs would be used to carry chemical or biological
weapons. The presence of the Triple Nickel was also not mentioned.
The 555th initially set up its main camp at an inactive B-29
Army Air Corps Base outside Pendleton, located in northeastern Oregon, and
immediately established a strenuous three-week training program for the
battalion’s soldiers with the Forest Service Smokejumpers. As the training
progressed the men of the Triple Nickel modified their uniforms to make them
more functional—and safer. A 50-foot length of nylon rope was added to assist
them down from trees, a common hazard in forest jumps. The heavy, fleecelined
jacket and trousers of the Army Air Corps bomber crews were added next to
provide padding for rough landings. Finally, they modified football helmets by
adding wire mesh grills to the front to protect their face and eyes. Once on
the ground, they donned gloves.
The major modification the paratroopers used was one
designed by Frank Derry, one of the very first Smokejumpers. Derry had cut
several panels out of the standard parachute and replaced one of the olive drab
suspension lines with one made of white material. By pulling on the white
shroud line, a jumper could turn in the air, to take advantage of the wind or
nullify it. It was thus easier to pick out a place to land instead of being
completely at the mercy of the wind. This is the first example of military use
of steerable parachutes.
Within six weeks the entire battalion had qualified as
Smokejumpers. During the training with their new chutes and modified clothing
and equipment, the men of the 555th also worked with explosive ordnance
disposal trainers to become familiar with disposal and disarming techniques. In
mid July, about one-third of the battalion moved to an Army Air Corps Base at
Chico, California. Splitting the unit provided wider coverage of forest area
(for both fire and balloon bomb response) and better use of the skills of the
paratroopers. Within a week of the move, each group had conducted its first
jump into a fire area.
Once on the ground after a jump, the Triple Nickel took off
the fleecelined uniforms and picked up whatever gear was needed, either to
fight a fire or work on a balloon bomb. Discarded uniforms, parachutes, and
unneeded equipment were left on the drop zone to be picked up on the way back
to camp.
One former member of the battalion described a fire
operation this way: “Digging a fire break or clearing a zone to either isolate
the fire or keep it from jumping is smoky business. We stank of smoke and
fought to keep upwind of it. Team work was the key. Watching out for your team
members, keeping together and not losing anyone in the smoke or darkness was
the top priority. We worked hard and ate like horses, often five big meals a day.
The forest rangers furnished most of our meals and water. We saved ours for
emergency or exit use.”
After a team arrived back at camp following a mission,
battalion officers and NCOs conducted detailed debriefings of each member and
filed afteraction reports. The average mission was four to six days long. On
several occasions the paratroopers jumped into Canada, trying to limit the fire
from spreading to the U.S. Captain Bradley Biggs stated that, in the case of
balloon bombs, “We blew up only those bombs that represented a danger.” Those
not blown in place were eventually turned over to an intelligence unit for
exploitation.
One of the most interesting missions the Triple Nickel
conducted during this period was to help train a group of U.S. Navy pilots who
were preparing to go overseas. Captain Biggs and 54 paratroopers from his
company were to jump before dawn onto a small drop zone and attack along a
15-mile route, calling in air support on a series of widely-separated targets
and then assaulting each target with live ammunition. It was a mission that
would task the hardiest paratrooper, lasting all day and with little room for
error. Biggs said that “It had all the features of a combat mission except for
a real enemy. There was the low altitude jump, full combat load, no ground
support, and no DZ markers or pathfinders.” For the Triple Nickel, it was yet
another chance to excel.
Biggs and his executive officer, Jesse J. Mayes, spent one
full day reviewing the plan and reconnoitering the route the men of the Triple
Nickel would cover. The drop zone was 400 yards long and 50 yards wide, and
located in the mountains. The route to the various targets was up and down hill
the entire way. There was great potential that heat and terrain could take a
heavy toll. Each man carried a double ammunition load, two canteens, medical
supplies, a compass, and two С-ration meals along with his combat pack. Jump
altitude was 800 feet, allowing little time to react to a problem or a
malfunctioning chute, “under conditions as close to combat as we might see.”
Each plane would make two passes, with nine paratroopers exiting per plane on
each pass.
The pre-dawn flight was very rough. Many of the paratroopers
became sick before they felt the planes slowing down and descending as they
neared the drop zone. Only one man was injured on the jump and had to be
evacuated. The remainder headed for their first target, which they had to reach
before the sun came up. They were in position and radioed the planes in as the
dawn broke. For the rest of the day, the operation went according to plan.
Just prior to the eighth and final target, the Navy dropped
a resupply of ammunition and water. This final target was within view of an
observation post where several senior Navy officers watched the demonstration.
Short of the target, the paratroopers laid out their two-feet by four-feet red
marker panels and called in an air strike with rockets and napalm. In the
follow-on ground attack, the men of the 555th fired off all their remaining
ammunition.
Before the paratroopers departed the exercise area the Navy
officers thanked them for their realistic support. “The commander of the naval
fighter squadron was extremely complimentary. A job well done.”
Between 14 July and 6 October, the Triple Nickel fought 36
fires (19 from Pendleton and 17 from Chico) and disarmed or destroyed an
unknown number of Japanese balloon bombs. In all, the missions included over
1,200 individual jumps with only 30 jump-related injuries and 1 fatality. They
conducted at least one demonstration jump, on 4 July in Pendleton. Operation
Firefly was an unqualified success. Because the Japanese balloon bomb operation
was classified, it was not until many years after the war that the real mission
for this operation was known and the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion could
receive full credit. The contributions the battalion made to special operations
rugged terrain jumping is obvious to anyone who conducts even a cursory review
of today’s techniques.
On 14 January 1946, by specific invitation of Major General
James M. Gavin, commander of the 82d Airborne Division and of the parade
ceremonies, the Triple Nickel took part in the World War II victory parade in
New York City. The 555th marched as part of the 82d and was authorized by Gavin
to wear unit decorations awarded to the “All-American” airborne division during
the war, including the Belgian forragère and the Netherlands lanyard. Just
prior to the parade, the 555th had been attached (not assigned) to the 82d for
admin and training purposes, physically locating back to Fort Bragg.
By September 1947, the 555th was assigned to the 82d and
redesignated as the 3rd Battalion, 505th Airborne Infantry Regiment, the
regiment Gavin commanded during the combat parachute assaults in Sicily and mainland
Italy in 1943. Gavin believed it was only right for his former unit to lead the
division in setting the example for integration.
On 9 December 1947, Gavin took the final step, a full 7½
months before President Truman signed Executive Order 9981, ordering “equality
of treatment and opportunity” for all members of the military forces,
irrespective of race, color, religion, or national origin. On that day, Gavin
signed an order integrating the 82d Airborne Division and moving the men of the
Triple Nickel to various units within the division and division headquarters.
Mission Critique
While planning Operation Firefly, the Army had no choice but
to conduct the mission, if for no other reason than to prevent panic in the
public at large. If the Japanese balloon bombs could be rendered harmless and
their existence kept quiet from the American and Canadian public, the operation
would be a success.
The U.S. planners had two choices for Operation Firefly.
They could use Forest Service Smokejumpers to do it or a military parachute
force. Using the Smokejumpers had at least two major problems: these civilian
firefighters would have to receive extensive explosive ordnance disposal
training and would, potentially, have to spend an unknown amount of time on the
mission, time when they would not be available for fighting forest fires. This
latter would require the Forest Service to hire additional people to take their
place on the fire lines.
Using military parachute infantry forces, who already had
training and experience in employing explosive ordnance was a more sensible
choice for Firefly. These paratroopers would require training in disarming
ordnance but their ramp up time would be a lot shorter than using Forest
Service personnel. Additionally, their cover as Smokejumpers was perfect for
their Firefly operations and was successful in preventing widespread knowledge
of the existence of the balloon bombs. As shown, they helped develop a jump
technique that is still used by special operations forces today, known as
rugged terrain jumping.
Although the main discussion stresses the Triple Nickel’s
contribution to rugged terrain operations there is another contribution that
this unit made. This one was not unique to the 555th; in fact, most of the
better special operations units in World War II made a similar contribution to
special operations doctrine. The 555th, however, did it better than anyone
else. This contribution is the method of cross-training unit members in a
variety of skills and in different leadership positions. This is one of the
best methods for building unit cohesion. Without this kind of cohesion the
members of the unit don’t work as well together, don’t reach the ultimate, at
least in special operations, of working as a team. The two best examples of the
team concept are the Alamo Scouts and the Triple Nickel; the SAS, Popski’s
Private Army, and the Jeds also demonstrate this quality well.
With this unit there are few examples from Vandenbroucke’s
criteria and most from McRaven’s. One of the criteria from Vandenbroucke’s
list, coordination, is present in several positive aspects here since the
Triple Nickel dealt with some interesting organizations, such as the U.S.
Forest Service and its Smokejumpers, and the U.S. Navy. Security, one of
McRaven’s key criteria, was the hallmark of Operation Firefly; it was kept so
secret that not until many years after the end of World War II was the role of
the 555th revealed to the public at large. This same security prevented the
Japanese from knowing how many of their balloons made it to North America,
where they landed, and what damage they had done.
All things considered, the Triple Nickel was typical of the
other special operations units in this study. They did the things that the best
special operations units did—they got good people, planned good operations, and
ехеcuted with skill and style. Both Vandenbroucke and McRaven would happily
give high marks to this unit and its operations.
