What falls out of the sky? Some would tell you fools and bird droppings. I would say a whole lot more. Besides some ornery well armed paratroopers, there are 3/4 ton vehicles, jeeps, and 105mm howitzers! My first assigned unit was the 1/321st Airborne Field Artillery.
For most, the idea of jumping with equipment is an abstract idea. For the intelligent paratrooper, it means looking above, below and side-to-side. Parachute drops are well planned; not everything goes as planned. While descending, its possible to see moving vehicles, as well as natural obstacles below, guaranteed to hurt the inattentive. When you land, its still a good idea to spot those men and equipment coming down behind you!
It’s amazing to see how vehicles and howitzers are prepared for drop. Everything an airborne unit owns can and will be dropped out of an airplane. The wonderful thing about artillery was the fact that, once on the ground, we rode! We had to have vehicles to pull the equipment, carry the ammo and artillerymen.
I would wear the Screaming Eagle patch from 1966-1968. Never wanted to wear anything but that 101st patch on my shoulder. Going to war with the 101st meant I would end up with a Screaming Eagle on both shoulders. We wore a parachute glider cap and jump boots with our dress greens.
Those who actively served with the 1/321st also wore the unit’s history. They bore the Presidential Unit Citation and the French Croix de Guerre cord. All the above and Private First Class stripes helped to make an impression for my first Christmas leave. My dad spent much of his career in artillery. I remember doing a direct site on a state police barracks with a 105mm from the ROTC building, at Sienna College NY. My dad and crew laughed at a 12 year old, who wanted one round to prove his point.
Although the howitzers were old hat, the vehicle mounted 106mm recoilless rifles (guns), were a brand new item of interest. As an artillery medic, I was duly warned not to take a nap behind a 106. These weapons were dangerous on both ends of the barrel. I saw one touched off in Vietnam, a mite too close to the wall behind them. Debris flew everywhere!
Writers have the privilege of making good light of themselves. In reflection, I left some opportunity to grow as a soldier in this unit. Some dispensary duty broadened my medical skills. However, I needed to be in a larger team of medics to prepare for the Currahee Trail.
I often think of Airborne Row. The street ran the length of the base, down to the airstrip. In reflection, it was more like death row. We never watched the evening news of Vietnam. However, we diligently trained for the inevitable. Men often dyed their tee shirts green at the laundry mat, as a sure sign of their individual orders. They often heard the news first at morning formation. I had a free pass the first year, because I was seventeen. A year passes mighty fast.
At the beginning of 1967, I listened up attentively at morning formation. The sergeant called my name. I had orders! I was reassigned to the 2/501st PIR! Clearing my throat, I asked as bravely as I could. “Where’s the 501st.” Sarge said, “You lucked out trooper, its just down the street.” I would celebrate my 19th birthday in Vietnam, but I would receive some excellent training before fulfilling my own commitment. I don’t know of any paratrooper, whether enlisted or drafted, who escaped a tour in Vietnam.
In closing, I owe my own personal survival to the extensive combat training we endured at Ft. Campbell. The Navy trains their medics as hospital corpsman or Marine field medics; the Army has a tendency to blur these two distinct functions. To survive, a combat medic has to have a good feel for how his unit operates. At times, you have to think and respond like an infantryman. Did I say the 2/501st was PIR? That stands for Parachute Infantry Regiment! My riding days were largely over.
althompson101 