1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:14,640 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. 3 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:16,480 Speaker 1: Wilson and I'm Holly Frye. 4 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:21,320 Speaker 2: Today's episode is a list of request It's from Josiah. 5 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:25,840 Speaker 2: Josiah has sent us so many topic ideas, So Josiah, 6 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:28,240 Speaker 2: I want to say, I'm so sorry that we only 7 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:33,919 Speaker 2: very rarely respond to your emails. But after getting this 8 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:36,560 Speaker 2: particular one with this suggestion in it, I went through 9 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:39,080 Speaker 2: the inbox and I made sure that I had made 10 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:41,360 Speaker 2: note of every suggestion that you have sent to us, 11 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:43,360 Speaker 2: because you've sent us a lot of really great ones. 12 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:50,200 Speaker 2: Today's is the five fifty fifth Parachute Infantry Battalion, also 13 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 2: called the Triple Nichols. They were the first black paratroopers 14 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:57,840 Speaker 2: in the US military, and their story is also connected 15 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 2: to the desegregation of the military after World War II. 16 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:06,560 Speaker 1: Black soldiers' participation in the United States military goes back 17 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:11,200 Speaker 1: to before the Revolutionary War, and initially most units were 18 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: not racially segregated. One exception was the first Rhode Island Regiment. 19 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:19,600 Speaker 1: More than half of its number were black or indigenous, 20 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:23,680 Speaker 1: and there were segregated units within that regiment. Beyond that, 21 00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:27,600 Speaker 1: during the Revolutionary War, thousands of people of African descent 22 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: served in the Continental Army, in state militias or at sea, 23 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:37,800 Speaker 1: mostly in integrated units. After George Washington became Commander in 24 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:40,800 Speaker 1: Chief of the Continental Army, he tried to bar people 25 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:44,280 Speaker 1: of African descent from enlistment, but he reversed that decision 26 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:48,520 Speaker 1: a couple of months later. But then after the Revolutionary War, 27 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 1: Congress passed the Federal Militia Act, which Washington signed into 28 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: law in seventeen ninety two. This Act applied to white 29 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 1: men only, so it essentially excluded black people from service, 30 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:06,840 Speaker 1: with a few exceptions. Black people continued to be excluded 31 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:10,400 Speaker 1: from military service in the US until the Civil War, 32 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:14,760 Speaker 1: when the Confiscation Act authorized the use of formerly enslaved 33 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: people as soldiers in the United States Army. These soldiers 34 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 1: generally served in segregated units. We talked more about this 35 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:26,360 Speaker 1: in our episode on Contraband Camps, which we ran as 36 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:30,840 Speaker 1: a Saturday Classic on February eighteenth, twenty twenty three. Prior 37 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:34,400 Speaker 1: hosts of the show also talked about the Massachusetts fifty fourth, 38 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:37,640 Speaker 1: which was the second all black regiment established in the 39 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:40,240 Speaker 1: U s Army, and we ran that as a Saturday 40 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:42,800 Speaker 1: Classic on February second, twenty nineteen. 41 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:46,800 Speaker 2: After the end of the Civil War, the US Army 42 00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:52,359 Speaker 2: was reorganized into a peacetime service, and this reorganization included 43 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 2: the establishment of all black infantry and cavalry units that 44 00:02:56,520 --> 00:03:00,359 Speaker 2: came to be known as the Buffalo Soldiers. About the 45 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:04,280 Speaker 2: Buffalo Soldiers in more detail in the Iron Riders episode 46 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:06,520 Speaker 2: that came out on July third, twenty twenty four. 47 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 1: So by the start of World War One, racial segregation 48 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:13,120 Speaker 1: had been the standard in the US military for decades. 49 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: More than three hundred eighty thousand black Americans served in 50 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:20,440 Speaker 1: the Army during World War One, and overwhelmingly the ones 51 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:24,840 Speaker 1: who were sent overseas were assigned to tasks involving manual labor, 52 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:29,920 Speaker 1: like working as stevedores and digging latrines. One exception was 53 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:32,760 Speaker 1: the Harlem hell Fighters, and we ran our episode on 54 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:36,600 Speaker 1: them as a Saturday Classic on June thirteenth, twenty twenty. 55 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:40,680 Speaker 1: As we talked about in that episode, these soldiers served 56 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 1: with valor and then returned home to find that they 57 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 1: still faced the same racism and discrimination as they had before, 58 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: Purportedly fighting to make the world safe for democracy. As 59 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 1: World War. 60 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:55,200 Speaker 2: II was approaching, the situation for black soldiers in the 61 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:58,640 Speaker 2: US military was largely the same as it had been 62 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:01,760 Speaker 2: in World War One, and that was in spite of 63 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 2: ongoing advocacy on the part of black service members and veterans, 64 00:04:06,200 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 2: as well as civil rights leaders and organizations. The Selective 65 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 2: Service Act that established the World War II Draft specified 66 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:18,039 Speaker 2: that the training and selection of men would have no 67 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 2: discrimination by race or color, but there were still racial 68 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:27,000 Speaker 2: disparities and who was actually selected for service and what 69 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 2: roles those people were assigned. The Army also started using 70 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:36,919 Speaker 2: an intelligence test called the Army General Classification Test, and 71 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:41,000 Speaker 2: there were measurable differences between the typical scores of white 72 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:45,120 Speaker 2: and black recruits, with the black recruits generally scoring lower. 73 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:51,400 Speaker 2: Some military officials did recognize that these disparities stemmed from 74 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:55,760 Speaker 2: social and economic factors and not from the innate intelligence 75 00:04:55,920 --> 00:05:01,000 Speaker 2: of people of different races, but these disparities still reinforced 76 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:04,920 Speaker 2: a lot of negative biases about black soldiers and what 77 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:06,400 Speaker 2: they were capable of doing. 78 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:11,400 Speaker 1: There was also an overall perception within military leadership and 79 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:15,120 Speaker 1: the executive branch of government that white soldiers as a 80 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:19,120 Speaker 1: whole would not accept an integrated army. A lot of 81 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:22,599 Speaker 1: the military bases where soldiers went through training were located 82 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:25,719 Speaker 1: in the South, so there were well founded concerns that 83 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:29,560 Speaker 1: these communities would not accept integrated military units in their 84 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:34,320 Speaker 1: midst So the military continued to maintain segregation moving into 85 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:37,760 Speaker 1: World War II, under the idea that to do otherwise 86 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:41,839 Speaker 1: would damage the nation's military readiness. On the eve of war. 87 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:46,360 Speaker 2: Some steps were being made to try to address at 88 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:51,600 Speaker 2: least some of the most discriminatory aspects of a segregated military. 89 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:55,640 Speaker 2: On October ninth, nineteen forty, the White House issued a 90 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:59,920 Speaker 2: statement outlining the War Department's policy, which would be some 91 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:05,680 Speaker 2: maintain racially segregated units, but also using black soldiers quote 92 00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:09,760 Speaker 2: on a fair and equal basis with their white peers. 93 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 2: So while units were still racially segregated, and that segregation 94 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:19,920 Speaker 2: was inherently discriminatory, there were supposed to be more types 95 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:23,080 Speaker 2: of units being established for black soldiers so that they 96 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:27,240 Speaker 2: would no longer be so disproportionately working only in the 97 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:32,400 Speaker 2: least desirable roles. This policy also specified that black soldiers 98 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:36,000 Speaker 2: would be recruited in equal numbers that aligned with their 99 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:40,440 Speaker 2: proportion of the population of the United States. None of 100 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 2: this really did anything about the inherently discriminatory aspects of segregation, 101 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:48,200 Speaker 2: but at least in theory, it meant that black soldiers 102 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:52,240 Speaker 2: would no longer be primarily assigned to things like manual labor. 103 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:56,880 Speaker 1: From nineteen forty to nineteen forty two, William Henry Hasty 104 00:06:57,000 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: Junior served as a civilian aid to Secretary of War 105 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:04,680 Speaker 1: Henry Lewis Stimpson and advised on these issues. Hasty was 106 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:07,440 Speaker 1: the first black person to be appointed as a federal 107 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:11,160 Speaker 1: District Court judge. He conducted a survey in nineteen forty 108 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:14,440 Speaker 1: one that documented multiple ways in which the US military 109 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:19,080 Speaker 1: was falling short of that nineteen forty policy announcement. Black 110 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:22,040 Speaker 1: people were not being inducted into the military at a 111 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:25,560 Speaker 1: rate that was proportional to their population. There had been 112 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:29,000 Speaker 1: some new units established for black servicemen, such as the 113 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:32,200 Speaker 1: Tuskegee Airmen, which prior hosts of the show covered in 114 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:37,320 Speaker 1: two thousand and nine, but black soldiers were still disproportionately 115 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:41,720 Speaker 1: serving in certain roles, including the Quartermaster Corps and doing 116 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:46,160 Speaker 1: things like building infrastructure in the Corps of Engineers. In 117 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 1: his report, Hasty noted quote the traditional mores of the 118 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:54,520 Speaker 1: South have been widely accepted and adopted by the Army 119 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:59,560 Speaker 1: as the basis of policy and practice affecting the Negro soldier. 120 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:03,040 Speaker 1: He recommended a number of ways for black soldiers to 121 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:06,880 Speaker 1: become a more integral part of the army, including that 122 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:11,880 Speaker 1: the Army should, somewhere within the service, actually begin the 123 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:16,560 Speaker 1: process of integrating. By August of nineteen forty two, these 124 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:21,080 Speaker 1: patterns of discrimination were clearly still ongoing, and the Secretary 125 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:24,960 Speaker 1: of War established an Advisory Committee on Negro Troop Policies, 126 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:29,680 Speaker 1: chaired by Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy. This 127 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:32,840 Speaker 1: committee was focused on addressing what it saw as problems 128 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:37,480 Speaker 1: with discipline, morale, and military readiness among black soldiers and 129 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:41,640 Speaker 1: how to address them. Most of the people involved with 130 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:46,160 Speaker 1: this committee were white military leaders. One exception was Brigadier 131 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:49,319 Speaker 1: General Benjamin O. Davis, who had served in one of 132 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:53,600 Speaker 1: the Buffalo Soldier's regiments and had also become a Tuskegee airman. 133 00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:57,040 Speaker 1: He was the first black general in the US Army. 134 00:08:57,679 --> 00:09:00,600 Speaker 1: A lot of his recommendations were really in line with 135 00:09:00,679 --> 00:09:05,360 Speaker 1: ones that Hasty had made previously, including proposing quote, the 136 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:08,920 Speaker 1: breaking down of the so called Jim Crow practices within 137 00:09:08,960 --> 00:09:12,680 Speaker 1: the War Department and on the military reservations and the 138 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:17,240 Speaker 1: securing of the cooperation of the communities near the reservations. 139 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:22,840 Speaker 1: To that end, Basically, Davis and Hasty both recognized that 140 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:26,040 Speaker 1: a lot of what was happening that the army saw 141 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:31,920 Speaker 1: as problems with morale, readiness and discipline traced directly back 142 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:35,880 Speaker 1: to black soldiers growing up targeted by racism, without the 143 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:39,600 Speaker 1: same access to education or resources that the white recruits 144 00:09:39,679 --> 00:09:43,959 Speaker 1: generally had, and then being expected to work in an 145 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:50,040 Speaker 1: inherently discriminatory environment, sometimes under the command of outwardly racist officers, 146 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:54,719 Speaker 1: all while also living on bases that were surrounded by 147 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:58,720 Speaker 1: civilian communities that were rife with racism and racist violence. 148 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:02,520 Speaker 1: In December of nineteen forty two, this committee made a 149 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:06,320 Speaker 1: number of recommendations, none of which really involved the kind 150 00:10:06,360 --> 00:10:10,920 Speaker 1: of systemic dismantling of racist organizational structures and attitudes that 151 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:15,480 Speaker 1: both Davis and Hasty had spoken about. Hasty actually resigned 152 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:17,839 Speaker 1: from this work in nineteen forty three due to the 153 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:22,360 Speaker 1: lack of progress. These recommendations included the creation of some 154 00:10:22,559 --> 00:10:27,520 Speaker 1: new all black units, including combat engineer units and ambulance battalions, 155 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:30,800 Speaker 1: and new harbor defense units to reduce the number of 156 00:10:30,840 --> 00:10:34,079 Speaker 1: Black soldiers assigned to anti aircraft units. 157 00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:39,559 Speaker 2: So the black harbor defense units never happened, partly because 158 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:43,559 Speaker 2: of difficulty finding communities where those units would be stations 159 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:47,199 Speaker 2: that would not also object to their presence there, and 160 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:50,920 Speaker 2: because the perceived threat to coastal communities in North America 161 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:55,160 Speaker 2: diminished over the course of the war. Some new combat 162 00:10:55,240 --> 00:11:00,000 Speaker 2: engineer units were established, but most of them eventually became concer, 163 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:04,679 Speaker 2: instruction or general service units. The army also did establish 164 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:08,520 Speaker 2: twelve new motor ambulance companies in nineteen forty three, and 165 00:11:08,559 --> 00:11:10,160 Speaker 2: then two more followed later. 166 00:11:11,040 --> 00:11:14,400 Speaker 1: The recommendation that played a part in today's episode was 167 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:18,000 Speaker 1: the creation of a black parachute battalion quote for the 168 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:21,240 Speaker 1: purposes of enhancing the morale and a spree decorps of 169 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:26,200 Speaker 1: the Negro people. Paratroopers were and are considered some of 170 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:29,760 Speaker 1: the most elite members of the military. They literally jump 171 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:33,559 Speaker 1: out of airplanes, often carrying heavy loads of gear, ready 172 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:36,320 Speaker 1: to face whatever it is they find when they land. 173 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:41,440 Speaker 1: Qualification requirements were strict and training was grueling, so the 174 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:45,120 Speaker 1: idea followed that black soldiers in this role would become 175 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:47,319 Speaker 1: a point of Pride. 176 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:51,040 Speaker 2: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered the creation of a black 177 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:54,720 Speaker 2: parachute battalion in April of nineteen forty three, and we'll 178 00:11:54,760 --> 00:12:07,320 Speaker 2: have more on that after a sponsor break. One type 179 00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:10,440 Speaker 2: of unit that black soldiers were being assigned to in 180 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:14,040 Speaker 2: the US Army during World War Two was service companies. 181 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:18,320 Speaker 2: Service companies handled a lot of the non combat work 182 00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:21,840 Speaker 2: that needed to be done for a combat unit to function, 183 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:26,920 Speaker 2: like maintaining equipment, processing the mail, and keeping track of supplies. 184 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:31,839 Speaker 2: The exact duties of these service companies could really vary 185 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:34,800 Speaker 2: based on what kind of unit they were attached to 186 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:39,439 Speaker 2: and where that unit was located. Fort Benning in Columbus, 187 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:43,080 Speaker 2: Georgia was home to the Parachute School where the paratroopers 188 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:47,040 Speaker 2: went through their training, and the Parachute Service Company was 189 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:52,160 Speaker 2: largely dedicated to guard duty. Fort Benning is also home 190 00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:56,600 Speaker 2: to the Infantry Officer Candidate School. Sergeant Walter Morris had 191 00:12:56,720 --> 00:12:58,840 Speaker 2: washed out of that school with only a week left 192 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:01,959 Speaker 2: to go. He had been told to spend three months 193 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:04,600 Speaker 2: in one of the service companies at the fort before 194 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:09,960 Speaker 2: trying again, and he chose the Parachute Service Company once 195 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:14,440 Speaker 2: he got there. A number of problems were obvious to him. 196 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:18,240 Speaker 2: This all black unit was on duty from four pm 197 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:21,920 Speaker 2: until eight am, and during that time there really was 198 00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:26,560 Speaker 2: not much to do. The whole base was segregated, including 199 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:29,920 Speaker 2: black soldiers being excluded from the movie theater and the 200 00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:34,640 Speaker 2: post exchange. A PX, German and Italian prisoners of war 201 00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:38,240 Speaker 2: had access to services and facilities on the base that 202 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:43,000 Speaker 2: Black servicemen were excluded from. So the morale was low 203 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:45,120 Speaker 2: and the men were ferry bored. 204 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:49,440 Speaker 1: Drawing on what he'd learned in Officer candidate school, Morris 205 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:52,520 Speaker 1: put together a plan to try to improve morale among 206 00:13:52,559 --> 00:13:54,960 Speaker 1: the service corps, and he got it approved by the 207 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:59,320 Speaker 1: company commander. This plan included the black soldiers doing the 208 00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:02,839 Speaker 1: same fitness and training regimen that the paratrooper candidates were 209 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:07,960 Speaker 1: doing basically everything except practice jumps from towers and airplanes, 210 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:11,160 Speaker 1: so they'd be using the training fields and equipment rather 211 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:14,400 Speaker 1: than just guarding them overnight, and this gave the men 212 00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:16,760 Speaker 1: more of a sense of purpose and cohesion and their 213 00:14:16,760 --> 00:14:18,440 Speaker 1: morale did start to improve. 214 00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:23,600 Speaker 2: General Ridgley Gaither, the commandant of the Airborne School, observed 215 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:27,080 Speaker 2: all of this as it was happening, and eventually he 216 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:31,160 Speaker 2: informed Morris that the Army was establishing a test platoon 217 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:35,920 Speaker 2: to see if black soldiers could perform as paratroopers. Gaither 218 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:40,320 Speaker 2: personally selected Morris as a potential candidate for this platoon, 219 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:44,680 Speaker 2: and Morris ultimately became a second lieutenant and helped recruit 220 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:46,720 Speaker 2: the test platoon's other members. 221 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:51,320 Speaker 1: This test platoon was created as the Company A five 222 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:55,640 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty fifth Parachute Infantry Battalion. The platoon took 223 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:58,640 Speaker 1: the name Triple Nichols from that numerical designation of five 224 00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:02,080 Speaker 1: five five, and since a Nicholas five cents, it also 225 00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:05,840 Speaker 1: had a connection to Buffalo Nichols. Many of the companies 226 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:09,560 Speaker 1: enlisted men were recruited from the ninety second Infantry Division 227 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:15,160 Speaker 1: Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Wachuca, Arizona. These men were selected 228 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:20,200 Speaker 1: very carefully because, in addition to the morale and esprie 229 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:23,440 Speaker 1: de corps that we mentioned before the break, the Army 230 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:27,480 Speaker 1: was basically testing whether black men were suitable to serve 231 00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:33,200 Speaker 1: as paratroopers before committing to selecting and training more of them. 232 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:36,880 Speaker 1: After being selected for the test platoon, nineteen men went 233 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:40,120 Speaker 1: through a four phase training process at the Airborne School. 234 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:45,120 Speaker 1: Phase A started with extremely grueling exercise that went on 235 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:49,080 Speaker 1: for long stretches at a time. It was basically intended 236 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:51,520 Speaker 1: to wash out anyone who wouldn't be able to handle 237 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:54,320 Speaker 1: the riggers of the rest of the training or the 238 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:56,840 Speaker 1: riggers of life as a paratrooper, and to do it 239 00:15:56,880 --> 00:16:00,560 Speaker 1: as quickly as possible. They also attended lecture on how 240 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:03,560 Speaker 1: to protect themselves during a jump, and they did wind 241 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:08,080 Speaker 1: tunnel exercises to practice controlling a parachute. 242 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:11,400 Speaker 2: Phase B built on what they'd learned the previous week, 243 00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:14,760 Speaker 2: and it added hand to hand combat and jump training. 244 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:19,520 Speaker 2: At this point, the jump training mainly involved mock jumps 245 00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:23,240 Speaker 2: from a fifty foot tower without a parachute while wearing 246 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:24,160 Speaker 2: a harness. 247 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:28,479 Speaker 1: Phase C moved on to simulated jumps with a parachute, 248 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:30,920 Speaker 1: which many of the men considered to be more of 249 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:34,520 Speaker 1: a mental and emotional challenge than actually jumping from an 250 00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:38,000 Speaker 1: airplane would be. Later on, these took place from a 251 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:40,840 Speaker 1: two hundred and fifty foot tower at the Airborne School, 252 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:45,040 Speaker 1: and then in the fourth week, Phase D took them 253 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:49,560 Speaker 1: into actual airplanes to make real jumps with a parachute. 254 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:53,560 Speaker 1: After they'd successfully completed all four phases, the men would 255 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:58,920 Speaker 1: earn their jump wings. Ultimately, on February eighteenth, nineteen forty 256 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:03,800 Speaker 1: four black paratroopers graduated from this first round of training. 257 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:08,080 Speaker 1: Six black officers graduated from their training on March fourth, 258 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:10,639 Speaker 1: so there were twenty two men in total in the 259 00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:16,520 Speaker 1: test platoon. Based on the memoir of Lieutenant Colonel Bradley Biggs, 260 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:20,120 Speaker 1: who was the first black officer accepted into the Triple Nickels, 261 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:25,439 Speaker 1: their training was extremely difficult and the white officers and 262 00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:30,159 Speaker 1: enlisted men who conducted that training were very hard on them, 263 00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:32,720 Speaker 1: but they did not get a sense that there were 264 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:36,760 Speaker 1: racial undertones to this. It was the same training at 265 00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:40,119 Speaker 1: the same pace that the white paratroopers went through, and 266 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:44,120 Speaker 1: at least in the context of their paratrooper training, Biggs 267 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:47,080 Speaker 1: felt like they had gotten the same treatment that the 268 00:17:47,119 --> 00:17:51,480 Speaker 1: white soldiers would have. The test platoon was still housed 269 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:54,639 Speaker 1: with the Service Company on base, but after earning their 270 00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:58,040 Speaker 1: jump wings, they reported feeling more camaraderie with the white 271 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:01,720 Speaker 1: soldiers at Fort Benning than they did before. There was 272 00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:04,720 Speaker 1: sort of a perception that a paratrooper was a paratrooper 273 00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:08,200 Speaker 1: regardless of skin color, although the five point fifty five's 274 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:11,640 Speaker 1: black officers and NCOs still were not welcome in their 275 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:15,760 Speaker 1: respective clubs, and the situation off base had not changed 276 00:18:15,800 --> 00:18:19,320 Speaker 1: at all. Columbus Georgia is in a fairly rural part 277 00:18:19,359 --> 00:18:22,480 Speaker 1: of the state near the Alabama state line, and black 278 00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:27,000 Speaker 1: soldiers often faced racism and harassment from white civilians and 279 00:18:27,080 --> 00:18:29,840 Speaker 1: from the Columbus police when they were off base. 280 00:18:31,359 --> 00:18:34,480 Speaker 2: Based on the success of this first round of training, 281 00:18:34,760 --> 00:18:37,680 Speaker 2: the Army started the process of turning this twenty two 282 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:42,560 Speaker 2: man test platoon into a full parachute infantry company. That 283 00:18:42,640 --> 00:18:46,320 Speaker 2: happened in the summer of nineteen forty four. The Triple 284 00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:49,320 Speaker 2: Nichols were moved to Camp McCall, North Carolina, which had 285 00:18:49,359 --> 00:18:54,439 Speaker 2: an airfield. Camp McCall was also segregated, but black troops 286 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:57,639 Speaker 2: there did have access to a separate section of the 287 00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:01,960 Speaker 2: movie theater, and the officers were allowed access to their clubs. 288 00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:06,720 Speaker 2: The Triple Nichols also organized a football team for recreation 289 00:19:07,080 --> 00:19:09,520 Speaker 2: at Camp McCall, and they played a number of games 290 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:13,320 Speaker 2: against teams from historically black colleges and universities. 291 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:17,920 Speaker 1: As the company expanded, the Triple Nickels underwent additional training 292 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:21,720 Speaker 1: at Camp McCall. This lasted for five months, during which 293 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:24,800 Speaker 1: more men were being recruited and put through jump school. 294 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:28,240 Speaker 1: Their number grew to one hundred and fifty five enlisted 295 00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:32,080 Speaker 1: men and ten officers, under the command of Captain James Porter, 296 00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:35,000 Speaker 1: sometimes called the father of the five five to five. 297 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:39,520 Speaker 1: Some of that training at Camp McCall was particularly unpleasant, 298 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:42,560 Speaker 1: like one hot afternoon when they went up in a 299 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:46,479 Speaker 1: plane that was simulating evasive maneuvers right after they had 300 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:48,719 Speaker 1: been served a heavy, greasy lunch. 301 00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:52,760 Speaker 2: As their training progressed, many of the men started to 302 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:56,640 Speaker 2: think they might be deployed to Europe, especially as their 303 00:19:56,680 --> 00:20:01,159 Speaker 2: additional training started to focus on combat. The Army was 304 00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:05,000 Speaker 2: still reluctant to send Black troops into combat, but by 305 00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:08,400 Speaker 2: this point in the war, a lot of paratroopers had 306 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:12,600 Speaker 2: been killed or injured in Europe, so reinforcements were needed. 307 00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:16,159 Speaker 2: Among other things, the D Day Invasion in June of 308 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:19,639 Speaker 2: nineteen forty four had started with paratroopers from the eighty 309 00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:22,720 Speaker 2: second and one hundred and first Airborne Divisions being dropped 310 00:20:22,760 --> 00:20:27,119 Speaker 2: behind enemy lines, and they had faced really heavy losses. 311 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:30,720 Speaker 1: But almost a year later, the war in Europe was 312 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:34,560 Speaker 1: coming to an end. On April twenty first, nineteen forty five, 313 00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:37,320 Speaker 1: when they were four weeks into an eight week combat 314 00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:41,479 Speaker 1: readiness program, the Triple Nicols got a different order. It 315 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:44,720 Speaker 1: was to report to Pendleton Field in Pendleton, Oregon. 316 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:48,560 Speaker 2: This was not because they were going to be deployed 317 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:51,800 Speaker 2: from there to the Pacific, where the war against Japan 318 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:55,159 Speaker 2: was still ongoing. It was because they were going to 319 00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:58,040 Speaker 2: fight fires. And we will have more on that after 320 00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:11,879 Speaker 2: another sponsor break. On May fifth, nineteen forty five, the 321 00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:14,919 Speaker 2: Reverend Archie Mitchell and his wife Elise were taking a 322 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:18,360 Speaker 2: group of children on a church outing in Bly, Oregon. 323 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:21,959 Speaker 2: Elise and some of the children spotted something on the 324 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:26,440 Speaker 2: ground and it exploded. Elise was killed, along with five 325 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:31,359 Speaker 2: children between the ages of eleven and fourteen. It turned 326 00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:34,600 Speaker 2: out this device was a bomb that had been sent 327 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:39,240 Speaker 2: to the United States from Japan via balloon. The US 328 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:42,879 Speaker 2: Navy had started to find balloons and parts of balloons 329 00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:46,800 Speaker 2: the previous November, and hundreds more were sighted in the 330 00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:50,760 Speaker 2: following months. We talked about these balloon bombs in our 331 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:54,399 Speaker 2: episode on the balloons of World War II. On March sixth, 332 00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:55,640 Speaker 2: twenty twenty three. 333 00:21:56,359 --> 00:21:59,680 Speaker 1: By coincidence, May fifth was also the day the Triple 334 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:04,120 Speaker 1: Nickel left Camp McCall for Pendleton, Oregon. They traveled most 335 00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:06,120 Speaker 1: of the way by rail, and it took them six 336 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:09,240 Speaker 1: days to get there. For their first couple of weeks 337 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:12,360 Speaker 1: at Pendleton Air Base, they mostly focused on their physical 338 00:22:12,359 --> 00:22:16,080 Speaker 1: fitness and conditioning because the base was being reactivated for 339 00:22:16,119 --> 00:22:19,920 Speaker 1: this purpose and their equipment and supplies had not arrived yet. 340 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:25,480 Speaker 1: The effort to find and defuse these Japanese balloon bombs 341 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:28,679 Speaker 1: and to fight any fires that the bombs caused was 342 00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:33,919 Speaker 1: known as Operation Firefly. It involved roughly twenty seven hundred 343 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:38,520 Speaker 1: military personnel working in conjunction with the US Forest Service. 344 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:42,840 Speaker 1: The Triple Nichols formed a three hundred man smoke jumping 345 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:49,040 Speaker 1: unit during Operation Firefly. Smoke jumping, or sending firefighters into 346 00:22:49,040 --> 00:22:52,359 Speaker 1: an area by parachute, was a fairly new development in 347 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:56,240 Speaker 1: the United States. Like the development of paratroopers. It had 348 00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:59,200 Speaker 1: grown out of the combination of parachutes, which have been 349 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:02,040 Speaker 1: around in their modern formed since the late eighteenth century, 350 00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:05,480 Speaker 1: and practical aircraft, which have been around since the early 351 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:10,040 Speaker 1: twentieth century. The first uses of aircraft and firefighting in 352 00:23:10,080 --> 00:23:13,720 Speaker 1: western North America started with aerial photography and equipment drops. 353 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:17,679 Speaker 1: In the nineteen twenties, various people proposed the idea of 354 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:21,520 Speaker 1: transporting firefighters to an area by parachute in the nineteen 355 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:25,080 Speaker 1: twenties and thirties, but initially most people thought this was 356 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:29,400 Speaker 1: way too dangerous to be practical. That started to change 357 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:32,480 Speaker 1: with the development of more maneuverable parachutes in the mid 358 00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:33,960 Speaker 1: to late nineteen thirties. 359 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:38,359 Speaker 2: In nineteen thirty nine, the Forest Service started working with 360 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:43,239 Speaker 2: Eagle Parachute Company of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and most of the 361 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:46,320 Speaker 2: first smoke jumpers that were part of this project were 362 00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:50,280 Speaker 2: employed by the company rather than by the government. They 363 00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:54,959 Speaker 2: carried out about sixty experimental jumps, and eventually some Forest 364 00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:59,680 Speaker 2: Service employees embarked on jumps as well. The first actual 365 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:03,280 Speaker 2: jump umps for fire and rescue missions rather than tests 366 00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:07,040 Speaker 2: and training, started in nineteen forty, but it really wasn't 367 00:24:07,119 --> 00:24:10,520 Speaker 2: until nineteen forty four that smoke jumping started to be 368 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:14,680 Speaker 2: seen as a realistic, practical way to fight forest fires, 369 00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:19,240 Speaker 2: and one that saved more money than it cost. The 370 00:24:19,280 --> 00:24:22,800 Speaker 2: Triple Nickels time as smoke jumpers was only partly about 371 00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:26,520 Speaker 2: the Japanese balloon bombs, although when they got this assignment 372 00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:30,400 Speaker 2: those were seen as a huge potential threat, especially since 373 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:34,679 Speaker 2: summer was approaching beyond the balloon bombs. The Forest Service 374 00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:37,560 Speaker 2: was facing a huge labor shortage due to the war. 375 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:40,800 Speaker 2: Before the arrival of the Triple Nickels, the number of 376 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:44,520 Speaker 2: firefighters in the West had been bolstered by conscientious objectors 377 00:24:44,760 --> 00:24:49,120 Speaker 2: who were assigned to alternative service, including from pacifist religious 378 00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:52,800 Speaker 2: denominations like the Religious Society of Friends also known as 379 00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:57,040 Speaker 2: the Quakers. The goal for the Triple Nickels was for 380 00:24:57,119 --> 00:25:00,439 Speaker 2: them to be able to parachute into a fire area, 381 00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:03,560 Speaker 2: assess what was going on there, and keep any fires 382 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:08,080 Speaker 2: contained until reinforcements arrived, often by mule train, because the 383 00:25:08,160 --> 00:25:11,760 Speaker 2: area was so remote and so far away from roads. 384 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:15,120 Speaker 2: If they found a balloon bomb, they would cordon off 385 00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:18,360 Speaker 2: the area and diffuse it. So the Triple Nickels training 386 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:23,960 Speaker 2: included both firefighting and fire containment techniques and bomb disposal. 387 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:27,120 Speaker 2: To do this work, they also had to learn new 388 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:31,040 Speaker 2: strategies for parachuting, using a different type of parachute than 389 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:33,800 Speaker 2: they had learned to use in the Army. They were 390 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:36,760 Speaker 2: taught by Frank Dairy, who was a distributor for Eagle 391 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:40,000 Speaker 2: Parachute Company on the West Coast and who had developed 392 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:43,240 Speaker 2: a steerable parachute called the dairy chute that the Forest 393 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:48,120 Speaker 2: Service was using. Their uniforms and equipment also changed, including 394 00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:51,800 Speaker 2: swapping their steel military helmets for football helmets with mesh 395 00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:55,600 Speaker 2: screens to help protect their faces from cinders and debris. 396 00:25:56,640 --> 00:26:01,280 Speaker 2: The Triple Nickels military parachute training had focused on landing 397 00:26:01,359 --> 00:26:05,720 Speaker 2: in fields and other open areas, but as smoke jumpers, 398 00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:09,840 Speaker 2: they were typically landing in wooded areas. Instead, they would 399 00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:14,919 Speaker 2: literally aim for the trees. This was intentional. Places that 400 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:18,760 Speaker 2: were clear of trees were often just too rugged and 401 00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:23,280 Speaker 2: mountainous to be traversed, or if they looked open from above, 402 00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:26,640 Speaker 2: they might really be full of downed timbers that were 403 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:30,040 Speaker 2: hazardous to try to land on or navigate through once 404 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:33,000 Speaker 2: you were on the ground. Members of the five point 405 00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:37,000 Speaker 2: fifty fifth talked about really having to fight against their 406 00:26:37,040 --> 00:26:41,280 Speaker 2: original training to intentionally aim for those trees instead of 407 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:46,160 Speaker 2: aiming for open ground. Aiming for wooded areas also meant 408 00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:48,720 Speaker 2: that they had to learn how to get themselves out 409 00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:52,480 Speaker 2: of the trees after landing. To do this, they used 410 00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:55,840 Speaker 2: fifty feet of nylon rope that they carried with them 411 00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:57,200 Speaker 2: during their jumps. 412 00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:00,440 Speaker 1: From May twenty second to June sixth, members of the 413 00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:03,480 Speaker 1: Forest Service train the Triple Nickles on how to use 414 00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:08,440 Speaker 1: the Forest Service as maps and on techniques for fire suppression. Then, 415 00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:12,080 Speaker 1: from June eighth to fifteenth, the Ninth Service Command trained 416 00:27:12,119 --> 00:27:16,919 Speaker 1: them on bomb disposal. Their training jumps started on June eighteenth, 417 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:21,840 Speaker 1: and they answered their first fire call just three days later. Ultimately, 418 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:25,199 Speaker 1: they were split into two groups, with six officers and 419 00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:28,840 Speaker 1: ninety four enlisted men sent to Chico Army Airfield in Chico, 420 00:27:28,920 --> 00:27:32,399 Speaker 1: California to cover the southwest, while the rest of the 421 00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:36,160 Speaker 1: men remained at Pendleton Airfield to cover the northwest. 422 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:40,200 Speaker 2: Over the nineteen forty five fire season, the Triple Nickels 423 00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:44,000 Speaker 2: carried out more than twelve hundred jumps to help control 424 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:49,840 Speaker 2: thirty six fires and dispose of several Japanese bombs. Sometimes 425 00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:52,480 Speaker 2: their work took them to Canada, where they helped keep 426 00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:56,800 Speaker 2: fires from spreading southward into the United States. Over that 427 00:27:56,840 --> 00:28:02,920 Speaker 2: summer of nineteen forty five, they developed a reputation for dedication, flexibility, adaptability, 428 00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:04,000 Speaker 2: and professionalism. 429 00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:07,560 Speaker 1: More than thirty of them were injured during this work, 430 00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:11,639 Speaker 1: some of them seriously. As one example, on one jump, 431 00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:14,600 Speaker 1: one of the men fractured his spine while landing and 432 00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:16,879 Speaker 1: had to remain in the field while the rest of 433 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:19,680 Speaker 1: the team worked. When it was time to hike out, 434 00:28:19,760 --> 00:28:23,000 Speaker 1: he refused their help because everyone else was tired and 435 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:25,719 Speaker 1: they were also low on food and water, so he 436 00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:28,919 Speaker 1: hiked out under his own power, trying to keep his 437 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:31,439 Speaker 1: back straight the whole time, and he did this for 438 00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:36,240 Speaker 1: more than eighteen miles. The Triple Nickels had only one 439 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:40,760 Speaker 1: fatality during their time as smoke jumpers. Medic Malvin L. 440 00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:44,680 Speaker 2: Brown landed in a tree during a jump on August sixth. 441 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:49,040 Speaker 2: As he was lowering himself down, something went wrong and 442 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:52,440 Speaker 2: he fell into a rocky creek bed below. He was 443 00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:54,160 Speaker 2: most likely killed instantly. 444 00:28:55,040 --> 00:28:57,560 Speaker 1: By the late summer of nineteen forty five, it was 445 00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:00,800 Speaker 1: clear that the Japanese balloon bombs were no longer a threat. 446 00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:03,959 Speaker 1: It would later become known that the last ones had 447 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:07,840 Speaker 1: been launched in April of that year, so on September second, 448 00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:11,880 Speaker 1: the Western Defense Command started winding down the balloon defense project. 449 00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:16,320 Speaker 1: In October, the Triple Nichols returned to Camp McCall, and 450 00:29:16,360 --> 00:29:19,240 Speaker 1: then that December they became part of the thirteenth Airborne 451 00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:22,680 Speaker 1: Division and they moved to Fort Bragg. When the thirteenth 452 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:25,920 Speaker 1: Airborne was inactivated, the Triple Nichols became part of the 453 00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:29,560 Speaker 1: eighty second Airborne under Major General James M. Gavin. 454 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:35,600 Speaker 2: Fort Bragg was still racially segregated, and initially the Triple 455 00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:39,400 Speaker 2: Nichols were living in the worst housing available on the base, 456 00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:44,240 Speaker 2: but Gavin insisted that the Triple Nichols be integrated with 457 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:48,160 Speaker 2: the rest of the eighty second Airborne, including insisting that 458 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:51,040 Speaker 2: they march with the eighty second Airborne as part of 459 00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:54,800 Speaker 2: the New York City Victory Parade on January fourteenth, nineteen 460 00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:55,560 Speaker 2: forty six. 461 00:29:56,200 --> 00:29:59,280 Speaker 1: The five point fifty fifth was formally deactivated on December 462 00:29:59,320 --> 00:30:02,680 Speaker 1: fifteenth night, eighteen forty seven, at which point its remaining 463 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:05,880 Speaker 1: paratroopers became part of the third Battalion, five oh fifth 464 00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:10,800 Speaker 1: Airborne Infantry, eighty second Airborne. One of them, Charles Stevens, 465 00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:14,320 Speaker 1: was later quoted as saying, quote, everybody was crying. I 466 00:30:14,320 --> 00:30:17,280 Speaker 1: think we were crying for two different reasons. We were 467 00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:20,080 Speaker 1: glad the segregation was leaving the army, and we were 468 00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:24,960 Speaker 1: sad we were losing our Triple Nickel colors. Advocacy for 469 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:30,040 Speaker 1: a racially integrated military had been ongoing during and after 470 00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:35,000 Speaker 1: World War Two, another advisory board had been convened, called 471 00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:40,000 Speaker 1: the Board for Utilization of Negro Manpower or the Gillam 472 00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:44,280 Speaker 1: Board for its chair, Lieutenant General Alvin Cullum Gillum Junior. 473 00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:50,440 Speaker 1: This board issued a report that once again recommended desegregation 474 00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:54,880 Speaker 1: of the military. President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 475 00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:58,920 Speaker 1: ninety nine eighty one on July twenty sixth, nineteen forty eight, 476 00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:04,560 Speaker 1: which banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national 477 00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:09,440 Speaker 1: origin in the US military. This effectively banned segregation throughout 478 00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:10,680 Speaker 1: the military. 479 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:14,200 Speaker 2: Although it took years for that to actually be put 480 00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:17,480 Speaker 2: into practice across all of the divisions, and obviously it 481 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:22,600 Speaker 2: also did not solve racism within the army, but the 482 00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:26,520 Speaker 2: eighty second Airborne had been integrated months before the order 483 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:27,600 Speaker 2: was even issued. 484 00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:31,360 Speaker 1: Not long after the executive Order, some of the men 485 00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:34,640 Speaker 1: who had been part of the Triple Nickels experienced a tragedy. 486 00:31:35,640 --> 00:31:39,040 Speaker 1: Multiple units from different branches of the military were preparing 487 00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:43,560 Speaker 1: for large scale maneuvers known as Operation Combine three on 488 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:46,920 Speaker 1: September sixteenth, nineteen forty eight, at Egglin Field on the 489 00:31:46,920 --> 00:31:50,600 Speaker 1: Florida Panhandle, very near where I grew up. The five 490 00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:53,480 Speaker 1: oh fifth Airborne Infantry and the seven eighty fifth Tank 491 00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:56,760 Speaker 1: Battalion were on maneuvers on the ground while Air Force 492 00:31:56,840 --> 00:31:59,960 Speaker 1: B twenty nine bombers were conducting a firepower we heard 493 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:03,760 Speaker 1: some of the bombers missed their mark and dropped their 494 00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:07,440 Speaker 1: bombs onto the troops on the ground. Five men were 495 00:32:07,520 --> 00:32:10,160 Speaker 1: killed and twenty nine were injured, and with the exception 496 00:32:10,280 --> 00:32:14,080 Speaker 1: of one white officer, all of them were black. All 497 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:18,280 Speaker 1: of the pilots involved were white. In his memoir, Lieutenant 498 00:32:18,280 --> 00:32:21,400 Speaker 1: Colonel Bradley Biggs contended that this was largely covered up 499 00:32:21,720 --> 00:32:25,280 Speaker 1: and that the pilots and navigators involved were not held accountable, 500 00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:27,640 Speaker 1: and that would not have been the case had their 501 00:32:27,760 --> 00:32:28,960 Speaker 1: races been reversed. 502 00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:33,720 Speaker 2: Operation Firefly had largely been a secret while it was 503 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:36,960 Speaker 2: going on. The military had tried to keep word from 504 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:40,640 Speaker 2: spreading about the Japanese balloon bombs for fear that the 505 00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:43,720 Speaker 2: public would panic if they knew about them, so people 506 00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:47,440 Speaker 2: had not even been warned about the potential dangers until 507 00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:51,280 Speaker 2: after that tragedy in Bly, Oregon. That meant that the 508 00:32:51,280 --> 00:32:55,040 Speaker 2: Triple Nichols really did not get as much news coverage 509 00:32:55,160 --> 00:32:59,000 Speaker 2: or recognition for their work at the time the Tuskeee 510 00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:02,000 Speaker 2: Airmen for Examp were a lot more widely covered and 511 00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:03,120 Speaker 2: more widely known. 512 00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:07,320 Speaker 1: That's still largely true today, but it started to change 513 00:33:07,360 --> 00:33:10,720 Speaker 1: a little bit in more recent years. In nineteen ninety four, 514 00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:13,480 Speaker 1: the Triple Nickels were part of a celebration of Smokey 515 00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:17,600 Speaker 1: Bear's fiftieth birthday. Pendleton Airfield is now home to the 516 00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:22,360 Speaker 1: Oregon National Guards Pendleton Aviation Support Facility, and the conference 517 00:33:22,440 --> 00:33:25,080 Speaker 1: room there is named for the five fifty fifth Parachute 518 00:33:25,080 --> 00:33:29,680 Speaker 1: Infantry Battalion. There are historical markers dedicated to them at 519 00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:33,200 Speaker 1: the Sisku Smoke Jumper Museum in Cave Junction, Oregon and 520 00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:34,520 Speaker 1: in Pendleton, Oregon. 521 00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:39,320 Speaker 2: In addition to Lieutenant Colonel Bradley Biggs's book, which is 522 00:33:39,360 --> 00:33:43,000 Speaker 2: called the Triple Nickels America's First All Black Paratroope Unit, 523 00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:46,600 Speaker 2: there's also a book called Courage Has No Color, The 524 00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:50,440 Speaker 2: True Story of the Triple Nickels, America's First Black Paratroopers, 525 00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:54,160 Speaker 2: by Tanya Lee Stone. This book is intended for ages 526 00:33:54,240 --> 00:33:57,320 Speaker 2: ten and up, and it won the NAACP Image Award 527 00:33:57,360 --> 00:34:01,720 Speaker 2: for Outstanding Literary Work Youth and Team in twenty fourteen. 528 00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:06,000 Speaker 2: UH and that's the triple Nichols. 529 00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:07,720 Speaker 1: Do you also have listener mail? 530 00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:11,959 Speaker 2: I do also have listener mail, and this listener mail 531 00:34:12,160 --> 00:34:15,919 Speaker 2: came with a subject line that really delighted me. It's 532 00:34:15,920 --> 00:34:20,000 Speaker 2: from Katie and the subject line of the email is 533 00:34:20,600 --> 00:34:25,399 Speaker 2: out of hand. Viking Unearthed hoksh and Katie wrote, Dear 534 00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:28,799 Speaker 2: Holly and Tracy, listening to your latest Unearthed podcast, I 535 00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:31,920 Speaker 2: was wondering if you had mentioned a Viking artifact that 536 00:34:32,160 --> 00:34:35,480 Speaker 2: was unearthed here in Sweden this past March. You did not, 537 00:34:36,440 --> 00:34:40,720 Speaker 2: so you may not have heard this hilarious story. In March, 538 00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:44,719 Speaker 2: a rare Viking age neck ring was discovered at a 539 00:34:44,760 --> 00:34:47,560 Speaker 2: construction site. It was in very good condition and had 540 00:34:47,560 --> 00:34:51,320 Speaker 2: a very rare design, so experts were all excited about 541 00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:55,520 Speaker 2: the find and it made headlines all over the country. However, 542 00:34:55,760 --> 00:34:58,920 Speaker 2: they were a bit over eager to share the discovery 543 00:34:58,960 --> 00:35:02,320 Speaker 2: and did not conduct the test to determine the authenticity 544 00:35:02,400 --> 00:35:06,239 Speaker 2: of the find. It turns out some of the construction 545 00:35:06,400 --> 00:35:10,279 Speaker 2: workers had planted an elaborate fake made of wire and 546 00:35:10,360 --> 00:35:12,680 Speaker 2: spray paint and buried it in the mud to fool 547 00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:16,520 Speaker 2: some land surveyors. They were fooled, and to get to 548 00:35:16,520 --> 00:35:20,879 Speaker 2: the Viking experts who were also fooled and sent out 549 00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:24,160 Speaker 2: a press release very quickly. It took about twenty four 550 00:35:24,200 --> 00:35:27,239 Speaker 2: hours for the story to unravel. It seems like the 551 00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:30,680 Speaker 2: construction workers thought the joke would be figured out very quickly. 552 00:35:31,040 --> 00:35:34,200 Speaker 2: The experts were embarrassed but took it well. I'm sure 553 00:35:34,239 --> 00:35:38,280 Speaker 2: every artifact will have rigorous testing done before any press 554 00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:41,880 Speaker 2: releases are sent out in the future. The construction workers 555 00:35:41,880 --> 00:35:45,279 Speaker 2: were informed that they could reclaim the necklace from the authorities, 556 00:35:45,320 --> 00:35:49,040 Speaker 2: but to my knowledge, no one ever claimed it. I've 557 00:35:49,040 --> 00:35:50,799 Speaker 2: added some links. I do not know if this will 558 00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:54,000 Speaker 2: count as unearthed, but it was a good story. The 559 00:35:54,080 --> 00:35:56,640 Speaker 2: email goes on to say, on the topic of spite houses, 560 00:35:56,680 --> 00:35:59,520 Speaker 2: there is a castle that was owned by a successful 561 00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:05,240 Speaker 2: general Scoglocester Castle, and I did not look much further 562 00:36:05,280 --> 00:36:08,640 Speaker 2: into that, but the email continues he built an elaborate 563 00:36:08,680 --> 00:36:11,399 Speaker 2: castle right next to the home of his father. The 564 00:36:11,480 --> 00:36:14,799 Speaker 2: size difference is very noticeable. I do not remember the 565 00:36:14,800 --> 00:36:17,760 Speaker 2: full story, but it was definitely to spite his father. 566 00:36:17,920 --> 00:36:21,160 Speaker 2: See the attached image. I don't currently have pets, so 567 00:36:21,239 --> 00:36:25,520 Speaker 2: my pet tax is some cherry blossoms from outside my house. 568 00:36:25,640 --> 00:36:30,160 Speaker 2: Keep up the good work, Katie, Katie, I love this story. 569 00:36:30,760 --> 00:36:35,520 Speaker 2: I did not see any of this about this quote 570 00:36:35,719 --> 00:36:42,000 Speaker 2: discovery as I was working on Unearthed. The particular links 571 00:36:42,040 --> 00:36:44,400 Speaker 2: that were included in the email with more information on 572 00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:46,279 Speaker 2: the story are not links that I typically look at 573 00:36:46,320 --> 00:36:50,200 Speaker 2: as part of on Earth. There have been times, though, 574 00:36:50,560 --> 00:36:53,480 Speaker 2: where over the course of researching on Earth, I will 575 00:36:53,520 --> 00:36:56,640 Speaker 2: see a similar maybe not exactly this story, maybe not 576 00:36:56,719 --> 00:36:59,120 Speaker 2: a hoax, but I will see something play out that 577 00:36:59,200 --> 00:37:04,120 Speaker 2: involves un announcement about something, and then questions raised about 578 00:37:04,120 --> 00:37:08,440 Speaker 2: that announcement, and then maybe the initial announcement being retracted. 579 00:37:08,520 --> 00:37:11,279 Speaker 2: That does happen sometimes, and so one of sort of 580 00:37:11,280 --> 00:37:16,920 Speaker 2: my perpetual low grade fears about Unearthed, since we do 581 00:37:17,040 --> 00:37:22,200 Speaker 2: them quarterly, is that it's possible that towards the very 582 00:37:22,320 --> 00:37:25,520 Speaker 2: end of the quarter there could be something that's announced 583 00:37:26,280 --> 00:37:32,440 Speaker 2: that isn't revealed as being inauthentic until after we have 584 00:37:32,560 --> 00:37:37,040 Speaker 2: already recorded the Unearthed that it's part of. These cherry 585 00:37:37,040 --> 00:37:39,319 Speaker 2: blossom pictures are very beautiful. 586 00:37:39,440 --> 00:37:43,800 Speaker 1: Listen. I will always take a flower picture, very excited 587 00:37:43,840 --> 00:37:47,759 Speaker 1: about that. I stop and so many times and take 588 00:37:47,800 --> 00:37:51,440 Speaker 1: pictures of random flowers while I'm out walking. One of 589 00:37:51,480 --> 00:37:54,319 Speaker 1: them is a close up of the cherry like one 590 00:37:54,680 --> 00:37:57,759 Speaker 1: limb of the cherry blossoms with the rest of the 591 00:37:57,880 --> 00:38:02,040 Speaker 1: tree in the background. And then yes, there is a 592 00:38:02,080 --> 00:38:07,560 Speaker 1: picture of this Spie House castle. The castle is many, many, 593 00:38:07,680 --> 00:38:08,880 Speaker 1: many times. 594 00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:12,600 Speaker 2: Larger than the structure that it was apparently built next to. 595 00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:18,640 Speaker 2: So thank you so much for this email, Katie. It 596 00:38:18,719 --> 00:38:21,680 Speaker 2: really tickled me this whole story. If you'd like to 597 00:38:21,719 --> 00:38:24,040 Speaker 2: send us a note about this or any other podcast 598 00:38:24,120 --> 00:38:27,840 Speaker 2: where its History podcast at iHeartRadio dot com and you 599 00:38:27,880 --> 00:38:32,080 Speaker 2: can't subscribe to the show on the iHeartRadio app or 600 00:38:32,120 --> 00:38:40,400 Speaker 2: anywhere else you'd like to listen to podcasts. Stuff you 601 00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:43,560 Speaker 2: Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For 602 00:38:43,680 --> 00:38:48,080 Speaker 2: more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 603 00:38:48,200 --> 00:38:50,240 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.