And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
old school we'd have our boot heels hooked on the end of that "platform" they fold down ... only thing inside the aircraft were your knuckles. Great feeling.
Absolutely! Bragg Jumpmaster grad spring of 1971. He's not looking for the DZ, but checking that the following aircraft are, indeed, above so that the stick won't wander into their engines, wings, or fuselage. 2 strong stomps on the fold down platform by Mr. Corcoran.
Going to Jump school was the stupidest thing I did in the military. I did not care for it but I liked the extra $$ in my pocket. I did the minimal jumps to stay qualified for 5 years. At 64, my knees and hips constantly remind me how stupid it is to jump out of a perfectly good aircraft.
It was 50 years ago last month, 20 APR 75, that I became a disabled veteran due to a parachute jump at night that went bad. Another soldiers canopy failed to inflate and he fell through mine, collapsing it, in a 2500 ft night jump outside Gelnhausen, Germany. We were entangled and I cut away and deployed my reserve and he was unconscious. My reserve popped at about 100 feet off the groundbreaking our fall but not enough to save his life. He died on impact and I spent 6 weeks in traction with 7 pelvis fractures, fracture femur and left forearm. That cured me of wanting to be an airborne combat engineer. At 70 years old those injuries are haunting me.
Yes, but check and see the glint of pride in your eye that wouldn't be there if you were telling us about your old bicycle accident. And recall that while - and because - you were in, not one Russian tank got west of the Fulda Gap. ;)
That's a Jumpmaster looking for the Drop Zone.
ReplyDelete"...and will visually verify no obstructions or protrusions in or around the door prior to the jump..."
DeleteOur jumpmasters back in the 70’s jumped at the end of the stick, and were rigged accordingly, not like this guy, who is probably a safety nco
DeleteC 130 goin' down the strip....
ReplyDelete...64 troopers on a one way trip
DeleteMission top secret, destination unknown
Don't give a damn if we're ever coming home
Stand up, hook up, shuffle to the door
Everybody out on the count of four
1 thousand, 2 thousand, 3 thousand,
Everybody rush out the door
If my main don't open wide,
I got a reserve front side
If that one doesn't open too
Look out below, I'm landing on you
If I die in the combat zone,
pack me up and ship me home
Tell my mom I did my best,
Lay me down in the front leaning rest
Stand in the door!
ReplyDeleteold school we'd have our boot heels hooked on the end of that "platform" they fold down ... only thing inside the aircraft were your knuckles. Great feeling.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! Bragg Jumpmaster grad spring of 1971. He's not looking for the DZ, but checking that the following aircraft are, indeed, above so that the stick won't wander into their engines, wings, or fuselage. 2 strong stomps on the fold down platform by Mr. Corcoran.
DeleteGoing to Jump school was the stupidest thing I did in the military. I did not care for it but I liked the extra $$ in my pocket. I did the minimal jumps to stay qualified for 5 years. At 64, my knees and hips constantly remind me how stupid it is to jump out of a perfectly good aircraft.
ReplyDeleteAmen, brother!
DeleteIt was 50 years ago last month, 20 APR 75, that I became a disabled veteran due to a parachute jump at night that went bad. Another soldiers canopy failed to inflate and he fell through mine, collapsing it, in a 2500 ft night jump outside Gelnhausen, Germany. We were entangled and I cut away and deployed my reserve and he was unconscious. My reserve popped at about 100 feet off the groundbreaking our fall but not enough to save his life. He died on impact and I spent 6 weeks in traction with 7 pelvis fractures, fracture femur and left forearm. That cured me of wanting to be an airborne combat engineer. At 70 years old those injuries are haunting me.
DeleteYes, but check and see the glint of pride in your eye that wouldn't be there if you were telling us about your old bicycle accident.
DeleteAnd recall that while - and because - you were in, not one Russian tank got west of the Fulda Gap. ;)