Evening star., 1943-07-16
Heroism of Airborne Force
Opened Way to Vittorio Area
BY JOHN THOMPSON,

|
BY JOHN THOMPSON,
chicaso Tribune Correspondent Repre-
sentins the Combined American Press.
Distributed by the Associated Press.
WITH AMERICAN AIRBORNE
TROOPS IN SICILY Delayed -
Spearheading the invasion of Sicily,
an American parachute troop COM
bat team has just completed bril-
liant and tough mission, fulfilling
the expectations of the largest air
borne combat operation ever at
tempted by the United States Army.
Since late Friday night, when they
landed by the light of a waning
moon. they have been fighting crack
German and Italian troops, killing
and capturing hundreds. They have
fought as small guerrilla bands, at
tacking pillboxes and strong points
| with grenades. anti-tank weapons
and knives and they have fought as
a small but rugged team against the
Hermann Goering grenadiers and
| tanks.
They have taken rather heavy
losses but they never gave ground.
And 1t was largely through their
slashing, demoralizing attacks on
strongly prepared enemy positions
that the advance OF the much larger
seaborne force coming in behind
them was accomplished in the area
around Vittoria.
1t would take book to tell the
full story of this operation and it
will be days before all details are
even learned, for almost every man
who jumped did job worthy of an
Army medal. But this much at
least can be told by a correspondent
who jumped with them to make his
second combat jump and this by
night.
Landed in Wrong Place.
Actually this mission started un-
der inauspicious circumstances for
the entire team was dropped by
! troop carriers 30 to so miles from
the planned objectives Instead OF
jumping inland in front of the CEN
ter force to cut off enemy reinforce
ments, destroy strong points and
otherwise soften up the seaborne
landing, the entire group OF para
troops jumped in front of another
force farther out -
While~the moon was dipping low
! along the western horizon we came
in oyer ti1essea, q mighty armada af,
transport planes flying in perfect
| formation. The terrain looked un-
familiar to the team commander, q
colonel from Mount Carmel, Pa, but
a red light flashed from the pilot
controls
We had been standing for several
minutes in our heavy parachutes,
the soldiers weighted down with
loads of ammunition. guns and de-
molitions and this reporter sagging
under his own load of noncombatant
equipment.
The red light meant that we would
be over our objective in few min
utes.
They passed quickly. The green
jump light f1ickered, there was a
rush down the isle toward the door
and in a moment We were hurting
through space. Then there was the
snap of shoulders as the chute
opened.
Grams Port Broke in Two.
A brilliant glare Illuminated the
ground revealing an olive grove in
stead of the expected wheat field.
For a moment most of us thought
the ground troops had set up flares
and were opening fire. Then the
sickening realization came that the
flare was from one of our transports
which had broken In two and had
burst into flames.
The next moment we were land
ing
Thirty feet from the ground the
oscillation swung my body horizon
tall as I smashed through an olive
tree and then to the ground. 1t was
good landing, all things consid-
ered The others didn't fare as we'll.
Your correspondent emerged from
his tangled shroud with a wrenched
knee, skinned knuckles and bruises,
and what was not to appear until
later-a cracked rib.
That night we went prowling
about in small groups, trying to
reach some ground that we could
recognize. Before dawn as 1t turned
out later, every one realized, we had
landed in the wrong locality and
we had to check to find out in what
part of Southern Sicily we were.
Then we started a general move
ment to the northwest toward our
original objective.
Fight Began Soon.
Many men jumped into the fight
right away, landing on machinegun
nests or pillboxes. Others soon found
their hands full as they ran into
Italian strong points along the coast
or further inland along strange
highways.
We began to lose men, but not
many, as the tough, willy troopers
rushed the pillboxes. These en-
placements we're well designed with
3-foot cement walls, Sits COM
manding all approaches, 47-mm.
guns and machine guns, and a great
deal of wire.
But the troopers had come to kill
and they did. Their antitank
weapons and grenades drove the
gunners from the Sits of the pill
boxes to be rushed. Well-aimed
Garand rifle fire often accomplished
the same purpose and within a short
while each pillbox surrendered its
load Of Italians or a few Germans