Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1943-10-22
Paratrooper
Over Italy
BY Frank Herkness
(WNU Feature-Through special arrangement
with The American Magazine.)

looking out into the moonlight and
waiting for the red-light flash which
meant to stand up and hook on
chutes.
We had been flying long time
much longer than actually needed
to come from the African camp to
Sicily. But, to throw the enemy off,
we did not fly there directly.
Maybe there will never be such a
night again. I've heard that 1000
planes and 1900 boats took part in
the invasion, and I can believe it.
The sky around us was filled with
cargo transport planes, all loaded
with paratroops, all heading for the
same place, like a billion bees.
All of us were excited. For exact
ly one year and three days we'd
been training for this, our first bat
tie action. Three days before, we'd
celebrated the anniversary by kill
ing three beef cattle for dinner. And
now the target was few minutes
ahead of US. We passed over the
Sicilian coast and knew it wouldn't
be long now.
The red light flashed. All of us
stood up, fastened our chutes to the
jump cable, and waited. Waited for
what seemed hours for the green
jump signal from the pilot. The
plane was rocking from side to side,
much worse than it ever did in the
Is practice jumps we'd made-I still
don't know why.
Directly ahead and behind us we
could see family glowing green
lights-formation lights of planes
ahead and behind.
Lieutenant Disappears.
The pilots light suddenly flashed.
Officers always jump first. The lieu
tenant yelled, Lets go!" and
leaped out into the moonlight. We
never saw him again.
We followed him instantly. The
plane emptied in ten seconds. I
was the last to jump. The plane
seemed to be going unusually fast.
My chute snapped open with ter
rife jerk, and my carbine dis
appeared. So the only weapon I
had was long trench knife.
l should have been able to see
all the other chutes in our party, but
I could only see one, and realized
something had gone wrong. Plans
called for us to be dropped at 600
feet, with the plane slowed down to
almost stalling speed-about 100
miles an hour This was so we
would spend less vulnerable time
floating down, and also so we would
be close together when we hit.
AS it turned out, we were dropped
at full speed-almost 200 miles an
hour-and from $500 feet. That's
why 1 could see only one other
chute. I kept my eyes glued on it
and pulled at my shrouds to follow
it.
l landed hard but safe in an or
chard. The rest of the boys landed
nearby. Comparing notes, we were
convinced that we had been dropped
in comparatively strange country,
nowhere near our target area. Ac-
tually, we were at least so miles
off-some time I'd like to know why.
This was all orchard country,
which seemed dotted with enemy
troops, forcing us to move care
fully. There was SpaSmOdic firing
everywhere, but we managed to
avoid the enemy. We spotted the
main road and headed for it. We
had crept along it about 500 yards
when we were challenged. 1t was
another American, posted there in
the bushes to lead anybody to
nearby farmhouse which was being
used as an assembly point and first
aid station. We went in.
From prisoners we learned that
we had landed few miles from
Avola, a coastal town which the
British even then were attacking.
There was a little hill about 200
yards from the farmhouse where,
as soon as it got light we could see
the whole scene. I'll never forget
it. British landings being made
against airplane and artillery oppo-
sition. We could help those boys by
hitting the enemy in the rear. That's
what we did. Maybe it was a good
thing we landed where we did. l
think we did more valuable work
than we would have done if we had
been dropped right on the bulls
eye.
From the hilltop, as far as l
could see, British ships were lying
just offshore, with lines of little boats
moving back and forth, bringing in
more British Tommies. They were
getting plenty of enemy attention.
From the hills, Italian artillery
was going full blast. Shells and
bombs were bursting among the
ships, but the little boats kept COM
ing anyway.
It was about eight in the morning
when we reached Avola and it took
US until 2:3O in the afternoon to ad-
vance little more than a mile to-
ward the town square.