Evening star., 1944-08-31
Air-borne Infantry
Described as Troops
OF Opportunity
BY WALTER McCALLUM,

BY WALTER McCALLUM,
Star War Correspondent Home on Leave.
Perhaps the people back home are
not quite aware Of the Importance
of air-borne infantry in the opera
tions in France. But the fact that
an air-borne Army under the COM
mand of 1t. Gen. Lewis H. Brere- ]
ton has been organized in the Euro
pean theater of operations is suff1- /;
cient proof to the proponents Of
air-borne forces that the soldiers
who go in by air are important
people.
Air-borne troops spearheaded the
D-day assault in France. They also
spearheaded the assault on the
Mediterranean coast. Capt. Frank
Lillyman, chief of the pathfinder
units of the 101st American Air
borne Division, was the first Allied
soldier to set foot on French soil
on D-day. He hit the ground at
exactly 1915 am, As minutes before
a British air-borne infantryman
touched the soil of France a few
miles south of Capt. Lillymans
landing.
Thousands Followed.
Within three hours after Capt.
Lillyman parachuted down from a
speeding CAT airplane thousands
of American parachutists were on
the soil of France. They dropped
of
set up for the invasion, fought their
way together into small groups and
into larger groups, cut Up the en-
emy, destroyed his lines of COM
munication and generally raised so
much hob with that prepared Ger
man army that the foot troops who
came in later found the way open.
That is the function of the air.
borne. They are troops OF oppor-
tunity, and as no other unit in any
army does, they carry the element
of surprise. German prisoners I
talked with in Normandy said they
knew we were going to invade on
June 6, and even asked me about
the 24-hour postponement forced on
us by bad weather. They claimed
they knew we we're coming but,
whether or not their stories were
true, the air-borne boys did not lose
the element of surprise and the Of
fensive value it carries in war.
There are many air-borne outfits
training in this country. We have
lot of air-borne men overseas, and
probably we will have more. Per-
haps the dream of an air-borne
brigadier general, who told me the
United States, even in peacetime,
should maintain at least six air
borne divisions around the rim of
this country ready for action any
where, is more than an idle one.
Air-borne troops on the record so far
in this war appear to have proven
their value.
Tackled Toughest Job.
From sources as high as Army
commanders in France came COM
ments so commendatory of airborne
soldiers that no one who went
through D-day and later develop
ments could help feeling a surge Of
pride in them, and their featS. The
82nd and 101st American airborne
divisions were given probably the
grimest job of any American outfit
except those which actually stormec
the beaches. They did their jobs
they cut up the German armies or
the Normandy Peninsula. They left
lot of boys in France but they die
the job. They proved the worth Of
airborne troops, first as troops oi
opportunity, and second, as first.
class fighting men on foot.
1t might be true that airbornt
troops get more intensive training
than any other type of infantry. 1
might be true that they are a littl
rougher and tougher than othe
infantrymen. I do not say it is sc
but it could be so. Certainly thel
commanders try to make it so, AM
certainly their work in France ha
proven they can fight and win, ham
out punishment and gain their OBJ
iectives and hold them.
The airborne trooper who goe
in by parachute is told by his com
manders that he is little bette
soldier than the other infantryman
He is told that when he wins HI
parachute wings he has proven nj
courage, and he shows it. Th
"bloomer boys" seem to walk will
a little more swagger and will
backs a little stralghter than othe
lnfantrymen.
But above the personal considera
tions and possibly the fact that air
borne troops are elite troops,
seems to have been proven the
are good men. They had to be t
get the job of spearheading tn
cracking of Europe. That was n
pushover, either in Normandy o
IN Southern France.
Goebbels called our Flying Fol
tresses Flying Coffins." We nee
more of them over Germany. Let
all back the attack. Buy more Wa