Triple Nickles: America's First All-black Paratroop Unit
The 555th Test Platoon, later the 555th Battalion, of the 82nd Airborne Division was the first black paratroop unit, and Biggs was its first officer. The unit trained in the South and faced the problems of segregation in that region 40 years ago. Their segregation within the armed forces proved to be something of an advantage, however, states Biggs, for they could not be transferred into other units and thus worked closely together, becoming a tight-knit and highly efficient team. Their major wartime task was combating the balloon bombs sent over California and the Northwest by the Japanese, an aspect of the battle for the Pacific not widely publicized at the time. Biggs provides a lively history of these intrepid pioneers.Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.