William T . Ryder William Thomas “ Bill ” Ryder ( April 16 , 1913 – October 1 , 1992 ) was the first American paratrooper . Ryder helped pioneer Army airborne training , equipment and tactics alongside men like Jim Gavin , William Yarborough , Bill Lee , Art Gorham and Bud Miley . He was an aide to General of the Army Douglas MacArthur from 1944 until 1951 . In the early 1960s he was a top Army expert in guided missile systems retiring as a brigadier general in 1966 . First American paratrooper . Ryder graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1936 . Among his classmates was William P . Yarborough . More than 200 soldiers volunteered to make up the first platoon of paratroopers . Ryder was selected through a competitive written exam that was scheduled to take two hours . He finished it in 45 minutes while still earning the top score . The second highest scorer was Lt . James A . Bassett who thus became the assistant platoon leader . The platoon billeted at Lawson Army Air Field near Ft . Benning . Ryder is credited with creating " Ryder ' s Death Ride " a 34 - foot tower from which trainees practiced jumping . After completing a rigorous conditioning and training program that Ryder had devised , on August 16 , 1940 , Ryder and ten members of his platoon made their first jump from a Douglas C - 33 . Ryder was the first man to exit the aircraft . The first enlisted man to jump was Pvt . William N . " Red " King . The platoon conducted its first mass jump on August 29 , 1940 . In April 1943 while assigned as parachute training officer of the Airborne Command at Camp Mackall , Ryder was temporarily assigned as liaison officer to the 52nd Troop Carrier Wing at Pope Air Force Base . On July 13 , 1943 , Ryder jumped into Sicily with Colonel Jim Gavin , commander of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment , as part of Operation Husky . After hostilities had ceased in Sicily , Gavin tasked Ryder with returning the personal affects of 1st Battalion commander Arthur F . Gorham to his widow . Gorham was killed during the first few days of the assault and was credited by Gavin with accomplishing all of the Regiment ' s objectives . He is also reported in at least one source to have jumped with the 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment in North Africa as part of Operation Torch in October 1942 . Upon his return from Sicily , Ryder was assigned as the regimental commander of the newly formed 542nd Infantry Regiment at Fort Benning , Georgia . Expecting to be deployed to Europe , Ryder was instead ordered in December 1943 to provide roughly 100 replacements for the Pacific theater . As was customary , Ryder escorted the men by train to the west coast . Upon his arrival at Ft . Ord he was ordered to Ft . Benning “ first priority . ” When he returned he received the disheartening news that he was to dispatch 1 , 000 of his remaining troops to serve as replacements to airborne units in England preparing for the invasion of Europe . The regiment was deactivated on March 17 , 1944 . War and occupation in the Pacific . Following promotion to full colonel , in mid - February 1944 Ryder was dispatched to Brisbane , Australia to advise General Douglas MacArthur on airborne operations . He remained a member of MacArthur ’ s staff until President Truman relieved MacArthur in 1951 . During the occupation and rebuilding of Japan , Ryder was effectively the chief of staff to MG William F . Marquat . During his time in the Pacific , Ryder met his future wife , Muriel , who was serving with the Red Cross there . In late 1950s and early 1960s , Ryder was the deputy chief of the public information division in Paris . By 1963 he was the director of special weapons in the office of the chief of research and development at the Pentagon . In this last post he was an expert in guided missile systems . The general retired from active duty in 1966 moving to Pinehurst , North Carolina with his wife Muriel . Honors . The award given to the most outstanding graduate of the Airborne course at Ft . Benning is named for the general . In 1990 , General Ryder represented the Airborne to receive a proclamation by North Carolina Governor Jim Martin honoring the 50th anniversary of his first jump . In 1995 , the officer ’ s golf course at Ft . Bragg was named for General Ryder . In addition to master parachutist badge , the general ' s decorations included the Distinguished Service Medal , four awards of the Legion of Merit and two Bronze Star Medal s . General Ryder died from cancer in 1992 and was interred in Arlington National Cemetery .