Though not generally appreciated, Montana is where airborne warfare got started….fighting fires. The Airborne Battle Memorial at Fort Benning, Georgia, where I later attended Infantry Officers Basic Training, makes no mention of the fact that the founder of U.S. Airborne forces and his staff first went out to Missoula in June and July 1942 and watched the early smokejumpers make 10 practice jumps then deploy to wildland forest fires in rough terrain from low-flying aircraft. U.S.Army Major William Carey Lee then brought a bunch of their gear (parachutes and a static line) back to Georgia where he formed the 101st Airborne Division (“Screaming Eagles”) and became the father of U.S. Airborne Doctrine.
It bothered me at first that the U.S. Forest Service Parachute Project is not listed with the small number of units, like the First Special Service Force that trained in Montana at Helena to become the predecessor of Joint Special Operations. But, then, I know it’s because smokejumpers are a necessary peaceful pursuit and I like it that way. I have huge respect for our military forces and my experiences in them, but I’m not a “militarist.” Like most Veterans I did my best at what was expected of me.
Trump would never make it in the Smokejumpers, the Infantry, the Airborne Infantry, or Special Operations Forces. Who would place their life in the hands of a damn fool throwing lighted matches into dry timber? We are a people of ordinary fidelity but now, if ever, is the time for all of us to fight for our country.
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