FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:   FEBRUARY 5, 2002

Contact Patrick Tremblay, ptremblay@asomf.org (910) 483-3003 ext. 229

PIONEERING BLACK PARATROOPERS

FAYETTEVILLE, NC.  The Airborne & Special Operations Museum (ASOM) is pleased to present a special community program exploring the role of early black paratroopers. The event is scheduled for Tuesday, February 26 at 6:30 PM in the ASOM’s Yarborough-Bank Theater. Guest speakers will include members of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, the Army’s first all-black parachute unit, and the 2d Ranger Company, an all black unit from the Korean War. The multi-media presentation will include images of these ground-breaking soldiers in training and combat, and will conclude with a question and answer period. The event is free and open to the public.

The 555th Parachute Infantry Company was activated on December 30, 1943 as a result of a recommendation made by the Advisory Committee on Negro Troop Policies. After training at Ft. Benning, Georgia, the company moved to Camp Mackall, North Carolina where it became Company A of the newly activated 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, the “Triple Nickles” [sic]. In 1945 the unit was sent to the west coast, where it fought dangerous fire-fighting missions in the Pacific Northwest. After returning to North Carolina, the unit was inactivated in 1947.

With the outbreak of hostilities in Korea in the summer of 1950, the U.S. authorized the creation of airborne Ranger units to be used in the rugged terrain. In October of 1950, the only all black Ranger unit, the 2d Ranger Infantry Company (Airborne), began training. While in Korea, the company was attached to the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team, and jumped in the second combat parachute assault of the war against Chinese and North Korean forces near Munsan-Ni. Black soldiers had earned their place in airborne history, and today all paratroopers train and fight together.

For More Information

On the web:           

ASOM, www.asomf.org

555th Parachute Infantry Association, www.triplenickle.com

Media inquiries may be directed to Patrick Tremblay, at (910) 483-3003 ext. 229 or ptremblay@asomf.org. Electronic photography, brochures and additional literature are available.          

 

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