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U.S. Paratroops are underated & need beefed up


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I'd like to see some realistic American paratroops. These guys were flatout badass. Nothing but heart. The American paratroop had incredible morale, fighting spirit, military brains, and the heart to endure.

Rambo personally salutes the American Paratroops. Rambo also would like to recognize this legend, General James Gavin. No surprise he's from the mountains of Pennsylvania, greatest stock of people in the world. Time for a brew, cheers!

gavin.jpg

The Commanding Officer of the 82nd Airborne Division that jumped in Normandy on D-Day, 1944, Major General James Gavin was raised in the Dooleyville patch outside Mt. Carmel.

"Born in 1907, James Gavin was the son of an unwed Irish immigrant. He was placed in a New York City orphanage at the age of one or two. He was eventually adopted by Martin and Mary Gavin, a Pennsylvania coal-mining family. His youth taught him the discipline and hard work that would pay dividends throughout his life. He enlisted in the US Army at age 17. Showing promise, he was selected for admittance to West Point."

"Gen. Gavin came to be known as the "jumping general" because he parachuted with combat troops during World War II. ...While a paratrooper, he led assaults on Sicily and on Salerno Bay, Italy, in 1943, reaching the rank of brigadier general, and jumped with the parachute assault section of the division on the first night of the Normandy Invasion (June 5-6, 1944). Elements of Gavin's section took the town of Sainte-Mère-Église and guarded river crossings on the flank of the Utah Beach landing area. Gavin was later made major general at age 37, the youngest major general since Gen. George Armstrong Custer. He commanded the 82nd Airborne during operations in The Netherlands and his division later fought in Germany until the German army surrendered in 1945."

"During the 1950's, Gen. Gavin was head of Army research and development. He became a strong opponent of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's defense policy because of its dependence on nuclear weapons. After his retirement in 1958, he served as ambassador to France (1961-63) and became a prominent critic of the Vietnam War. Gen. Gavin was the author of such books as Airborne Warfare (1947), Crisis Now (1968), and the autobiographical On to Berlin (1978)."

Gen. James Gavin died in 1990. The Coal Region is proud to call him one of our own.

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Which WW2 parachutists were not "badass"?

Those Fallschirmjaeger had to have guts jumping with nothing but pistols, with their chute's attached to their waists so they fell in a prone position, while hte British and Polish troops at Arnhem were hardly pussies!

Or is this just more mindless drivel from you John?

If you want your para's to be "badass" then you'd better make sure they've got IW and AT 3, or else all they're going to be is ass kicked! :D

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Originally posted by Normal Dude:

At least I have a reserve parachute and I dont have to share bunks. :D

Hot bunking has been gone for a good 40 years now.

I actually slept on torpedo racks in the forward torpedo room. Best place on the boat since you have no noise, just one person on duty in the room reading a book.

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So I take that means they dont have soap dispensers on the floor of the shower room either? ;) Sorry that was an Army joke we had going around for the Marines :D .

Speaking of wierd sleeping places, my favorite was the C-17 ramp. Acted like a good head prop and plenty of space to stretch your legs.

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Keep in mind that the US para army includes the 82nd the 101st and there was one more airborn division, sorry I forget the number. So that one US para unit holds them all. What I find suprising is that Germany is allowed 2 para armys, that seems high to me.

Being Ex Army I have all kinds of jokes about Sailors, Airmen and Marines. Would openly tell them to sailors and airmen but never to a 'jarhead' unless my friends and I were in the mood for a good fight and there was like 10 of us and only one of them LOL.

[ June 21, 2006, 02:45 PM: Message edited by: Rolend ]

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How many of them were jump trained????

See Battle of Ortona - even by the end of 1943 paratroopers weer not getting parachute training.

In 1944 parachute training was officially abandoned, and it was only after this that the number of Fallschirmjager divisions was expanded - based around cadres of the former 7th FJ Div that was broken up to provide them.

[ June 21, 2006, 06:12 PM: Message edited by: Stalin's Organist ]

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