555th Parachute Infantry Battalion - Salutes Clarence Beavers the last surviving member of the 555th Test Platoon and one of a very few surviving Smokejumpers. Clarence Beavers is a living legend that helped waved the way for millions to follow. Mr Beavers story can be found on triplenickle/clarencebeavers.htm (Excerpts from the article) Daddy are you now going to be a paratrooper asked Margie? In the winter of 1943, orders were received from the Department of Army to train Colored (Blacks/African Americans) personnel as Paratroopers. At that time I was the only African American person in the US Army who had volunteered, been accepted and transferred on orders to the Parachute School for Jump Training. During the first week in January, 1944, we started our four weeks course of jump training. The plan being we (two enlisted men for the Service Company, seventeen from 92nd Infantry Division at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, who were assigned to the Parachute Infantry Company on December 30th & 31st of 1943 and I from the Parachute School) were the African American Test Platoon. Upon completion (if we completed??????) of our training we would train the officers and the next group of enlisted men for the 555th Parachute Infantry Company. During our training, which I explained was extremely rough and extremely personal, three members washed out. We trained, ate, were housed and made our five jumps as a separate unit. If I remember correctly we had four white training instructors, who had volunteered for the job. Those that wanted to see us make it put forth their full effort; equally those who didn’t want to see us to make did everything they could to see that we didn’t. I explained to them, while other trainees came though the front door and went to counter for their food, we had to come in by the side door and go right to the first table on our left. We were not allowed to go to the counter but rather were served our food and were to leave by the same door upon completing eating. Our quarters were huts off from the other quarters, without heat, a building far too small for twenty men. Some of this ended up helping us through our training, like being served at a table was great after extremely rough days of training and the smallness of the hut, and body heat of men tended to warm the hut. We were told some instructors were heavily betting on whether we would jump or not. The Signal Corp. took pictures and movies of our training for Africa-American newspapers and theaters across the nation. The question was, “Were you a paratrooper yet” - asked Charris? On Monday, January 24, 1944, we, the African American’s Test Platoon (sixteen of us) sat on the first row of seats in the sweat-shed with parachutes on awaiting the C-47 to take us for our first jump. As a spotter plane was flying beside us again taking pictures as we made our initial 5 jumps. The jump order was as follows Calvin R. Beal, Clarence H. Beavers, Ned B. Bess, Hubert Bridges, Lonnie M. Duke, McKinley Godfrey, Jr., Robert F. Greene, James E. Kornegay, Alvin L. Moon, Walter J. Morris (first African-American assigned to the 555th Parachute Infantry Company), Leo D. Reed, Samuel W. Robinson, Jack D. Tillis, Roger S. Walden, Daniel C. Weil and Elijah Wesby. I explained to them, that before his death, I received a letter from the late Maj. Gen. H. J. Jablonsky USA. General Jablonsky was the Assistant Commandant for Training at the Parachute School, Fort Benning, during our jump training. In his letter he remarked, and I quote: They were a great group of soldiers and we trained them with a loss of only 3.” During D stage which is jump week, we were visited by a senior black officer, Brigadier General Benjamin O. Davis of the Inspector General’s Office. This grand old white-haired officer had been commissioned in the Spanish-American War, retired and was then recalled to active duty for WWII. He wanted to see the black cadre jump so we boarded a C-47 jump plane where he watched the trainees make their third of 5 qualifying jumps. After we landed, General Davis turned to me and said, Colonel, what is the minimum size parachute unit the War Department contemplates using in combat? I replied that to the best of my knowledge that it would be a battalion size. He then asked, Then why are you training a cadre for a company size unit of black parachutists? I replied That is all the War Department sent us. Please read the complete story at triplenickle/clarencebeavers.htm ** I ask that everyone make prayers for Mr Beavers health, appreciate what we have, while we still have him.
Posted on: Sun, 11 May 2014 06:26:08 +0000
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