Tag Archives: Japanese Fugo incendiary bombs

The Forgotten Coast Guard Paras of WWII

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Sure, everyone knows about at least two of the five U.S. Army Airborne Divisions (11th, 13th, 17th, 82nd, and 101st) that stood up in World War II, along with several separate parachute infantry regiments and battalions (like the stand-alone segregated 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion).

Plus there were the three short-lived battalions of “Para-Marines” in the 1st Marine Parachute Regiment, and the Navy Parachute School (founded in 1924 no less!) at the NAS Lakehurst, which schooled thousands of riggers and both blimp and aircraft crews in the art.

Add to that the covert secret squirrel types of the OSS and their off-books school at Area A-2 in Virginia’s Prince William Forest Park, training to drop into occupied Europe and Asia.

But did you know the Coast Guard also stood up a specialist airborne unit during the war? No, we aren’t talking about aircrew training to “hit the silk”; we are speaking of the USCG’s Para-Rescues.

I can’t find a ton of information on the subject, but the background is that at least a few dozen Coasties underwent parachute and survival training in the U.S. Forest Service’s smokejumper program (which started in 1939) to be dropped into the harsh Alaskan wilderness for extreme search-and-rescue missions.

As any WWII buff knows, the Alaskan theatre went from being a backwater in June 1942 to being an active frontline, and the military buildup in the territory saw aircraft go missing almost every day. For instance, in the Aleutian campaign alone, the USAAF lost 225 aircraft, with only 1:6 of those in combat.

The National Archives and WWII Museum have some great images to help color the tale. All official captions:

Coast Guardsman M. L. Nelson, parachute rigger third class, Canton, Illinois, is one of this group of hardy, aerial trained to leap into the Alaskan wilderness to ‘bring-.” No date WWII Museum 2015.063.081

USCG Grumman JRF Goose. Original caption: (July 1945) The search is on — A twin-motored Coast Guard plane skims the rugged, ice-crusted mountains of Alaska in an effort to spot wreckage of a missing aircraft. Aboard the Coast Guard plane is a para-rescue squad that will drop into the desolate area when the survivors are sighted to administer first aid and guide the victims to safety. The para-rescuers are thoroughly familiar with the northern country and are equipped and trained to live for days in the icy wilderness. USCG Image 26-G-4397. National Archives Identifier 205592335

July 1945. Original caption: Men Against the Icy Wilderness — After jumping from a Coast Guard plane, these Coast Guard para-rescuers pit their hard-won experience of the north against a maze of snow, woods, and mountains as they search for plane-crash victims in a bleak section of Alaska. Laden with enough supplies to last for many days, the husky para-rescuers trudge through heavy snow banks to the spot where they located the wreckage while still in the plane. After administering first aid to survivors, the Coast Guardsmen will tackle the giant job of moving them to safety. USCG Image 26-G-4398. National Archives Identifier 205592344

July 1945. Original caption: Mercy Mission — This is how a fully equipped Coast Guard para-rescuer looks as he gets set to leap from a Coast Guard plane to carry aid to plane-crash or other victims swallowed by Alaska’s rugged expanse of mountains, timber and ice. Outfitted and trained to master the wilderness for days, husky para-rescuers provide food and medical care for survivors and move them to safety. USCG Image 26-G-4396. National Archives Identifier 205592341

July 1945. Original caption: Mountain-top Vigil — Search for plane-crash victims carries a Coast Guard para-rescuers to a vantage point atop a mountain towering over a snow-and wood-covered valley. Other mountain peaks punch through a thick sheet of fog, which teams with snow, ice, and woods in hindering the searching party. Dropped into the Alaska wilderness from a Coast Guard plane, the para-rescuer carries a heavy pack of emergency rations and other equipment to help care for survivors until they can be moved to safety. USCG Image 26-G-4399. National Archives Identifier 205592347

July 1945. Original caption: “That’s the Spot” — as a Coast Guard rescue plane hovers over snow-covered Alaska woodland, Coast Guard Paratrooper Bruce Johnstone (left), of Ketchikan, Alaska, points out the spot where he believes a missing plane has crashed to Lt. Comdr. Joseph F. McCue (center), of Washington, D.C., and Ensign James P. Gwynn, of Red Bank, N.H., Coast Guard pilots. Johnstone is a member of a para-rescue squad which will bail out to care for crash victims and move them to safety. The rugged para-rescuers are trained and equipped to exist for days in the bleak expanse of ice, snow, and woods. USCG Image 26-G-4393. National Archives Identifier 205592338

While Cold War experiments towards fielding “fully-qualified para-scuba rescue men” occurred (keep in mind the service sent crews to fly Air Force Jolly Greens on C-SAR missions in Vietnam), the concept was never put into use by the USCG.

Today, no Coast Guard units are actively trained or equipped for tactical parachute insertion, which is probably a shame. Still, Coast Guard Aviation Survival Technicians (Rescue Swimmers) have to prove themselves in other ways that would make some airborne guys weak in the knees.

The forgotten Skysoldiers who fought the Fu-Go

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This week marks the 80th anniversary of the conclusion of the joint War Department/Forestry Service “Firefly Project,” which spanned 1 June to 30 October 1945.

Original Caption: Forest Fires – A trooper in full gear waits for the order to board the ship. Photograph taken at Pendleton Air Base, Pendleton, Oregon, by Edgar W. Weinberger, Army Air Forces Photographer. 22 August 1945 342-FH-3B-42508-29999AC

Made up of some 300 paratroopers of the segregated “Triple Nickels” of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion and a few C-47s of the First Troop Carrier Command from the Fourth Air Force’s Ninth Service Command, these men held the line in the Pacific Northwest against a wave of 9,300 Japanese incendiary bombs carried across the ocean via high altitude “Fu-Go” balloons.

While there were “only” 285 reported incidents with these bombs– including six picnickers killed while enjoying the woods in Oregon– the Firefly crews, serving as the nation’s first smoke jumpers, quietly completed 1,200 counter-fire jumps into heavy timber and helped contain 36 fires.

Trained in EOD as well as wildfire suppression, they had to improvise their gear and hold the line sometimes for days until Forest Service mule trains arrived with conventional firefighters. Then, extraction was typically by foot, several miles back over broken ground to the nearest road, carrying as much as 125 pounds of gear each.

Check out these amazing period Kodachromes of the operation via NARA.

Original Caption: Operation Firefly – Lt. Clifford Allen of Chicago, Ill. He is one of the firefighters of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion. He wears his complete outfit just before taking off for a jump. Note the 150 ft. rope descending from tall trees; the plastic helmet and catcher’s mask are protection against branches and brambles. 342-C-K3746

Original Caption: Operation Firefly – A C-47 of Troop Carrier Command carries these parachutists of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion to the scene of a remote fire in Wallowa forest, Oregon. Men of this unit have made over 8000 jumps since the first of April 1945. 342-C-K3751

342-C-K3727

Original Caption: Operation Firefly – A paratrooper in a tree is a common sight near a fire. The troopers of the 555th Parachute Infantry prefer to land in the trees rather than on rough terrain. They carry 150 ft. ropes with them to aid them in reaching the ground. Umatilla National Forest, Oregon. 342-C-K3720

Original Caption: This is the emblem of the “Operation Firefly” painted on the nose of a C-47 (Douglas) piloted by Lt. MG Brewer. The Firefly project has four of these ships, operated by the Army Air Forces Troop Carrier Command. They cooperate with the US Forestry Service in transporting paratroopers of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion to the site of the forest fires. This unit is effectively preserving the timberland and the watershed of the Pacific Northwest, spanning the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and even Canada. Photographer: Edgar W. Weinberger (Pendleton, Oregon) 342-C-K3743

Original Caption: Operation Firefly – Insignia of Troop Carrier Command. The function of the Troop Carrier Command is tactical. It is responsible for transporting paratroopers of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion to areas where forest fires are raging. 342-C-K3742

Original Caption: Operation Firefly – Firefighting Parachutists of the 55th Parachute Infantry don their heavy leather coveralls before boarding a C-47 of the First Troop Carrier Command. Soon they will be winging their way to another jump and another fire. Their equipment, including two chutes weighing between 75 and 125 lbs, lies before them. Pendleton Army Air Base, Pendleton, Oregon. 342-C-K3716

Original Caption: Operation Firefly – Paratroopers of the 555th Parachute Infantry climb into their parachute harness before boarding a plane of the First Troop Carrier Command. The C-47 will drop the airborne firefighters near an area where a forest fire is raging. Umatilla National Forest, Oregon. 342-C-K3711

Following Firefly, the 555th was withdrawn back to North Carolina and folded into the 82nd Airborne Division, eventually becoming part of the 505th PIR in 1947.

The few remaining members of the battalion are in their 90s.

The Triple Nickels

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On 25 February 1943, the 555th Parachute Infantry Company was constituted. The unit, selected from volunteers from the Fort Huachuca-based 92d Infantry Division, was all-black, both enlisted men and officers.

While they never did make it to fight the Germans or Japanese directly, the “Triple Nickels” did see very dangerous stateside service in the Pacific West on Operation Firefly, jumping into remote forest areas to put out fires caused by Japanese Fugo incendiary bombs.

This mission led to today’s Smoke Jumpers.

Deactivated in 1947, the 555th’s members were rolled into the 82nd Airborne, making it the first integrated combat unit in the Army, and many saw service in Korea.

Lt. Clifford Allen, 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion.