GILLESPIE (Continued from Page 1)
A second after he left the plane he wrote that he was "glad to look up and
see my parachute open."
The 'chute troops wear two parachutes, one on their back and one in front for emergency use. If the back one doesn't open at a timed interval after leaving a
plane a jumper has his hand on the rip cord of the front 'chute, ready to us the "spare."
In time of war the 'chute troops float to earth equipped with Tommy gun and pistol. Their heavier equipment is floated down by colored parachutes. Also
in time of war Private Gillespie wrote, troops arc dropped from a height rarely more than 250 feet above ground, to place them nearer the spot In which they are to operate.
Private Gillespie is a member of Co. B, 502nd Parachute Battalion.
When he left Camp Wolters he was eligible for the rank of private, first class, as a
result of his infantry training, but he will not receive the rating until he completes
his training at Fort Benning.Was A Volunteer
When Private Gillespie went Into service last spring, his draft number was high. He knew he'd
have
to go into training eventually and volunteered.
"He has never complained about any part of army life since he left home,"
his mother
said. "He didn't go in expecting the life to be rosy. He
went in with the idea of liking what he had to do."
Asked how she felt when her son wrote that he was going into the
parachute troops, Mr. Gillespie said: "I'll admit I worried a bit, yet I knew he wanted to do it and that he would be
properly trained."
Whatever the boys get into isn't going to be so safe if they have
to go to war, but they're going in much safer properly trained."
In a telephone conversation with his mother Monday night following his jump he said he
was very happy to have completed his training, and he is looking forward to his work with the parachute troops. A hoped-for furlough will not be forthcoming for a while, he told
his mother. He will have six weeks of training on the range with different type of guns as his next taste of army fare, he said.
His father Is "very much interested" in his present service and feels "he coming along all right."
There are several Cleveland men In Private Gillespie's battalion, but none from Marion county.
Private Gillespie was graduated from the LaRue High school in 1935. He was on the varsity football team three years and
was known throughout his high school years as "Joe". The nickname carried over when he went to Ohio university two years and for all
his parents know he may be 'Joe" to his buddies in the army. He has two brother, Loren, 12, a pupil at the LaRue school,
and Lewis, in Gallipolis, who is married and has a son. [The Marion Star (Marion, OH, 21 Aug 1941, Thu, Page 1] |
