[The Rhinelander Daily News, Rhinelander, WI, Tue,
May 28, 1946, Page 4]
[Note; Newcomb was initially an enlisted man but
later received a commission.]
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PARACHUTE SCHOOL IMPRESSES GERMANS
By Lieut. WELLINGTON A. NEWCOMB,
With the U.S.
Occupation Forces in Europe
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The famed 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, veteran organization of
the Normandy, Holland and Bulge campaigns, selected by General
Eisenhower to be the honor guard of Headquarters Command, United
States Forces, European Theatre, Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, is now
operating a parachute school to train its emplacements. The
"five-o-eight" attached in combat to the 82nd Airborne Division, is
the sole remaining parachute unit in the European Theatre of
Operations. Considered by many to be the finest outfit
representing the . United States Army in Europe, the white
scarves, Belgian Fourragére, and highly polished jump boots of the
508th guards have made an impressive sight in Frankfurt.
Although the 508th P.I.R. had the highest percentage of Regular
Army re-enlistments, it was confronted seriously by the problem of
redeployment. With a large number of its men returning to the
United States and because parachutist replacements were not
sufficiently available the regiment was authorized to conduct its
own school for the purpose of qualifying those replacements who
would volunteer for the outfit. |
The
first class commenced training Feb 21, with a few more than 100 men.
To give them confidence in the parachutes, officers and men of the
school made a demonstration jump for the students. Each
subsequent class has seen the class preceding it jump. To
date, out of four classes graduated, and given wings, almost 300 men
have been qualified as parachutists.
Although all possible safety precautions had been taken, on the
basis of experience at Fort Benning, a certain number of injuries
resulting from jumping was thought to be inevitable. But in
almost 1,500 student jumps. there have been no injuries and although
students have been "washed out" of the school, there has been only
one jump refusal and about 10 hesitations in leaving the airplanes.
The success of the school has drawn the attention of the Stars and
Stripes, the Armed Forces Network, and several newspaper
correspondents and photographers who have visited the school..
I have been told by Army personnel outside of the outfit, as well
as civilians, that the 508th has done more to demonstrate to the
Germans that our nation is altogether capable of maintaining a fine
military organization than any other outfit. |
