Eighteen of you are sitting in a dimly lit C-47 airplane, nine men on each side. The plane holds formation among scores of closely flying planes. You sit quietly, laden with assorted combat equipment, a parachute, reserve chute, rifle or submachine gun, ammunition, grenades, land mines, first aid packets, rations, canteens of water and maps, and perhaps a radio, or a bazooka. More than a hundred pounds of equipment that you must carry with you to the ground.
This is probably the last long waiting period for you and the other men - and their faces and eyes are blank. Each man's thoughts are entirely private, the lucky ones sleep or pretend to sleep, there is nothing more to do, everything that can be done is done, everything that can be known is known - it is a good time to sleep, if you can!
All of you freely climbed into this plane, paratroopers are volunteers. You have had months of preparation and training for this ride, and you could have chosen a less risky method to enter combat. In the beginning, during basic training and parachutist training. you had a rigid course of physical training to harden you and teach you this new trade. After you qualified as a parachutist, the training was even more vigorous; nothing that could be taught was left untaught.
Your confidence in yourself and your comrades grew daily, everyone demonstrated pride, always prepared to prove they were the best. Now the time for payment has arrived.
You have been briefed; every man knows what is expected of him -- and what might go wrong, a parachute might fail to open, legs and backs could break, a man could be shot as he floated to earth, or he could be hung in a tree, a helpless target.
You know that wherever you land the enemy will be waiting and you hope that darkness and surprise will give you the time necessary to assemble, and fight.
Suddenly, the time for thinking and knowing is past - the red warning light is flashing -- the Jump Master gives the command:
"Stand Up and Hook Up!"
Seventeen men rise and hook their static line to the main cable.
"Check Your Equipment!"
"Sound Off for Equipment Check!"
. Number ten Okay!
Number nine Okay!" The voices continue the count off shouting above the noise of the C-47's motors, and perhaps flak and bullets hitting the plane.
"Close In the Door!"
The Green Light flashes and you hear the final words:
"Let's Go!"
In seconds, you leap from the aircraft and descend into the black night. ******** | 
