555th Parachute Infantry Company
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The 555th Parachute Infantry Company (called the Triple Nickel, later the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion) was an all-black airborne unit that began service during World War II. It was the first African-American airborne unit, marking a tremendous milestone.
On December 19, 1943, this unit, the size of an airborne company, was formed from African-American members of the 92nd Infantry Division. Soon after its formation, the unit went to Fort Benning, Georgia to begin training. After several months of training, the unit moved to Camp Mackall, North Carolina, and on November 25, 1944, it became Company A, 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion*. The unit did not deploy overseas during the war; rather, its members fought as "Smoke Jumpers," fighting more than 1,000 forest fires on the West Coast (including Oregon and California), some of which were started by Japanese fire balloons.
In October of 1945, the unit returned to the East Coast (first to Camp Mackall, then to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where it remained for two years), and was attached to the 82nd Airborne Division. The battalion was inactivated on December 15, 1947, and most of its members moved to the 3rd Battalion, 505th Airborne Infantry Regiment. On August 22, 1950, the unit was officially removed from the rolls of the Army. Many of its members fought in the Korean War in other units, though.
*This article describes the entire 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion after this point.
Sources
- Army description (http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/topics/afam/555PIB.htm)
- The Triple Nickel (http://www.fatherryan.org/blackmilitary/tripnick.htm)