Paratrooper, THE WORLD'S TOUGHEST FIGHTING MAN

©Copyright CJ Magro, Paratroopers of the 50's THE WORLD'S TOUGHEST FIGHTING MAN THE PARATROOPER

AIRBORNE the word does not say much to some, but it speaks volumes to others--to those who knew what we were then, and still are. They say we were a crazy bunch. And maybe we were, but we got the job done. Just how crazy we were is open to debate.
To ALL OUR PARATROOPERS BROTHERS , on the question of who is the toughest fighting man in the world, I say this: when we load that plane and step out of that door, we are all the same. Once we were all great. We were a special breed. WE are getting a little older now, and We can't do some of the things We used to do, but, We still think the same, and We will be Airborne until We die. For those of you who are still in, give it all you have; you will not regret it.
Airborne all the way, do or die; or as the Greeks would say, come home with your Shield, or ON IT. The above was paraphrased from a guestbook entry by Richard C Cover Jr.
11th Abn Div 1954 to 1957

TO SEE SOME GREAT PICTURES VISIT THE PAGES
LISTED BELOW.
We listed the pages in an order, we hope, will give the viewer
a feeling of how it was to be a "Paratrooper in the 50's"

BE PATIENT, THE PAGES WILL TAKE A LITTLE WHILE TO LOAD
BUT THEY ARE WELL WORTH THE WAIT.
The number of pages on our site are continually increasing. Therefore, we have added the following drop down menu for your convenience.
However, we    strongly recommend    you manually go down our index page and read a little about each pages if you are not familiar with them.
We also recommend you bookmark our "Worst Jump Stories Page" since we are continually adding stories.   Ps, "Send Us One"

   Or Select a Site

Some Great Pictures from the 50's
Some great pictures from the 50's to get you all PUMP UP and ready to go. Some I took, some my buddies took , some I got from my old Jump log Book (Purchased at the PX at Ft. Campbell) called "Paratrooper"

History of Airborne Forces
Before visiting our picture sites you might enjoy reading a brief history of Airborne forces by Bill Waters Jr., a Master Jumper who served from 1948 to 1953. I have read it numerous times and still enjoy it. It sums up why we are all so proud to be called "PARATROOPERS"

Paratroopers of WWII -- A picture review of WWII Combat Jumps
A salute to the Guys who started the Great Tradition of the Airborne Soldier. Paratroopers will get bigger and stronger as time goes on but the
Title of Greatest Paratrooper will always belongs to those of the 40's
To honor these Great Paratroopers we have also added six WWII Poems by:
Peter Griffin,   To see them just Click Here

Click To See Jump School In The 50's--
The running , pushups, your friendly instructor, the great separator - 34 ft tower, the 250 ,the wind machine and finally the jump

Want a Great CD made from a "RARE" 78 RPN Record of a documentary of 4 weeks of actual jump school at Ft. Benning in 1959. All Interviews and Instructions are from actual Trainees and Black Hats. They Jumped an old C123
Click on the Album Cover for Information on how to obtain a CD of Jumpschool in the 50's

Jump school in the 40's as seen by a 17 yr old would be Trooper;
The running , pushups, your friendly instructor, the Glider training , the great separator - 34 ft tower, the 250 , the wind machine and finally the jump

See Jumping Planes of the 50's; the C46 thru the C124
An explanation of their differences and the difference in the T-7 and T- 10 Parachutes. There also was a T-4 and a T-5.
Find out the differences in the "T" (T-4 thru T-10) type parachutes

Great story on dropping Paratroopers by a C119's Flight Engineer
Paratroopers of the 50's is privileged, honored and LUCKY to be able to provide its viewers with a first hand account of how a C119 crew member felt and viewed the loading , flying and dropping a Load of...
" Crazy Paratroopers of the 50's "

Paratroopers of the 50's Thought our viewers would like to know how it was to jump THE BIG BIRD -- The C-124.   Well if you want to know just click on the C-124

Click on --- "KOREA"--- To see Combat Jump.
We have descriptions of the Sukchon and Munsan-ni Jumps, by Don Martin, Richard Rutherford, Nick Dramis, and Jack Cicolello, who made the Jumps. Tough Combat Jumps by any means of measurement.  Bob Malone, Who also was with the 187 sent us an unusual "ITEM"
A card the Chinese passed out to entice Soldiers to surrender.

Click on --- "VIETNAM"--- To see Combat Jump.
We have a great article on the Junction City Combat Jump, Frunished SFC (Ret) Timothy R. Stout , who made the Jump.
Chuck Dean, who is presently, the National Chaplain for the 173d Abn Brigade Assoc. frunished us a different view of Vietnam.
To see Chuck's excellent page just Click Here

Click on --- "SUEZ"--- To see Combat Jump.
We have a great article on the Suez Combat Jump, Frunished Bryan Hunter , who fought at Suez with 1 Para.

More Great Pictures Of The 50's.- Check this pages always adding new pictures
Have any good Paratrooper pictures of the 40's, 50's 60's, etc. ?
Send them by e-mail or regular mail will use and return them. If you wish your name and e-mail will be added as a contributor.

"Photo Gallery of Great Paratrooper Pictures."
Lot of pictures, plan on staying awhile.

"Sin City" The Phenix City Story
No site that claims to tell about the Paratroopers of the fifties would be complete without telling about Phenix City, Alabama.
The Phenix City Combat Zone: Ma Beechies - The Rose Room - Hillbilly club -
Slots - and of course Trooper Slug Fests
As always, we need you Guys to pitch in with some good stories

Short Stories of Paratrooper's worst jumps.
Always adding to our list of "WORST JUMP" short stories from you our viewer.
So if you have a good Story, please send it in and we will publish it.
The first one is on me; HOW send yours in.

"So you WANNABE a Paratrooper."
We have also added a cute satire page about 40's and 50's Paratroopers intitled "So you WANNABE a Paratrooper " the articles was furnished by Dick Rutherford who made both Korean Jumps.

See Six Decades Of Jump School Certificates ---
Jump school Certificates from the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's and 90's You will be amazed at the difference in them.

Click To See 50's Airborne Collectibles.
A great old Airborne Recruiting Brochure and some
Fantastic 50's - 60's Airborne Cartoons. Furnished
by,Young Paratrooper, to your right. Reason Picture is in bad shape , sent to his girl, but put wrong name on back !

Click To See 50's Army Pay Card
Hear they make more now but are still just as broke. Spending their money on the same things we did. Guess some things never change !

Click on the banner to see

A Humorous and Informative page on how British and American Paratroopers say the same thing "DIFFERENTLY"
As with all our pages we depend on "YOU" to contribute so if you can think of any good terms we can add send them in.

EXERCISE PURPLE STAR
THE LARGEST ANGLO-US PARACHUTE DROP IN 23 YEARS. The exercise was held at Ft. Bragg in 1996. Told by Steven McConnell, who served with 3 Para.

Click To Read Paratrooper of the 50's official "POEM"
We have attempted to describe the Paratrooper of the 50's in rhyme, tell us if you think we succeeded.

Click To Read Paratrooper's "POEMS" of the 50's
The "POEMS" were taken from the 11th Airborne Division's Paper in 1957 & 1954 by Bob Buffington and Gil Leal "A MUST READ" !!

Click To See Paratrooper songs of the 50's
"Beautiful Streamer" ; "Jumping Down To Victory" "Oh, How I Hate to Jump Out Of An Airplane" and my favorite "Blood On The Risers"!
Click to see the official "SONGS" of the 11th; 82nd; and 101st Abn. Div's.

Click here to see how to obtain a CD of these "GREAT AIRBORNE SONGS"

POF's has created the ULTIMATE PARATROOPER DVD.
Just click on the DVD to review it

A Memorial page to all Fallen and Missing Paratroopers.
Hope you will visit this page and take a moment to remember those who contributed more than us to the legacy of being a PARATROOPER.

For Fantastic Before and After Pictures of Trooper at least 20 yrs apart, just click. Not all that HANDSOME but what the hell, we weren't movie stars ; we were: PARATROOPERS ! 1940's - 53 1954 - 59 1960 - 79

Rare Pictures of the 11th Airborne in Japan
Great pictures of their Quarters and pictures of A Waco CG-4A Glider also Great shots taken from inside the glider
Picture Furnished by: Rudy Lucas Airborne 1946 - 1953

Pictures of a typical 11th Airborne Kaserne in Germany 1956 - 1958
Pictures of their Quarters and general layout of the Kaserne

A list of Great People who have contributed to our site.
Please take time to view this page and thank those who have contributed.
If you have contributed and I have omitted your name = Send an e-mail immediate and chew my ass out.
I assure you this will get the matter corrected!!

More Exciting Paratrooper Links--
What can I say but their GREAAAAT !!

"See CJ get the Free Fall Monkey off his Back."
If CJ had been wearing a white Jump suit, he could have sold the pictures of the jump to the Pillsbury Company as "The little Dough Boy goes Airborne".

For those who like Fishing - Fishing Pictures with C.J. Magro
It's well done and designed by a real nice "Guy" - ME !

IF YOU HAVEN'T SIGN THE GUESTBOOK MANIFEST, PLEASE DO.
BUT FIRST BETTER READ OUR WARNING THIS IS "FOR MEN ONLY !"
Be part of one of the largest data bases to find old Para Buddies !!
Please list the Units and Time & Place served in the comment space.
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Paratroopers of the 50's main Index Page

Paratroopers of the 50's

Some Great Pictures from the 50's Some great pictures from the 50's to get you all PUMP UP and ready to go. Some I took, some my buddies took , some I got from my old Jump log Book (Purchased at the PX at Ft. Campbell) called "Paratrooper"
History of Airborne Forces Before visiting our picture sites you might enjoy reading a brief history of Airborne forces by Bill Waters Jr., a Master Jumper who served from 1948 to 1953. I have read it numerous times and still enjoy it. It sums up why we are all so proud to be called "PARATROOPERS"
Paratroopers of WWII -- A picture review of WWII Combat Jumps A salute to the Guys who started the Great Tradition of the Airborne Soldier. Paratroopers will get bigger and stronger as time goes on but the Title of Greatest Paratrooper will always belongs to those of the 40's To honor these Great Paratroopers we have also added six WWII Poems by: Peter Griffin, To see them just Click Here
Click To See Jump School In The 50's-- The running , pushups, your friendly instructor, the great separator - 34 ft tower, the 250 ,the wind machine and finally the jump
Want a Great CD made from a "RARE" 78 RPN Record of a documentary of 4 weeks of actual jump school at Ft. Benning in 1959. All Interviews and Instructions are from actual Trainees and Black Hats. They Jumped an old C123 Click on the Album Cover for Information on how to obtain a CD of Jumpschool in the 50's
Jump school in the 40's as seen by a 17 yr old would be Trooper; The running , pushups, your friendly instructor, the Glider training , the great separator - 34 ft tower, the 250 , the wind machine and finally the jump
See Jumping Planes of the 50's; the C46 thru the C124 An explanation of their differences and the difference in the T-7 and T- 10 Parachutes. There also was a T-4 and a T-5. Find out the differences in the "T" (T-4 thru T-10) type parachutes
Great story on dropping Paratroopers by a C119's Flight Engineer Paratroopers of the 50's is privileged, honored and LUCKY to be able to provide its viewers with a first hand account of how a C119 crew member felt and viewed the loading , flying and dropping a Load of... " Crazy Paratroopers of the 50's "
Paratroopers of the 50's Thought our viewers would like to know how it was to jump THE BIG BIRD -- The C-124. Well if you want to know just click on the C-124
Click on --- "KOREA"--- To see Combat Jump. We have descriptions of the Sukchon and Munsan-ni Jumps, by Don Martin, Richard Rutherford, Nick Dramis, and Jack Cicolello, who made the Jumps. Tough Combat Jumps by any means of measurement. Bob Malone, Who also was with the 187 sent us an unusual "ITEM" A card the Chinese passed out to entice Soldiers to surrender.
Click on --- "VIETNAM"--- To see Combat Jump. We have a great article on the Junction City Combat Jump, Frunished SFC (Ret) Timothy R. Stout , who made the Jump. Chuck Dean, who is presently, the National Chaplain for the 173d Abn Brigade Assoc. frunished us a different view of Vietnam. To see Chuck's excellent page just Click Here
Click on --- "SUEZ"--- To see Combat Jump. We have a great article on the Suez Combat Jump, Frunished Bryan Hunter , who fought at Suez with 1 Para.
More Great Pictures Of The 50's.- Check this pages always adding new pictures Have any good Paratrooper pictures of the 40's, 50's 60's, etc. ? Send them by e-mail or regular mail will use and return them. If you wish your name and e-mail will be added as a contributor.
"Photo Gallery of Great Paratrooper Pictures." Lot of pictures, plan on staying awhile.
"Sin City" The Phenix City Story No site that claims to tell about the Paratroopers of the fifties would be complete without telling about Phenix City, Alabama. The Phenix City Combat Zone: Ma Beechies - The Rose Room - Hillbilly club - Slots - and of course Trooper Slug Fests As always, we need you Guys to pitch in with some good stories
Short Stories of Paratrooper's worst jumps. Always adding to our list of "WORST JUMP" short stories from you our viewer. So if you have a good Story, please send it in and we will publish it. The first one is on me; HOW send yours in.
"So you WANNABE a Paratrooper." We have also added a cute satire page about 40's and 50's Paratroopers intitled "So you WANNABE a Paratrooper " the articles was furnished by Dick Rutherford who made both Korean Jumps.
See Six Decades Of Jump School Certificates --- Jump school Certificates from the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's and 90's You will be amazed at the difference in them.
Click To See 50's Airborne Collectibles. A great old Airborne Recruiting Brochure and some Fantastic 50's - 60's Airborne Cartoons. Furnished by,Young Paratrooper, to your right. Reason Picture is in bad shape , sent to his girl, but put wrong name on back !
Click To See 50's Army Pay Card Hear they make more now but are still just as broke. Spending their money on the same things we did. Guess some things never change !
Click on the banner to see
A Humorous and Informative page on how British and American Paratroopers say the same thing "DIFFERENTLY" As with all our pages we depend on "YOU" to contribute so if you can think of any good terms we can add send them in.
EXERCISE PURPLE STAR THE LARGEST ANGLO-US PARACHUTE DROP IN 23 YEARS. The exercise was held at Ft. Bragg in 1996. Told by Steven McConnell, who served with 3 Para.
Click To Read Paratrooper of the 50's official "POEM" We have attempted to describe the Paratrooper of the 50's in rhyme, tell us if you think we succeeded.
Click To Read Paratrooper's "POEMS" of the 50's The "POEMS" were taken from the 11th Airborne Division's Paper in 1957 & 1954 by Bob Buffington and Gil Leal "A MUST READ" !!
Click To See Paratrooper songs of the 50's "Beautiful Streamer" ; "Jumping Down To Victory" "Oh, How I Hate to Jump Out Of An Airplane" and my favorite "Blood On The Risers"! Click to see the official "SONGS" of the 11th; 82nd; and 101st Abn. Div's. Click here to see how to obtain a CD of these "GREAT AIRBORNE SONGS"
POF's has created the ULTIMATE PARATROOPER DVD. Just click on the DVD to review it
A Memorial page to all Fallen and Missing Paratroopers. Hope you will visit this page and take a moment to remember those who contributed more than us to the legacy of being a PARATROOPER.
For Fantastic Before and After Pictures of Trooper at least 20 yrs apart, just click. Not all that HANDSOME but what the hell, we weren't movie stars ; we were: PARATROOPERS ! 1940's - 53 1954 - 59 1960 - 79
Rare Pictures of the 11th Airborne in Japan Great pictures of their Quarters and pictures of A Waco CG-4A Glider also Great shots taken from inside the glider Picture Furnished by: Rudy Lucas Airborne 1946 - 1953
Pictures of a typical 11th Airborne Kaserne in Germany 1956 - 1958 Pictures of their Quarters and general layout of the Kaserne
A list of Great People who have contributed to our site. Please take time to view this page and thank those who have contributed. If you have contributed and I have omitted your name = Send an e-mail immediate and chew my ass out. I assure you this will get the matter corrected!!
More Exciting Paratrooper Links-- What can I say but their GREAAAAT !!
"See CJ get the Free Fall Monkey off his Back." If CJ had been wearing a white Jump suit, he could have sold the pictures of the jump to the Pillsbury Company as "The little Dough Boy goes Airborne".
For those who like Fishing - Fishing Pictures with C.J. Magro It's well done and designed by a real nice "Guy" - ME !