555th Parachute Infantry Battalion- Triple Nickles WWII Film
WWII archival film footage of the first African American Paratroopers/Smoke Jumpers – 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion “The Triple Nickles”. Watch these guys in training, then see them jump right into a blazing forest fire to attack that blaze! Amazing and rare footage of very brave men doing their dangerous jobs extremely well. Note how they land in the trees on purpose – “hooking the trees” as they called it was a vital part of their technique which allowed them to rope down to the ground at their own pace rather than slamming directly into dangerously hard and uneven mountain terrain upon landing. The 555th PIB were absolute pioneers in the Airborne world on so many levels. Look them up today to learn more about them – they deserve far more historical recognition and appreciation than they have ever received. Their Veterans ociation Web Site is a fantastic reference and it can be found online at the following web address: http://www.triplenickle.com/
PS – The Triple Nickles intentionally used the alternate spelling of the word ” Nickels ” as another way to further identify the uniqueness of their unit. When researching The Triple Nickles anywhere online, use both spellings as they are often interchanged in various sources.
Duration : 0:2:54
[youtube wJM0aOsp1MY]
As a former …
As a former Airborne Instructor at the Airborne School from 1998-2000, I always stood at the 555th’s picture down at McCarthy Hall with absolute admiration and pride. I cried tears of pride when I first saw their portrait when I was a trainee at the school back in 1992. They are true heroes and may God bless them all! What a sight to behold! A whole battalion of brothers starched down, clean shaven with spit shine jump boots and everybody had their silver wings from the CO to the lowest PVT!
My dad was also a …
My dad was also a Triple Nickle, and his name was Forrest A. Walker. If anyone would like to connect with his daughter, I would enjoy any conversation about that time period. Unfortunately, my father past away in 1973, my mother Mayme N. Walker in 2005. I would be an honor to hear from anyone who remembers them.
Your dad probably …
Your dad probably knows my father. Mine is 88 and he was one of the original 16, Clarence Beavers.
My father is a …
My father is a Triple Nickle. He’s 84 and when I showed him this footage, it brought back a lot of memories for him. He still has some of his original pictures that wre taken during that time.
Its a shame they …
Its a shame they never got to see combat overseas, thats what they wanted. Like in the movie “Glory” they wanted to fight to prove they were men. Amazing Footage and Very Intresting. Units like this are forgotten.
God Bless
-Nick
Among the first …
Among the first smoke jumpers. Something else also that I was proud to see was the 82nd ABN Div Cmdr insisting they march along side the division in the NY parade. Outstanding soldiers, they are!
That’s great. The …
That’s great. The more footage of the 555th we can get on Youtube and other online sources, the more folks can learn about these historic pioneers of the Airborne world. By all means put up as much footage as you can find from any legitimate source. Do the 555th vets a favor and try to add a link in your post to their web site too. It helps them get more hits on their official web page. Cheers.
dEverytime I see …
dEverytime I see this … it’s like the first time … you go XYZ … I found some footage … mind if I take a shot at it ?
Greetings,
The …
Greetings,
The feature film about the Triple Nickles has not yet been fully developed due to lack of production funding (a major film production company/studio will need to become attached for this project to happen.) An exclusive option to make a film of their story was granted by the TN ociation; and a basic treatment (film script synopsis) was written, and that’s as far as it has come so far.
Cheers.
was the film …
was the film developed?
Hey there .. thank …
Hey there .. thank you … my uncle was part of the 555th …
Great footage of …
Great footage of the triple nickles