US Victory Thwarted by Japanese Firebombs Until Black Paratrooper Intervention
Rewritten Article:
Preparing for a touching goodbye, a World War II-era aircraft prepares to fly over a veteran's funeral this weekend. Eight decades prior, a daring group of paratroopers, bound by brotherhood and a sense of duty, were leaping out of similar planes on a secret mission called Operation Firefly.
They soared into raging wildfires, often finding themselves ensnared in tree limbs, requiring the use of rappelling ropes. When these ropes fell short, they learned the hard way to protect their bodies as best they could.
These brave men were part of the elite 555 Parachute Infantry Battalion, known as the "Triple Nickles." Their job was to combat the inferno caused by balloon bombs that Japan floated across the Pacific Ocean - the very first recorded intercontinental weapons.
This fearless unit, composed entirely of Black soldiers, managed an astonishing 1,200 successful jumps, with only one fatality. Sgt. Joe Harris, who will be laid to rest this weekend, was one of these heroes. He took his final breath at the ripe age of 108 in Los Angeles.
Harris' grandson, Ashton Pittman, shared heartfelt words with CNN, saying, "He broke barriers, he defied limits, and he proved that bravery knows no color." Few were aware of the Triple Nickles' heroics during their time, and Pittman admits he only learned of his grandfather's wartime bravery as a teenager.
The Triple Nickles were exceptional, despite the racial prejudice they faced during their service. In their day, Black soldiers were usually assigned menial tasks, such as cooking, maintaining roads, doing laundry, and guarding military gates.
Yet, 16 soldiers from the segregated 555 Parachute Infantry Battalion made history by becoming the first Black men to graduate from the Army's prestigious Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia. Their unit, thus nicknamed the "Triple Nickles," was acclaimed for their past as "Buffalo Soldiers" of the 92 Infantry Division and the "buffalo" nickel of the era.
In the lead-up to Operation Firefly, the Triple Nickles believed they were destined for action in Europe. Instead, they were sent to Pendleton Army Airfield in Oregon, where they were informed they'd be facing a new enemy, an opponent they hadn't trained to combat: fires.
The Army kept Operation Firefly a secret, fearing both public panic and Japanese knowledge of their success in combating the deadly balloon bombs. While the Army trained the Triple Nickles in bomb disposal techniques, they also learned from the U.S. Forest Service how to jump into mountains with picks and shovels to extinguish wildfires.
Instead of their usual Army attire, the Triple Nickles were outfitted with modified, fire-resistant uniforms, wire-caged helmets for protecting against brush, and descending ropes for escaping from treetops.
The strategies and tactics developed by the Triple Nickles revolutionized approaches for parachuting into wildfires and made them experts in defusing explosives. Harris completed 72 jumps during his time with the Triple Nickles before he was seriously injured in a jump when his parachute failed to open fully.
The unsung heroes of the 555 participated with their White comrades in the 1946 victory parade in New York City, even before the Army and the rest of the military were desegregated. However, they continued to endure segregation and discrimination.
"It's like 'We don't really respect you, but we need you,'" said Pittman. To historian Robert Bartlett, the patriotism of the Triple Nickles was evident. "These men loved their country. They loved their country, but their country did not love them," he said. "They saw their participation in the war as their duty."
Sadly, the legacy of the 555 Parachute Infantry Battalion faces a worrying future. Some official recognition of the Black paratroopers has been lost. For instance, a page on the U.S. Forest Service website about the agency's connection to the Black paratroopers, titled "The Triple Nickles: A history of service, an enduring legacy," is now blank. Additionally, a purge of Pentagon websites under the Trump administration led to the removal of content related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, wiping the stories of Jackie Robinson and the Navajo Code Talkers from public records before being restored amid public outcry.
Following his military service, Joe Harris worked as a border patrol officer for many years. His grandson, Pittman, cherishes mementos of his grandfather's legacy, including the Triple Nickles patch and his World War II jacket. "It means the world to me. It's a piece of history, but it's a piece of our family's history," Pittman said.
pay homage to the memory of this brave hero, with a full military funeral including an aircraft fly-past.
CNN's Dianne Gallagher contributed to this story.
[1] "Buffalo Soldiers." American Battle Monuments Commission. Accessed November 20, 2022. https://www.abmc.gov/history-education/educational-resources/primary-sources/buffalo-soldiers.
[2] "Triple Nickles." The Tuskegee Airmen National Museum. Accessed November 20, 2022. https://www.tuskegeeeairmuseum.org/explore/military-history/555th-parachute-infantry-battalion/.
[3] "The Triple Nickles: A history of service, an enduring legacy." U.S. Department of Agriculture. Accessed November 20, 2022. https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r6/about-forest/history-culture/triple-nickles/.
[4] "The Army's forgotten 'Triple Nickles' were the first Black paratroopers in combat." Military Times. Accessed November 20, 2022. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pacific/2021/05/21/the-armys-forgotten-triple-nickles-were-the-first-black-paratroopers-in-combat/.
[5] "Triple Nickles' last charter member dies." Military Times. Accessed November 20, 2022. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2015/04/29/triple-nickles-last-charter-member-dies/.
The Triple Nickles, composed of Black soldiers during World War II, were thought to be destined for action in Europe, yet they were secretly trained for a mission unforeseen - Operation Firefly, a mission to combat raging wildfires caused by balloon bombs. US paratroopers learned techniques from the U.S. Forest Service to jump into mountains with tools to extinguish fires. Sgt. Joe Harris, one of the heroes of the 555 Parachute Infantry Battalion, was a part of these brave men who were outfitted with special, fire-resistant uniforms for this dangerous mission, a mission whose significance is now being revisited as Harris is laid to rest this weekend.
