The Triple Nickles — little known bit of Chico history
As editor of Smokejumper magazine, I’m constantly dealing with smokejumper history and correcting inaccurate news and magazine articles about smokejumping. Smokejumpers are the airborne wildland firefighters who parachute into in accessible areas to fight wildfires. Currently, there are about 420 smokejumpers employed by the USFS and BLM in nine bases ranging from Redding, California, to Fairbanks, Alaska.
The idea of delivering firefighters by parachute was tested in 1939 and found to be feasible. The Russians had already tested the idea and established their smokejumpers in 1936. In 1940 the first group of 12 smokejumpers were hired in the U.S. and stationed in Washington and Montana. The project of getting firefighters to wildfires days ahead of men hiking through the mountains proved successful and we have had smokejumpers in the U.S. for 82 years.
WWII almost shut down the program due to lack of manpower. The ranks had thinned to seven in 1942 when a member of the Civilian Public Service (conscientious objectors) wrote a letter to the higher ups and said there were plenty of these men who, although they didn’t believe in the war, they were very willing to take part in this highly risky occupation. Most of these men were from the Mennonite, Quaker, and Brethren faith. Some 220 of these men filled the smokejumper ranks from 1942-45.
This brings us to 1945 and a very usual bit of history that ties together the societal issues of the time. The U.S. military, as was the country, was segregated at the time. In 1943 a “test” airborne platoon of 22 African American soldiers was activated at Ft. Benning, Georgia. It was known as the 555th Parachute Infantry Company also called the Triple Nickle. By 1945 the unit had grown to over 400 men. Although the war in Europe had come to an end in May 1945, the Triple Nickle was anxious to get into combat in the Pacific.
On May 5, 1945, the Triple Nickle was dispatched to the air base in Pendleton, Oregon. They were to be part of Operation Firefly which would be in response to the Japanese Balloon Bomb program. Between November 1944 and April 1945, the Japanese launched approximately 9,300 balloons into the Jet Stream. These paper balloons carried one 33-pound high-explosive bomb and four 11-pound incendiary bombs. The balloons would take about three days to reach the continent and landed in all the western states, Hawaii, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, and as far east as Michigan. Only just over 300 of these balloons were known to have reached North America. Our forests were wet and snow-covered during these months. The Japanese did not consider the project successful and abandoned the balloon attacks on April 20, 1945. No fires were attributed the to the balloon bomb program at any time.
Of the 300 paratroopers sent to Pendleton, 100 were broken off and sent to the Army Airfield in Chico. At times the legend does not match the facts. In the last few years there have been several books, newspaper and magazine articles telling the Triple Nickle story and how they changed smokejumping. This is where I separate myself. When writing history, the primary or original documents are the best source of information. Whenever someone writes a book years later, in many cases, that becomes a primary source of information. This is where fact is lost.
In writing about Operation Firefly and the Triple Nickle in Smokejumper magazine in 2015, I went back to the actual dispatch and final analysis report done in February 1946. Of the two groups, the 100 men stationed in Chico jumped their first fire (ahead of the Pendleton group) on July 14, 1945, on the Klamath National Forest. They jumped 56 men. On August 7th, they jumped 12 men on a fire in the Trinity National Forest with three serious injuries. During the time from July to mid-October they jumped two fires and manned eleven other fires via ground travel. Reports on their performance were very positive as opposed to some of the very negative reports on the Pendleton group. I’ve always wondered if California was more receptive to African American firefighters than Montana and Idaho?
In going back through the Chico Record and the Chico Daily Enterprise, I was amazed at the lack of any mention of the 100 Triple Nickle paratroopers stationed at the Chico Army Airfield (CAAF). A July 1, 1945, article in the Record mentions a unit of engineer troops and a detachment of planes to be stationed here. “In addition, a unit of paratroopers, along with their transport planes, will be assigned here soon.” There is no mention of the fire on the Klamath in any later article, but there were a couple stories about the injured troopers from the fire on the Trinity N.F. The last mention of the CAAF paratroopers is from the August 25, 1945, issue of the Daily Enterprise talking about the participation of three troopers in the Diamond Belt Amateur Boxing event in San Francisco.
I’ve look for records, photos, and any historical writing on this group of men stationed for four months in 1945 at the Chico Army Airfield and I can’t find more than what I have above. How could such an unusual group of men not be noticed in our community? My guess is that they were restricted to the base during their time here. Otherwise, how could 100 black paratroopers not be noticed in Chico?
The Chico group has also been forgotten by the Triple Nickle website and organization. Of the seven Chico troopers for whom I was able to find a name, only one is listed as being part of the 1945 effort. In his book, Bradley Biggs, the first officer in the unit, hardly mentions the Chico group and tells nothing about their firefighting efforts while focusing on the Pendleton group.
The Triple Nickle was eventually transferred into units of the 82nd Airborne Division. Although these men have been forgotten in national history, we should remember them as being a unique, although little-known, part of Chico history.