World War II Pathfinders Resupply 1. Airborne Division Troops in Bastogne Via Daring Parachute Drop. World War IINational Archives. A company of men from the 1. Airborne Division leaves Bastogne to take up positions on the perimeter surrounding the town. Although they were inadequately equipped when they were rushed to the Ardennes on December 1. With highintensity workouts like spinning on the rise, a rare condition is becoming more common among people seeking out new ways to exercise. While weve all heard of diseases, seen someone with a disease, and had a disease personally, its unlikely that weve encountered a rare disease. In the n. LP Price Guides Rare CW LPs These records are NOT FOR SALE They are just reference lists. When the red light came on, veteran paratrooper Jake Mc. Niece stood up and checked his parachute harness and equipment. He glanced back in the Douglas C 4. Most of them had been with Mc. Niece for some time, and they were with him now because he had been convinced that by becoming pathfinders his men would not have to make another combat jump. Most had already made two jumps. Fatal Cirrus crashes are down sharply over the last two years, while more pilots are using the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System than ever before. This is not a fluke. Peter Gibbs, a veteran pilot, decided to fly his plane one fateful night off the coast of Scotland. He never returnedand the great Mull Air Mystery began. Parachute The Way It Was Rare' title='Parachute The Way It Was Rare' />Now they were about to make a third, and Mc. Niece knew they were pushing their luck. Maybe so, but they had good reason. They knew their friends in the 1. Airborne Division were trapped in a shrinking perimeter around the Belgian town of Bastogne and were desperate for supplies. It was up to the pathfinders to set up vital signaling equipment to allow the 9th Troop Carrier Command to drop its supplies. In December 1. 94. Bastogne had been consistently foul. Day after day, visibility had been very low too low to risk dropping supplies into the perimeter surrounded by the besieging Germans. Nearly 6. 0 years later, it is still most commonly believed that a fortuitous break in the heavy cloud cover made a drop possible. In truth, the drops success had more to do with the skill and bravery of a handful of pathfinders than a break in the clouds. Prior to the Battle of the Bulge, Mc. Niece and the other pathfinders had been members of the 5. Parachute Infantry Regiments demolition section. Their antics on and off the battlefield had made them regimental legends. They wore Mohawk haircuts and war paint when they jumped into Normandy in June 1. They were proud to be called the Filthy 1. Combat during the 1. Airborne Divisions grueling 7. Holland in the fall of 4. When Mc. Niece, always something of a rebel, returned to the 1. Mourmelon, France, in December after overstaying a three day pass, his military superiors decided something had to be done. And it was not enough to demote him to private first class as they had done after his first extended absence without leave following the Normandy invasion. As Mc. Niece threw his gear on his bunk, his friend Frank Shorty Mihlan ran into the tent to tell him that the 5. Regimental Headquarters Company commander wanted to see him. They want to send you to England, Mihlan blurted out. Oh, is England where they are going to hang me Mc. Niece quipped to his friend. Thats not exactly it, Jake, Mihlan replied. Its almost that though. They would like for you to volunteer for parachute pathfinding service. Mc. Niece reported to Captain Gene Brown, his company commander, as ordered. The first thing he did after saluting was ask his commander, What happened to all those guys who volunteered for this BS up in HollandWhen they came back, they un volunteered, Brown explained. Brown admired Mc. Niece, but after disciplinary problems in the regiment in Holland, pressure had mounted to clean house of troublemakers. In fact, the division commander, Maj. Gen. Maxwell Taylor, had just flown back to Washington to report on, among other things, the conduct of some of his men in Holland. When Brown asked Mc. Niece to volunteer for the pathfinders, he promised Mc. Niece that he could retain his rank if he ever attained any and leave the 5. The offer did not impress Mc. Niece, but he told the captain he would think it over. He returned to his quarters to ponder his options. Although pathfinder operations were considered suicide missions, he figured that the war was nearly over and there would be little need for further airborne drops. An added benefit was that the pathfinder school was located at the 9th Troop Carrier Commands base at Chalgrove, England. The idea of sleeping between clean sheets and eating good Army Air Forces food was appealing. He quickly returned to Brown and accepted his offer. Lester Piano Serial Numbers there. Brown then asked Mc. Niece if he would talk Max Majewski into going with him. Mc. Niece said he had his own reasons for volunteering but would not try to convince anyone else. As it turned out, he did not have to. Mc. Niece had considerable influence in the company. When Majewski asked why he had volunteered, Mc. Niece explained his logic and before long Majewski also signed up. Soon Jack Agnew heard that Mc. Niece had volunteered, and he did too, no questions asked. Hell, hes not going without me, Agnew said. He was one of the original Filthy 1. Mc. Nieces section back in the States. The Irish born Agnew could fly a plane, drive a boat or fix any engine. He was also the companys crack shot. As word of Mc. Nieces new assignment spread through the company, others quickly volunteered. William Coad and John Dewey, who had been assigned to Mc. Nieces section for the Holland jump, signed up. Finally, Lieutenant Schrable Williams, who had been with the platoon since its training days in Toccoa, Ga., came in to ask why half of his demolition platoon had volunteered for pathfinder training. Mc. Niece explained their reasoning and the lieutenant also joined the group. The volunteers reported to the 9th Troop Carrier Commands pathfinder group at Chalgrove in December 1. Shortly after their arrival, Mc. Niece reported to Captain Frank L. Brown, commander of the pathfinder detachment. To Mc. Nieces surprise, the captain offered him first sergeants stripes. Boy, somebodys been pulling your leg, replied an amazed Mc. Niece. What do you mean Ive been recommended Ive been in here for nearly three years now and aint even made pfc yet. Im not first sergeant material Im the biggest goof off in the Army. Im in here for the same reason as you, Brown said. Im a goof off. I dont care about military discipline, saluting or picking up cigarettes and all that. Weve got 4. 00 goof offs here. They told me that you have been through this thing since Normandy and that you can whip this group into shape and get it right and ready quick. It sounds like we might be dealing right on the table, Mc. Niece said, and he accepted the captains offer with some conditions. I want good food. I want good, reasonable quarters and I want these people to have an almost permanent pass as long as they will respect it. The first thing theyre going to do is take a three day pass to London. How many of these guys do think well get back Brown asked. Youll get back all of them except the ones that are in jail, and just as quick as the police notify us, well go get them, Mc. Niece answered. They are a good bunch of men. Theyre just field soldiers combat men, not garrison. They have been behind enemy lines for 7. They need to get into town and let some steam off. Well, Ill tell you what Ill do, Brown said. Ill get you a pass book and you can let everybody in here have a three day pass without destination, but youve got to stay here and get these sticks organized and a training program set up. When they get back then you can go. Pathfinders were specially trained to jump into enemy territory to mark landing and drop zones for subsequent waves of supply aircraft, paratroopers and gliders. Each pathfinder stick was equipped with ANPPN 1. A Eureka beacons and other special equipment. After landing, the pathfinders would set up the Eureka beacons, which sent out a signal to C 4. APN 2SCR 7. 29 Rebecca receivers. Once the Eureka signal had been picked up, the Rebecca equipped C 4. Mc. Niece began to assign the men at Chalgrove to the sticks they would train with. For his own stick, Mc. Niece picked men he knew had proven themselves in combat. In addition to the men who had come with him from demolitions, he selected George Blain from 1st Battalion Headquarters, Sergeant John Roseman of Company A, Sergeant Leroy E. Shulenberg of Company B and Sergeant Cleo Merz of Company C. At 1 3. 0 p. m. on December 2.