Courtesy of the 82nd Airborne Division Museum, Ft. Bragg, North Carolina
Courtesy of the U.S. Army/Barbara Gavin Fauntleroy
Courtesy of Airborne and Special Operations Museum
Courtesy of Ashley Bryan
TM and copyright © 20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved/Courtesy Everett Collection
© Walt Disney Collection/Courtesy Everett Collection
Courtesy of Walter Morris
Courtesy of Clarence Beavers/Edward Howard, photographer
Courtesy U.S. Army/Photo by D. Myles Cullen
Photo by Prudence Siebert/Fort Leavenworth Lamp
Dennis Brack-Pool/Getty Images
National Archives/U.S. Army Signal Corps (111-SC-631041),
U.S. Army Signal Corps (SC-353469)
Courtesy of Bill Wischnewsky/http://www.5jump.com
Photograph by Saddi Khali of http://www saddikhaliphoto.com
Courtesy of Jordon (JJ) Corbett
There are many people I met throughout the years of research and writing whom I need to thank. Stevan Smith, what a wonderful surprise to be able to cold-call you and be showered with a wealth of information about smokejumping. Thank you for sharing your documentary interview transcripts with me and for pointing me in the direction of so many other helpful smokejumping folks. Wayne Williams, smokejumper extraordinaire, thanks for being so generous with your time and resources and for leading me to photographs I never would have found. Likewise, thanks go to Dan Cottrell. Your perseverance accessing the photos in that safe is greatly appreciated!
Ed Howard — retired U.S. Army first sergeant, Triple Nickle member, and paratrooper, president of the Airborne Historical Association — you are a dedicated and tenacious researcher. Thank you so much for providing me with a bounty of historic Fort Benning images as well as other valuable resources, for always being there with an answer to a question, and for expertly reviewing my manuscript for all things Airborne. Thank you also to Terry Becktold, Chuck Sheley, Ed Booth, Rafael Alvarez, Ilana Sol, Reagan Grau, Robert Mikesh, Barbara Gavin Fauntleroy, Carolyn Carter, Alice Lowry and her son Chuck Roy, Crystal Poole, and Carina Biggs.
To my family, thank you for being understanding when the dining-room table turns into research headquarters for far too long, and for being so supportive and loving along this journey we are taking together. To Sarah Aronson, for always having my back, being my best friend, and reminding me “you can” when I think maybe I can’t. Thank you, once again, to Marc Aronson, Hilary Van Dusen, Sherry Fatla, and the Candlewick team for yet another wonderful collaborative project. An enormous hug and thank-you to the wonderful Ashley Bryan for sharing your words, your feelings, your art, and most of all, your joyous spirit. And to Susan Valdina for your ever-present love and loyalty to Ashley, as well as your expert scanning techniques!
A huge expression of thanks to Joe Murchison, who, in addition to reading the manuscript, spent an enormous amount of time on the phone with me and never failed to help in my efforts to track down leads. And of course, an it-can’t-possibly-be-big-enough tremendous thank-you to Walter Morris, Clarence Beavers, and Jordon (JJ) Corbett, for reading the manuscript, allowing me to get to know you, and for simply being who you are — proud members of the 555th. Airborne Out!
Copyright © 2013 by Tanya Lee Stone
Cover photographs copyright 1944 (parachutes) and 1945 (paratroopers) courtesy of U.S. Army Air Forces
Photography credits appear here.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.
First electronic edition 2013
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2012942315
ISBN 978-0-7636-5117-6 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-7636-6820-4 (electronic)
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