All the men had been ordered to look out at the horizon, not straight down, for obvious psychological reasons.' () 'The first man stepped up to the open door.

D) Qualifying Jumps: five jumps from a C47 plane, after which point you will have qualified and earn your wings.C) Big Static Jumps: like the small jumps, but this time with real parachutes and from higher towers.B) Small Static Jumps: jumping from fixed towers via wires to become accustomed with the motions and their equipment without having to constantly go up in planes.A) Fitness: skipped by the 506th because their fitness was already exemplary.Jump training was broken into four steps: Of Winters: 'He was an officer who got the men to perform because he expected nothing but the best, and 'you liked him so much you just hated to let him down.' He was, and is, all but worshiped by the men of E Company.' () Jump School and Combat TrainingĪfter Toccoa, the men moved onto Fort Benning and Camp Marshall for jump and combat training. Sobel, though, was universally hated as a 'chickenshit' officer: petty meanness, careerism and sadism that did nothing to help win the war and everything to turn the men sour against him. Officers were almost universally respected, especially Winters. From 5300 enlisted me, only 1800 made it through. In the 506th PIR, From 500 officers, only 148 made it through. There was a competitive atmosphere and it was difficult to make it through the training without washing out. Comrades are closer than friends, closer than brothers.' () 'The result of these shared experiences was a closeness unknown to all outsiders. Currahee, the hill next to the camp, was where they ran 3 miles up and 3 miles down several times a week. There was an intense training regime that made sure of this. They all had a desire to be and be among the best, because their view was that it was better to be in front in the most danger with someone you could rely on, than instead further back with someone you couldn't. They all had a love of country, even after the preceding lean years they had all experienced. They had a hunger to do, to be and to act. The men who had volunteered to become paratroopers were children of the depression era.

Stephen ambrose band of brothers