By Jennifer Queen, Resource Fellow, Recreation and Tourism
It has been said that
Black history is simply the missing pages of world history. Nothing could be
truer. The Triple Nickles African American paratrooper unit
left their mark, not only in Black history but, ultimately, in the history of
the Army, the Forest Service and our great country.
On Feb. 29, the Triple
Nickles will be awarded the Buffalo Soldiers Medal of Valor.
The medal was created in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2014 by John Taylor Jr., a
veteran and Buffalo Soldiers camp director. It was created to honor African
Americans, living and deceased. The medal is presented and housed annually in
Washington, D.C., at the African American Civil War Museum.
The 555th Parachute
Infantry Battalion was
a pioneering paratrooper unit of the United States Army. Instated in 1943
during World War II, the unit was given the unprecedented and undeniably
dangerous job of jumping into forests that were set on fire by the nation’s
enemy at war. The unit was nicknamed the Triple Nickles because of its
numerical designation and because 17 of the original 20-member “colored test
platoon” came from the 92nd Infantry Division, or Buffalo Division. Hence,
the nickname Buffalo Nickles, symbolized by three buffalo nickels joined in a
triangle. The unit’s 75-year legacy intersects with USDA Forest Service history
in a very special way.
At a time when the
Army traditionally relegated Black service members to menial jobs, the Triple
Nickles succeeded in becoming the nation’s first Black parachute infantry test
platoon, company and battalion.
Major James C.
Queen—my grandfather—dedicated his life to fighting forest fires as a 555
paratrooper during the war. While serving, he was stationed at Fort Bragg, Fort
Benning and other bases, where he underwent extensive training despite the many
forms of discrimination that often hindered Black soldiers from advancing
through the ranks. Despite the roadblocks, in 1994 Queen went on to become the
first African American inductee into the Ranger Hall of Fame for
his leadership during the Korean War.
A Washington, D.C.,
native, and the son of a secretary and a factory worker, Queen entered the army
at the age of 18 with only a high school education. Nicknamed “Big
Jim” for his towering 6’5″ height, he enrolled in the Reserve
Officers’ Training Corps, where he earned the rank of junior colonel for
Washington, D.C., by the time he graduated high school.
After retiring from
the army in 1964, Queen went on to become assistant principal of H.D. Woodson
High School in Washington, D.C., and later began writing the history of the
first Black airborne company to fight in Korea—the 2nd ranger infantry.
“War Department
studies indicated that they didn’t believe Black troops could become
paratroopers, Queen said. “Just like they didn’t believe Black soldiers
could become airmen…they just didn’t think we could do it.”
My grandfather lived a
life colored with dignity, perseverance, love and determination in service to
family and country. His body now rests next to my grandmother, Phyllis Queen,
in Arlington National Cemetery, where he was buried with full military honors.
Major Queen, like innumerable other paratroopers of color, proudly served his
country and carried out tremendously dangerous work without the full respect,
resources and support given to other troops. Many of their contributions to
American infrastructure are still yet to be fully told.
The Triple Nickles was
a skilled mix of former university students, top-notch professional athletes
and veteran non-commissioned officers. Unlike other divisions of the army, the
Triple Nickles did not deploy overseas during World War II. Instead, in 1945,
the unit was secretly assigned to a series of firefighting missions in the
Pacific Northwest Region. This special assignment, called Operation Firefly,
saw the Triple Nickles transferred to Pendleton, Oregon. While there, the unit
was trained by the Forest Service to become the first military smokejumpers in
U.S. history.
That spring, the
Triple Nickles parachuted into U.S. forests to battle wildfires that were set
ablaze by incendiary balloons the Japanese were delivering across the Pacific
Ocean. The Triple Nickles went on to operate in all the northwestern states.
When the battalion was finally deactivated in 1947, their impact was
undeniable.
That impact is
recognized in the Forest Service Headquarters in Washington, D.C., with a
conference room in their name located in the building’s promenade. Photos and
descriptions of the men from the first iteration of the company adorn the
walls. One paratrooper, the late Richard Williams, whose photo also hangs in
the conference room, will be honored this year with a post office named after
him in Columbus, Georgia. The commemoration is scheduled for March 18.
Resources:
Smokejumpers: 80 Years
of Wildland Firefighting
The US Army’s First,
Last and only all Black Rangers by Edward L. Posey
The Ranger Hall of
Fame— http://www.nationalrgrassociation.com/ranger-hall-of-fame-1/
To learn more about
the history of the Triple Nickles: http://triplenickle.com/history.htm
More about the
legendary capture of hill 581: When Men Don’t Panic
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