Army Bob: First smoke jumpers were WWII African American soldiers

by Robert M. Traxler

A few weeks ago, I had cataract surgery in one eye, and two weeks later the second eye. I can’t say it was fun, far from it, but except for a few restrictions on lifting and needing to use sunglasses, it was surprisingly easy.

Fasting after midnight, a patch for a few days while sleeping, and after a month of easy restrictions and eyedrops four times a day it is good. Dr. Doyle at U of M West was the surgeon; he and his entire staff were wonderful folks — polite, helpful, and extremely professional. 

The biggest pain in the fourth point of contact was the weather and the fact the surgery was accomplished in Cascade, a 55-minute drive in in a snowstorm. I know I am getting old when I complain about the snow in southwest Michigan; after three bad winters in Alaska, getting old is a b*tch, but it beats the alternative.

Not wearing glasses for the first time in 60 years is a plus. My “new eyes” are better than the old with glasses; I still need to use reading glasses, but Dr. Doyle recommended over-the-counter readers or progressives, as I wear glasses all the time now. Needing glasses just to read is not a problem. 

The advances in modern medicine are amazing; sadly, we have come to take what would be a miracle two generations ago for granted. Cataract surgery has been around since 1747; however, it was dangerous, and the results were not very good, with the recovery taking months. Today we walk out of surgery with better vision in hours, not months, and very little disruption to normal routine. My appreciation and thanks to the good folks at University of Michigan West, and Dr. Doyle’s superb staff.

Changing gears. 

It is Black history month, so a bit of history is in order. A little-known fact is that the first Smoke Jumpers were African American soldiers, not allowed to join the 82^nd, 101^st, 11^th, 17^th, 13^th   Airborne Divisions nor the separate Airborne units in World War II. African American paratroopers were formed into the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, and used to fight the fires, mostly in the northwest, started by Japanese Fu-Go bombs, better known to us as balloon bombs.

One landed in Dorr Township, a short distance from where you are sitting now.  The Fu-Go’s were designed to drop incendiary bombs on forests; the fires would have two benefits for the Japanese Imperial Army: diverting troops to fight the fires, and destroying timber resources the Japanese felt vital to our war effort.

The Japanese just did not understand the massive amounts of timber we had across our nation, and felt as they used vastly more wood in the war effort than we did, it was a strategic war asset. The Japanese Imperial Army deforested the entire nation of Korea using the wood for war production.

In a little-known story of World War II, the Japanese bombs used sandbags and altimeters to maintain altitude flying across the Pacific Ocean, dropping weight when they started to lose altitude. Some of the sand was recovered from bombs that failed to detonate and a call went out for people who had visited Japan and returned with sand from beaches to provide the sand to the FBI. They found a match, and we were able to bomb the Fu-Go assembly and launch facility to rubble, ending the threat. 

As a paratrooper and skydiver, I am not sure what is worse: jumping into a forest fire, or behind an enemy’s forward edge of the battle area (FEBA). My hats off to those brave paratroopers, the first smoke jumpers, and true paratroopers.