The Triple Nickles
Stuff You Missed in History Class
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Intro
This chapter explores the historical significance of the Triple Nickles, the first all-Black parachute unit in the U.S. military during World War II. It examines their training, missions, and the racial challenges they faced, along with their lasting legacy on future generations and civil rights movements.
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Episode notes
The 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, also called the Triple Nickles, were the first Black paratroopers in the U.S. military, and their story is connected to the desegregation of the military after World War II.
Research:
- 555th Parachute Infantry. “Malvin L. Brown.” http://triplenickle.com/malvinbrown.htm
- Aney, Warren. “Triple Nickles -- 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion.” Oregon Encyclopedia. https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/555th_parachute_infantry_triple_nickle_batallion/
- Associated Press. “Air Force Starts Probe Into Troop Bombing.” The Miami Herald. 9/18/1948. https://www.newspapers.com/image/617847549/
- Associated Press. “Army Lists Dead in Bomb Blast.” The Tampa Times. 9/18/1948. https://www.newspapers.com/image/326171714/
- Biggs, Bradley. “The Triple Nickles: America’s First All-Black Paratroop Unit.” Hamden, Conn. Archon Books. 1986.
- Bradsher, Greg and Sylvia Naylor. “Firefly Project and the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion (‘Smoke Jumpers’).” National Archives. 2/10/2015. https://rediscovering-black-history.blogs.archives.gov/2015/02/10/the-555th-smoke-jumpers/
- Cieslak, Thomas. “Equal in All Ways to All Paratroopers - The Origin of the ‘Triple Nickles’.” U.S. Army. 5/27/2019. https://www.army.mil/article/222374/equal_in_all_ways_to_all_paratroopers_the_origin_of_the_triple_Nickles
- Crumley, Todd and Aaron Arthur. “The Triple Nickles and Operation Firefly.” National Archives. 2/5/2020. https://unwritten-record.blogs.archives.gov/2020/02/05/the-triple-Nickles-and-operation-firefly/
- Curran, Jonathan. “The 555TH Parachute Infantry Company ‘Triple Nickles.’” U.S. Army National Museum. https://www.thenmusa.org/articles/triple-Nickles/
- Ferguson, Paul-Thomas. “African American Service and Racial Integration in the U.S. Military.” U.S. Army. 2/23/2021. Via archive.org. https://web.archive.org/web/20240327034226/https://www.army.mil/article/243604/african_american_service_and_racial_integration_in_the_u_s_military
- Forest Service Aviation & Fire Management. “History of Smokejumping.” August 1, 1980
- Gidlund, Carl. “African-American Smokejumpers Help Celebrate Smokey’s 50th.” Fire management notes / U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1993. https://archive.org/details/CAT77680365067/
- Morris, Walter. “Base Plate.” Triplenickle.com. http://triplenickle.com/waltermorris.htm
- Queen, Jennifer. “The Triple Nickles: A 75-Year Legacy.” USD Forest Service. 2/28/2020. Via archive.org. https://www.fs.usda.gov/features/triple-Nickles-75-year-legacy
- The Forest History Society. “U.S. Forest Service Smokejumpers.” Via Archive.org. https://web.archive.org/web/20170316132550/https://foresthistory.org/ASPNET/Policy/Fire/Smokejumpers/Smokejumpers.aspx
- USDA Forest Service. “Operation Firefly & the 555th.” https://www.fs.usda.gov/science-technology/fire/smokejumpers/missoula/history/operation-firefly
- Weeks, Linton. “How Black Smokejumpers Helped Save The American West.” NPR History Dept. 1/22/2015. https://www.npr.org/sections/npr-history-dept/2015/01/22/376973981/how-black-smokejumpers-helped-save-the-american-west
- Williams, Robert F. “The "Triple Nickles": Jim Crow Was an Elite Black Airborne Battalion's Toughest Foe.” History News Network. 9/6/2020. https://www.hnn.us/article/the-triple-Nickles-jim-crow-was-an-elite-black-air
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