Leighton Baird
Tells Of Service
As Paratrooper
Greenwood
Boy Enjoys Thrills
Of Jumping In His Chute
At Fort Benning
Private Leighton
Baird, son of Mrs. J. M. Baird of Greenwood, is a member of the parachute
troops at Fort Benning. Leighton writes interestingly of the paratroopers
and of the thrills of jumping depending upon his chute to bring him safely
to earth.
In a letter to the Commonwealth he says:
Since I have been in the parachutes, i have, received quite a few letters asking about the parachutists and if we are really the Dare-Devils that they read about.
"Now
that I have become a qualified jumper, I can explain more about the thrills
and work that go with being a paratrooper. You do get a big thrill bailing
out of a plane in flight at 1500 ft. That same thrill is there every time
you go up, regardless of the times you have jumped.
"We have complete faith
in our chutes and so do not consider our selves Dare-Devils. It is more in
the line of duty. At one time it was considered a miracle when one opened,
now it is considered a miracle if one doesn't.
"During our training we learn
to care for our chutes, and long hours are spent on physical training. We
have well known acrobats teaching us tumbling so that the landing shock is
no greater than that of stepping off a curb.
"Every man in this outfit is
proud of being a paratrooper and even tho it is now comparatively young, I
believe in the near future, we will be looked upon as America's No. 1
fighting unit. "I'll venture to say that our physical course is far more strenuous than any branch of any Army, with the possible exception of the
British Commandos.
"I hope that I have cleared up a few points for the
public on Uncle Sam's fastest growing outfit."
[The Greenwood Commonwealth, Greenwood, Ms, 06 Jul 1942, Mon, Page 1]