US Army jump, Mt. Rainier, Washington, via Wikimedia Commons
“Why would you want to jump out of a perfectly good plane?” That is the question my grandfather posed to me when I was 19 years old and seriously considering a career as a smoke jumper. Call it a death wish if you want, but being a firefighter is every young man’s (or woman's) dream, so why not mine? You know, people do skydive as a form of recreation. It's an adrenaline junkies sport perhaps, but then so is any great feat of athleticism. Defying those natural “laws” that keep us mortal humans grounded, or anchored in the fixed elemental realm, creates a curious carnal excitement. Athletic events are the only honest form of real “Reality TV” anyway. Anything can happen. Both disaster and miracle, either of which stimulates the endorphins for both the doer and watcher. Aside from living vicariously through those brave enough to consistently exercise their Risk muscle, some (like me) observe daring dilemmas silently affirming to ourselves that we too have the same potential somewhere inside of us.
The immortality of youth is an elixir of a lifetime. The strong brew emboldens our taste for risk and reward. It doubles our visions and vanquishes all traces of trepidation. I am too old to be making career choices anymore, my calling already had my number, I simply had to answer. All of the diversions, experiences and explorations of the vast possibilities for our future are never completely discarded. For me, the respect and fascination I held for smokejumpers was never fully extinguished.
Most people associate the role of a smoke jumper with fighting forest fires, which nowadays is wholly true. The goal of this technique allows the firefighters to be precisely dropped in a strategic, normally inaccessible, albeit dangerous, firefighting position. My grandfather would have been more astute to ask, “Why would you want to be dropped into the mouth of a fire-breathing dragon?” Must have been that risk and reward (paired with a lack of fear) factor most commonly observed at age 19, I suppose.
The very first crew of smokejumpers were trained primarily as delivery personnel for “water bombs” (an early experiment as a firefighting technique) and other equipment. The very first smokejumper was employed by the US Forest Service in the 1930’s (as a professional climber) named Francis Lufkin, whose job was to gain access to and bring down the parachutists that got stuck in trees. Lufkins' first official jump was made in response to a dare, likely of the double dog dare kind. Historically, Russia and the US began utilizing smokejumpers around the same time, but officially, the Russian Federation (who also has the largest workforce of smokejumpers in the world) established smokejumpers in 1936 and the US followed in 1939.
USMC by Gunnery Sargeant E.V. Walsh, September 2006 via Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
In 1944, the USFS (US Forest Service) established an official "Smoke Jumper Project" working in conjunction with the US armed services. By 1946, the main Missoula area of Montana was the primary base of operations. At this post, out of 164 Smoke Jumpers, eight-four percent (84%) of them were military veterans, proving you can take the man out of the service, but not the servitude out of the man.
As part of an array of creative American military projects during World War II, the first “all black” airborne unit in military history, (also described as the all “colored test platoon”) was officially constituted as the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion in February 1943, or as they were more casually known, the “Triple Nickels”. The “Triple Nickels" were the first crew designated as official “Smoke Jumpers”. This very first battalion of its kind was set up primarily on the West Coast, Oregon State specifically, and they never engaged in actual front-line warfare. This highly specialized and under-recognized task force was put in a critical place at a critical time of conflict between the US and Japan. While all eyes and ears were focused on other continents, in the winter of 1944, Japan sent 9,000 “fire balloons” across the Pacific targeting the US West Coast. While only 1,000 of the fire balloons reportedly made landfall, and lesser still only 300 of those were witnessed, and even though the unique group was considered a covert operation, these men aggressively kept all of the resulting fires under control. Thier history to be extinguished in smoldering silence.
US Airforce parachuting exercise in Colorado, 1980
History has grown up and almost forgotten this era of warfare that involved fire balloons and water bombs. Thirty-eight years later the “Super Soaker” was belatedly invented by Nerf, officially retiring such childhood games like "Cowboys and Indians". Nowadays, we have Hackers and Terrorists who pose the current biggest threats of chemical, biological and technological warfare. These malicious activities will need to be staved off by a new type of brave soldier, one armed with a PhD and brave enough to use it, like the "Triple Nickles".
The Triple Nickels were an elite squadron of highly intelligent and physically superior men, with professional athletic and/or university educations. So why would these smart men be among the first to jump out of a perfectly good plane into the mouth of a forest fire with little to zero visibility?
Despite what it may seem like, Smoke Jumpers carry the same professional risk as grounded or traditional firefighters. Much like a surgeon who performs his task alone (after the immense work of fact gathering has been done by others) must perform their daunting task soaring solo, leaving no room for doubt or error. In the 1970’s the US had around 400 Smoke Jumpers and recorded over 90,000 jumps when one of the first fatalities relating to parachuting occurred- after 31 years of a near perfect safety record. In September 2013 a beloved Smoke Jumper named Mark Urban was killed in a jump in Idaho, he had jumped 287 times prior. Statistically speaking you are in more danger sitting in one place reading this-lightning could strike, a passing car could lose control, your neighbor’s dog could maul you, you could be hit by a falling branch or passing meteor, debris from a plane could strike you down, a mountain lion or bear attack could be your furry end or most likely cancer will come knocking in some outfit or another while you try not to be an accommodating host. Don't answer the door yet.
Smoke Jumpers do not live in fear, in fact, they live above fear. Their adrenaline is not capable of taking control; their technical abilities put only themselves at risk if an error occurs. The number of lives and property they are able to save by choking a fire before it can consume and obliterate makes these special firefighters the equivalent of modern day dragon slayers.
US Forest Service, 1948 in Deming New Mexico via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain
"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles."-Christopher Reeve
I never played Cowboys and Indians as a child, although G.I. Joe had made his drab debut. Still, I was fonder of jumping off the swing before it went all the way around. Kids today actually still want to grow up to be firefighters and the President, at least before they learn about what could possibly go wrong. Even though this firefighting method was officially established 75 years ago, according to experts, Smoke Jumpers are still the most cost effective and proactive means employed to fight forest fires here in the United States as of 2015. All brave individuals are heroes. Not because they do not live in fear, but because they seek out and face that which threatens their heroic bravery every day.
USN, a moment before the jump, photo taken in August 2004 via Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
"When your time comes to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home."-Tecumseh
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