"....cuz not enuff time to say "yoly chit, sonofbit..muffler chaff viii it.."
Posted on 02/17/2018 5:06:13 AM PST by harpygoddess
February 17th is the anniversary of the death in 1909 of that legendary Chiricahua Apache chieftain, Geronimo (born ca. 1829), whose actual Indian name was Goyathlay ("One Who Yawns"). The name by which Geronimo is remembered was supposedly bestowed on him by a detachment of Mexican soldiers so stunned by the ferocity of his resistance that they repeatedly invoked the name of St. Jerome against him.
The reason that U.S. airborne troops yell "Geronimo!" when they jump out of airplanes has to do with a 1939 movie entitled Geronimo which was viewed by a group of early paratroopers (the Parachute Test Platoon in Fort Benning, Georgia) in 1940. The concept of jumping from planes with parachutes was nerve-racking, and in order to demonstrate his bravery one of them planned to yell:
The other soldiers gave him a hard time. They were all scared. Of course he was scared, too. He should just admit it.
"All right, dammit!” Eberhardt finally shouted. “I’ll tell you jokers what I'm gonna do! To prove to you that I'm not scared out of my wits when I jump, I'm gonna yell ‘Geronimo’ loud as hell when I go out that door tomorrow!"
The next day, he made good on his promise. Out the plane he went and everyone heard “Geronimooooooo!” The rest of the platoon wasn’t about to let Eberhardt show them up, so on subsequent jumps the rest of the soldiers took up his battle cry and a tradition was born. The next year, the Army’s first official parachute unit, the 501st Parachute Infantry Battalion, made “Geronimo” the motto on their unit insignia after their commander tracked down descendants of the real Geronimo to ask for their permission to use his name.
(Excerpt) Read more at vaviper.blogspot.com ...
"....cuz not enuff time to say "yoly chit, sonofbit..muffler chaff viii it.."
We used to jump off the second floor balcony from a lake house onto the beach sand beneath.
We were idiots.
US Army Airborne NEVER shouts Geronimo when jumping, its considered bad luck. Who ever wrote this article should try again.
I was a derrick hand for awhile (mid to late 80’s)- fortunately, never had to use the Geronimo. I recall ours being anchored to a deadman, but I could be wrong- don’t believe I ever went and looked. The one time in my life I overcame my fear of heights- I’d never do that again.
The potassium chloride in the cement would burn the paint off the barrel
First thing I thought of, too. LOL
What plane were you in. We used the old boxcar in jump school. Once at Bragg SF used mostly 123’s. The 82nd used C130 and 141’s. Jumpmaster school in early Jan 68 was about hand signals plus verbal as well as looking out the door to see the panels/markings on the DZ. I could always hear men 4-5 down either direction.
You used the old C119 in Jump school right? Yes we counted to 1003. Between 1002-1003 it usually really grabbed one.
For some reason he’s been doing a number on Adam Ant. After decades I still haven’t figured out if it’s a good or bad thing.
“I live the life that I’ve been left
I leave most things unspoken
But deep inside Geronimo
Is tearing me apart”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psvhkRrLGFo
My dad jumped boxcars. I went in 1980. We did C-130s, one jump in C-123 (VERY loud), and C-141. All were so noisy you could barely make out screaming, as I recall. Hand signals were mandatory cause you couldn’t make out a thing even screaming it was hard to make out so you just quit.
QUIT?
‘Cause it’s easier to remember than Ahtunowhiho (Cheyenne, “One who lives below”) or Chavatangakwunua (Hopi, “Short rainbow”)?
lol
Quit trying to scream at each other.
“TECUMSEH!!!”
LOL..thanks for the memory!! I roughnecked W. Texas and SE NM as a kid. Fond memories. Not for whiney snowflakes!
You just quit was your statement. Did you quit jump school? I think I flew in the slowest cargo plane that our Air Force has in their C124. I caught hops to Germany in 67 and again in early 68 plus May 68 and after I got out of Womack Army Hospital at Bragg in Jul 69 from 2 GSW’s. I have never been in any AF plane to include 141’s where you could not hear any talk, much less a person scream. This entire article is about yelling Geronimo. I never said Geronimo except on the first jump of jump week to please the NCO with a star on his CIB. I learned fast just how darn important our NCO’s were in combat. I was going to the 509th Airborne in Maintz, Germany in 1969 on an ITT from Vietnam before two GSW’s.
Yeah, if the USAF ever does obtain a perfectly good airplane!
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