“a strap hanger night jump. “
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Wow.
Two thoughts, or rather memories flashed through my mind’s eye as I read your post.
First, it reminded me of NCIS’s Season 1 Episode 2. A murder centered around a jumper whose chute was deliberately screwed with by the chute packer. I remember thinking as still think when I view that episode that it must be hard trusting someone who you’ve never met.
The second, is of an event related by a Pastor whose name I cannot recall for the life of me. He talked about one of his jumps and spoke of a chute that didn’t open and of the chute packer’s intense grief that a man lost his life because of something overlooked. Chute packers know they have lives in their hands (literally), and for true and honest chute packers it’s an extremely serious job. This poor guy just cracked, knowing a man was dead because a chute he packed didn’t open.
I recall the 2nd story because the pastor spoke of Jesus as being the person we would be trusting with our souls, like a jumper would physically trust the chute packer.
The 2nd story about the chute not opening is what I heard many years before the Season 1 Episode 2 of NCIS. Still, viewing the episode really brought back memories of that sermon.
Yea, your stories bring back memories.
A strap hanger is somebody who is jumping with a unit that is not their own unit... space available for sometimes a jump slot is made available for somebody on request in advance as was my case. Having served in the 1/508 PIR, 3d Bde, before it was easy to get that jump slot.
Thanks.