Page 4

III

11 cont.

The red light came on and I ordered the men to, "Stand up
and hook up." Ordinarily the pilot switches the red warn-
ing light on 4 minutes from drop time. The men closed in
behind me as I grasped the sides of the open door with each
hand. We were over land now, and I could see tracers
climbing into the sky towards the head of the formation. I
could see flak exploding sporadically through the formation,
but no one was hit, as far as I could see. I could feel the
pilot throttle back and let down a little. We were flying in a
V of V’s (9 planes per company). I was in the lead plane of
the three plane group to the right.
X
X X
X X ----- My Plane
X X X X

In this position I was able to see the lead 3 plane group and
the group to its left, very clearly. Suddenly the 3 plane group
at the point of the V banked sharply to the left -- so sharply
that the group to its left had to pull up sharply to avoid a mid-
air collision. In doing so the 3 planes scattered. I knew at
that instant that our company formation was destroyed. With
a quick flash, I recalled the jump I made in the Sicilian inva-
sion, where I landed 60 miles away from my DZ. "Here we
go again, " I said to myself.

At that instant I saw the equipment bundles sweep by under-
neath the plane. The pilot had salvoed the load too early. I
swore to myself and saw the green light flash on. No time
to think -- automatically — "Let 's go!" I stepped out and
waited for the opening shock. It came — hard. Our jumping
speed was too fast. I hung on and hit hard. I was in France
and alive.