PENDLETON — A group of former U.S. Army paratroopers plan to honor the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, an all-Black unit from World War II that was based at Pendleton Field, where the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport now stands.

On Saturday, April 13, dozens of retired paratroopers will put on a family-friendly air event — jumping out of a World War II transport plane — to commemorate the historic battalion, also called the Triple Nickles, at the airport, 2016 Airport Road.

Doors open for the event at 9 a.m. at the airport, 2016 Airport Road, Pendleton. A ceremony begins at 10 a.m., then comes the jump from a World War II C-47 transport plane, Betsy’s Biscuit Bomber.

An open house then runs noon to 3 p.m., during which attendees can sit inside the bomber and talk with the paratroopers.

“This is the furthest out any parachute team has gone to commemorate any operation, let alone the Triple Nickles,” said retired Sgt. Jordan D. Bednarz, the event’s coordinator with the All Airborne Battalion nonprofit.

Part of the nonprofit’s mission is to jump at commemorative events and airshows, attend the funerals of World War II veterans and find ways to honor the legacy of soldiers who fought for American freedom. Bednarz said the jump team will be wearing the same style of uniforms soldiers wore in World War II to pay homage to them.

Members of the Oregon National Guard and smokejumpers with the U.S. Forest Service also will be in attendance, as the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion is considered to be the first smokejumpers used as part of firefighting efforts, though they were part of a military operation.

Furthermore, descendants of some of the Triple Nickles and Robert Bartlett, an expert on the Triple Nickles’ history, are scheduled to speak during the ceremony. 

Making history

The Triple Nickles faced discrimination because of their race and were kept from going to Europe or the Pacific region, Bednarz explained.

“Instead, they’re given what is thought to be a relegated role,” he said, “but it actually is one of the most difficult, challenging things you can imagine.”

In 1945, the Triple Nickles were assigned to fight fires in the Pacific Northwest that were expected to ignite due to thousands of Japanese balloon bombs that were sent across the Pacific Ocean. Of 1,000 believed to have made it to the United States, 342 were seen or found, and because they were mostly deployed during the winter, few fires started from these balloon bombs.

Still, from April to October 1945, the Triple Nickles were part of Operation Firefly and made about 1,200 jumps while helping suppress 36 wildfires in the mountainous, tree-covered region.

They became one of the first real teams to learn and perform smokejumping, Bednarz added, and while their white counterparts overseas averaged fewer than 10 jumps, the Triple Nickles averaged more than 40, and theirs were directly into smoke and wildfire. They were the most experienced jumpers at the end of World War II.

“It’s arguably the most dangerous activity,” Bednarz said. 

A community effort

Bednarz said the All Airborne Battalion’s event would not have happened without the support of Pendleton locals and the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce.

“These nonjumping and, predominantly, women actually have been such aces in the hole because they’ve moved mountains to make sure that we had septic plans or backups for restrooms,” he said. “I can’t gush enough about how much they came online, volunteered their time away from their families or whatnot, and they have no monetary interest in it, they just believe in the mission.”

Patti Hyatt with the chamber was one of Bednarz’s point people in organizing the event. She said she wanted to help with it partly because of its historical significance.

“It’s a piece of Pendleton, for sure,” she said. “It’s family oriented, it’s history and it promotes a good part of Pendleton. It’s going to be just a good, positive experience.”

In addition to the event’s main attractions during the day on April 13, there also will be a commemoration USO dance and dinner at Hamley Steakhouse and Saloon starting at 6 p.m. The dance, like the rest of the event, is open to the public.

The following morning, at 9:30 a.m., the paratroopers plan to honor the one soldier who died during Operation Firefly, 24-year-old medic Malvin L. Brown, and the men in his platoon who carried his body 15 miles so his family would have something to bury, by trekking from the Pendleton Convention Center to Wildhorse Resort & Casino with a weighted litter (spine immobilization) board.

If you go to Operation Firefly commemoration

Saturday, April 13

The commemoration of the Triple Nickles — the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion — begins at 9 a.m. at the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport, 2016 Airport Road, Pendleton.

A ceremony begins at 10 a.m., then paratroopers jump from a World War II C-47 transport plane.

The day concludes with a USO dance and dinner at Hamley Steakhouse and Saloon starting at 6 p.m. at the Hamley Steakhouse in downtown Pendleton.

Sunday, April 14

The paratroopers at 9:30 a.m. will trek from the Pendleton Convention Center to Wildhorse Resort & Casino with a weighted litter (spine immobilization) board in honor of Malvin L. Brown, a 24-year-old medic who was the lone solider who who died during Operation Firefly, and the men in his platoon who carried his body 15 miles.

For more information, visit www.allairbornebattalion.com.

An earlier version of this story misidentified the type of plane the paratroopers would jump fro. They will jump from a Douglas C-47 Skytrain transport craft that does not have weapons.