Towed Jumper.

[dan]

Back during the Grenada invasion a rumor was going around Ft. Bragg that the 75th had a towed jumper when they jumped in. The roomer was that for some reason we didn't understand, the jump master climbed out of the plane in flight, and grabbed the towed ranger and drug him back in the plane with him. The roomer was that the jump master was put in for the medal of honor for it.
I was wondering if their was any truth to it? That roomer was floating all over Ft. Bragg.

[KW Driver]

It's spelled rumor.

A JM climbed what? Down the jumper's static? hooked him to.... What? Then pulled himself and a combat equipped jumper back inside a bird doing 130 knots? How?

You get towed on my door and show conscious? I'm cutting you off the bird. You aren't, we'll pull you back in with the airframe system that's designed for that. Can't pull you back in and you're knocked out? Too bad, enjoy the ride. Actually, on a combat jump? You get towed you're going to be the safety's problem thank god, cause I'm going out the door.

That's one of the dumbest things I've heard, ever. I've heard a few stories and that's got to be the dumbest one yet.

[Steadfast]

Back in the early '60's my future brother-in-law was in 101st.

On a jump he did not detach & was dragged for approx. 3 hours until cut lose. He landed without further incident but the army made him stay in the hospital for 3 days for observation. I do not remember whether he deployed his reserve chute or what as this story was so long ago.

[Jim]

When I was in 2-508 PIR, in 1973-1974 time-frame. someone got the idea that the M-16 should be worn slung on the right shoulder. It was not uncommon to see towed jumpers who had static lines wrapped around the rifle barrel. The practice of jumping with exposed weapons was quickly abandoned.

[fatboy]

The rumor is incorrect as already pointed out.

Was there a towed jumper during the Grenada operation? Yes. Two actually. Bill Fedak from Weapons Platoon, B/1/75. The other was Marlin Maynard from Weapons Platoon, A/1/75.

In both cases, the jump masters, along with USAF crewmembers and Ranger jeep crews helped haul both back into the aircraft. Both ended up airlanding. Unfortunately for Maynard, he was killed when his jeep was ambushed later that day.

No one was put in for any medals for hauling them back into the aircraft.

In a strange side note, Fedak was almost denied his mustard stain because someone in the chain of command argued that by airlanding he did not complete the jump...he ended up getting it though...he met the requirement by exiting the aircraft during a C/MT.
Semper,
Mooch

Gunny -
Off topic, but is there any word on when your book about Grenada will be released? Or did I already miss it? There seems to be a whole lot of history there captured in the little stories and details like that. I'd love to read about them.

[fatboy]

Awesome. And on a side note, do you happen to know if the Fedak that was a towed jumper is from the Philly area? Its not a common name, but I work with one on occasion that could possibly be a son or cousin maybe.
And no offense meant if your rank went above and beyond being a Gunny. That's just the rank I recall you having when your book was discussed previously.

[Disinfertention]

The rumor is incorrect as already pointed out.

Was there a towed jumper during the Grenada operation? Yes. Two actually. Bill Fedak from Weapons Platoon, B/1/75. The other was Marlin Maynard from Weapons Platoon, A/1/75.

In both cases, the jump masters, along with USAF crewmembers and Ranger jeep crews helped haul both back into the aircraft. Both ended up airlanding. Unfortunately for Maynard, he was killed when his jeep was ambushed later that day.

No one was put in for any medals for hauling them back into the aircraft.

In a strange side note, Fedak was almost denied his mustard stain because someone in the chain of command argued that by airlanding he did not complete the jump...he ended up getting it though...he met the requirement by exiting the aircraft during a C/MT.
Semper,
Mooch

Amazing insight to a small piece of the puzzle here. As a JM I will only imagine what that was like... Thanks Gunny.

[fatboy]

The rumor is incorrect as already pointed out.

Was there a towed jumper during the Grenada operation? Yes. Two actually. Bill Fedak from Weapons Platoon, B/1/75. The other was Marlin Maynard from Weapons Platoon, A/1/75.

In both cases, the jump masters, along with USAF crewmembers and Ranger jeep crews helped haul both back into the aircraft. Both ended up airlanding. Unfortunately for Maynard, he was killed when his jeep was ambushed later that day.

No one was put in for any medals for hauling them back into the aircraft.

In a strange side note, Fedak was almost denied his mustard stain because someone in the chain of command argued that by airlanding he did not complete the jump...he ended up getting it though...he met the requirement by exiting the aircraft during a C/MT.
Semper,
Mooch

Amazing insight to a small piece of the puzzle here. As a JM I will only imagine what that was like... Thanks Gunny.

Speaking of shit to deal with as a jumpmaster- my first time after school doing AJ duties, my 1sg at the time allowed myself and the Primary to not hang our rucks while doing door checks and the first few passes until it was close to our turn to exit. As it happens, the 1sg was my safety on this jump. (A little about the 1sg- he was a former Regiment guy, rumored to be former RRD and other various long haired units and was a master rated halo jumper. Some here may know him, hell he may be a member.)
So as I'm doing my first "real" door check somewhere over a Ft Campbell Dropzone, 1sg lets go of my static line and proceeds to wrap both arms around me and pushes me out into the breeze, almost to the point of me falling out of the C130. The look on my face must have been priceless, as he said something along the lines of quit being a pussy and hang your ass out there to check things out." I realized then why he let us do JM duties slick.
That was the first and only time I ever considered really throwing someone out of the aircraft.