Last night I watched the documentary on the Military channel about the 502 PIR and the drop on D-Day again. It was awe inspiring. It wasn't just combat jumps they had to contend with. Every training jump was literally taking their lives into their own hands and the hands of the riggers. We owe so much to those men and indeed, all those who fought on that historic day. May we always remember and honor them.
Six
Song: Blood on The Risers, sung by the 82nd Airborne Chorus.
Lyrics:
He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright
as he checked all his equipment and made sure his pack was tight
He had to sit and listen to the awful engines roar,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
CHORUS:
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
He aint gonna jump no more.
"Is everybody happy?" cried the Sergeant, looking up.
Our hero feebly answered "yes," and then they stood him up.
He jumped into the icy blast, his static line unhooked.
He aint gonna jump no more.
CHORUS
He counted long, he counted loud, he waited for the shock;
He felt the wind, he felt the cold, he felt the awful drop;
The silk from his reserves spilled out and wrapped around his legs.
He aint gonna jump no more.
CHORUS
The risers wrapped around his neck, connectors cracked his dome;
Suspension lines where tied in knots, around his skinny bones;
The canopy became his shroud, he hurtled to the ground.
He aint gonna jump no more.
CHORUS
The days hed lived and loved and laughed kept running through his mind;
He thought about the girl back home, the one hed left behind;
He thought about the medicals and wondered what theyed find.
He aint gonna jump no more.
CHORUS
The ambulance was on the spot, the jeeps were running wild;
The medics jumped and screamed with glee, they rolled up their sleeves and smiled;
For it had been a week or more since last a chute had failed.
He aint gonna jump no more.
CHORUS
He hit the ground, the sound was splat, his blood went spurting high;
His comrades they were heard to say, "A helluve way to die";
He lay there rolling round in the welter of his gore.
He aint gonna jump no more.
CHORUS
There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the chute;
Intestines were a-dangling from this paratrooper suite;
He was a mess they picked him up, and poured him from his boots.
He aint gonna jump no more.
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
He aint gonna jump no more.
4 comments:
Black humor is a traditional way of coping with fear. Laugh in its face and ridicule those who would be appalled at the meaning of the words.
We used to sing a song in SEA:
"Dear mom, your son is dead.
He bought the farm today.
He crashed his OV-10 on
Ho Chi Minh's highway...
Morbid, sick, laughing at the very distinct possibilities of the morning. Take it back in history to the massive effort of WW II and it becomes all the more incredible. The courage of the jumpers, the glider forces and the Rangers at Pont du Hoc is something to be admired and respected as well as to wish such virtues existed to a greater degree in America today.
I hesitated to put that up Ed, for fear of offending someone, but I figured those who understood would see the value. I think only those who have served in truly dangerous jobs can really undestand the need for that humor but those who support those warriors at least understand that it has value. The more dangerous the place and job the blacker the humor.
I'll tell ya - the lyrics made me blanche but Trooper's singing it out loud and proud.
Sick bastards, all of ya...
Black humor. It's a guy thing :)
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