MUD

On this day in U.S. Army history.....08 Feb. 1943: Camp MacKall was activated.

Camp Mackall, North Carolina, now a training area for Army Special Operations, was the headquarters of the U.S. Army Airborne Command during World War II. It was named for Private John Thomas Mackall, 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion, one of America’s first paratroopers killed in action. Mackall was wounded by a strafing Vichy France fighter aircraft on 8 November 1942 and died of his wounds four days later. It was at Camp Mackall that the 11th, 13th, and 17th Airborne Divisions were activated and trained. It was also where the U.S. Army Airborne Command evaluated airborne tactics and techniques and tested equipment. One dicey test was to jump paratroopers from towed gliders. After six tests, the method was deemed impractical and too dangerous for both jumpers and the jump platforms. The activity is a little-known aspect of Camp Mackall’s history.

Chapter member Jim McGarrah sends the following link for a more detailed background on Camp MacKall.

https://pinestrawmag.com/historic-camp-mackall/?fbclid=IwAR2GLaddajKB3YPd3wPSLbNl3tXRAmY-zohOQyFKcyaRC3eli5Vdy0DMdnY

---Mud

~ Veritas