Keeping the legacy alive

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Sam Day rarely leaves his Southwest Philly home without his Triple Nickles paratrooper leather jacket. While waiting for a trolley one day, a young girl approached to take a closer look at its insignias and inscriptions.

"I’m reading on the back of your jacket. Were you part of that?" she asked the 71-year-old retired Army paratrooper and Korean War veteran.

"Yes," Day replied.

Thrilled, the girl told him she was studying history at West Philadelphia High School.

When Vietnam veteran and Green Beret Robert Sample, 60, of the 2300 block of Tasker Street, wears his Triple Nickles necklace – three nickel coins on a silver chain – people often want to know what they represent.

The two servicemen are all too honored to tell their story.

IN WINTER 1943, 20 African-American Army soldiers were ordered to Fort Benning, Ga., for parachute training.

In early 1944, 16 of those men completed training and were awarded silver trooper wings. Led by First Sgt. Walter Morris, the 16 formed the cadre for the 555th Parachute Infantry Company at Camp Mackall, N.C. They called themselves the Sweet Sixteen.

In time, the Sweet Sixteen grew into a battalion of 3,000 black paratroopers who renamed themselves the Triple Nickles.

"It was the largest battalion in Airborne history of black men. They opened the door for young black paratroopers," Day said.

Ironically, the Triple Nickles never fought in active World War II combat. The military was once segregated and black soldiers drove trucks and waited on white soldiers in mess halls, as well as hauled their ammunition.

"[The Triple Nickles] wanted to go to war, but the Army didn’t think they were ready. They were ready though," Sample said.

Instead, the Army used the Triple Nickles to form a test platoon whose mission was to recover and destroy Japanese balloon bombs and put out forest fires started on home turf by the incendiary devices. Paratroopers on this mission were known as Smoke Jumpers.

"Triple Nickles were the original Smoke Jumpers. Their main job was to put out forest fires not guard the country. They were parachuted in and went in with a trenching tool, a pick and a canteen of water and they had to put the fires out. And not one guy got killed doing it," Day said.

Sample isn’t bothered the Triple Nickles never fought in battle because they served their country and inspired countless others to go through jump school.

"I’m not concerned about whether they went to combat – they opened the door. Because if I didn’t know about the Triple Nickles I would never have thought about going to jump school. I found out this was a legacy. This was something that 16 African-Americans started and we wanted to continue," Sample said.

In 1947, the Triple Nickles deactivated and became the 3rd Battalion, 505th Airborne Infantry Regiment and 82nd Airborne Division, thus becoming the first black unit in history to become a part of the American combat division.

There are eight original Triple Nickles left, most of whom live in the South, Day said. The first black paratrooper officer and Triple Nickle, Second Lt. Bradley Biggs, recently died in Newark, N.J. Former Joint Chief of Staff and U.S. Army Gen. Colin Powell is an honorary Triple Nickle.

A RETIRED ARMY paratrooper assigned to the 11th Airborne and who served in Korea, Day started the Philadelphia chapter of the Triple Nickles in 1995. It is presently inactive due to years of declining enrollment. Day hopes to get the chapter going again soon, but to do that he needs members.

What was once an all-black organization is now open to all. The only requirement is one must be an Army paratrooper.

"Anybody can join the Triple Nickles now as long as they’re Airborne. White, black, green – anybody can join now," Day said.

He and Sample spend much of their time promoting the Triple Nickles to ensure its legacy lives on.

"Everybody in the world has heard of the Tuskegee Airmen – everybody. But nobody’s heard of us. Nobody’s heard of the Montford Point Marines. Nobody’s heard of the 2nd Ranger Battalion. So we need to get it out," Sample said.

Are the Triple Nickles angry or bitter many have not heard of them?

"No," Sample said, "because I know sooner or later history would bring the truth out."

In addition to being walking advertisements for the group by wearing hats, jackets and other insignia, the men educate the public by doing print and radio interviews and giving presentations at schools.

When the men visited a school in University City last year, they demonstrated how to do landings and presented the grade-schoolers with Airborne certificates.

"We stress that this is part of your history whether you go in the military or not. I don’t care whether you go in the military. This is something that you need to know," Sample said.

The pair also is trying to interest Hollywood in a movie about the Triple Nickles.

For Day, the highlight of being a Triple Nickle is getting the word out about the division and the recognition he receives from fellow paratroopers at All-American Week. Each May, thousands of paratroopers from all over the world converge on Fort Bragg. Day proudly wears his jacket to the gathering.

"People come up and say, ‘You were a Triple Nickle? You did so much for us.’ My chest pops out sometimes. Young troopers ask me questions. One guy said, ‘If it wasn’t for you, I would never have been a paratrooper,’" Day said.

"Now we’re starting to say, ‘Hey, wait a minute. We can’t let this history be forgotten. We got to get out here and start letting people know what’s going on,’" Sample said.

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For more information, visit www.triplenickle.com.