Veterans Month
November 2003
NS Veterans Remember
Ron Nelson
Manager systems support
Transportation
Atlanta
At 18, I wanted some adventure, and I found it in the Army in 1967. I thought it would be fun to jump out of a perfectly good flying aircraft.
Learning how to exit a moving plane wasn't too hard. Landing was another issue. I had to learn how to land so that my legs would act as shock absorbers for my body, and to get the parachute off quickly so I wouldn't be dragged by it. Then there was the "suspended agony" class, where I learned to extricate myself from my equipment if my parachute got hung up on trees or power lines.
After completing infantry training, jump school and Noncommissioned Officers School, I shipped out for Vietnam. My first moment of fear came during landing on the first leg of the flight. After all, I was used to leaving the plane long before it landed.
While there, I served with the 75th Infantry Rangers as a team leader. We operated as three- and four-man Long- Range Reconnaissance Patrol teams. Up to this point, I thought I had experienced the ultimate rush by jumping out of an airplane. This changed the night my team had to be extracted while clinging to a rope ladder that hung out of the door of a helicopter. I had a good grip, and we were clear of enemy fire. Just when I thought all was well, the helicopter stopped and came to a hover. The door gunner started pounding on the ladder and was yelling for us to climb up. It was pitch black. We were hovering at 1,000 feet or higher, and I had a 50-pound pack on my back.
After Vietnam, I was accepted as an instructor with the Airborne department at Fort Benning, Ga. Later, I attended Jumpmaster School. After that, I was certified to stand at the rear of the aircraft and give jump commands. My two most favorite were "Stand in the door" and "Goooooooo."