Geronimo!

  • Published
  • By Maj. Todd Copley
  • 700th Airlift Squadron
DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga. --  Editor's note: The 700th Airlift Squadron hosts Air Warrior Briefings each Unit Training Assembly where a guest speaker is invited to talk about aviation history.

Retired Master Sgt. Carl Beck took Airmen attending the November Air Warrior briefing 65 years back in time. 

Dressed in a replica World War II paratrooper jumpsuit and brown Cochran jump boots, Sergeant Beck described his jump during the early morning hours of June 6, 1944. As a member of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne, his target was to secure a small dam just inside Utah beach, which was a landing zone along the beaches of Normandy, France. 

Due to heavy Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) and a 700-foot cloud deck, he was dropped 12 miles from the intended drop zone. After several days of playing hide-and-seek with German troops, some friendly French peasants helped reunite him with 82nd Airborne troops. Sergeant Beck fought for and secured a bridgehead at the town of Baupt, France. 

Returning to the town last year during the 64th Anniversary of the Invasion of Normandy, commonly known as "D-Day," he was honored that a ceremony and monument was presented in his honor. 

After refitting his unit in mid-July 1944, Sergeant Beck jumped into Holland as part of Operation Market-Garden in September 1944. Following bitter fighting, the 501st succeeded in its mission of seizing and holding a vital series of roads and bridges, later known as "Hell's Highway." 

Once again, after being re-equipped and receiving replacements, the 501st raced to Bastogne, Belgium in December 1944 in time to bear the brunt of a savage enemy onslaught into the Ardennes, which was called the Battle of the Bulge. 

Bleeding but not broken, the 501st, along with their comrades-in-arms, held this key road network until the combined British and U.S. forces could be concentrated for the counter attack. The Regiment, a vital member of the Battered Bastards of Bastogne, took the offensive in January 1945, and after fierce fighting in the bitter cold, drove the enemy from a devastated Belgium. 

Sergeant Beck continues to jump at the age of 83-years-old. He parachuted in Normandy on June 6, 1994 and again on June 7, 2004 to commemorate the 50th and 60th anniversaries of D-Day. Currently he plans on jumping at the 70th anniversary at 89-years-old, making this veteran a sight to behold. Airmen at Dobbins and around the world have no doubt that he can do it. 

For more information about Master Sgt. Carl Beck, visit the following Web site: http://www.gpb.org/wwii/carlbeck.