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One day in August, 1940, an article in the New York Times caught my ey — Edson Raff

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"One day in August, 1940, an article in the New York Times caught my eye. It was the announcement that a test platoon of American parachutists had been formed at Fort Benning, Georgia, and had gone into training there. The possibility struck me that our army might be developing parachute troops similar to those known to be in the Russian and German armies. Not being sure if a First Lieutenant of Infantry having a C.A.A. commercial pilots license and a yen for adventure possessed the necessary qualifications, I, nevertheless, decided then and there to be a parachutist."
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Edson Raff
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Edson Raff
Edson Raff
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Colonel Edson Duncan Raff was a United States Army officer and writer of a book on paratroopers. He served as Commanding Officer (CO) of the first American paratroop unit to jump into combat, the 2nd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, near Oran as part of Operation Torch during World War II. His book, We Jumped to Fight, was based on his experience in that operation and was published in

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"Germans- businessmen who know their business. They have the finesse of experience. Watch out for deception when fighting them. To try the same ruse twice against them is fooling yourself. A possum game they love to play will cause you to underestimate their strength. Their equipment is excellent. Tanks and 88-mm guns are part of a team. When you meet them separately, consider yourself lucky, as a rule, you wont. Forget the words "air superiority" as long as there is one Nazi plane around. It will smack you night and day when you think youre safe. Mines and booby traps are the nastiest type of Nazi specialties."
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Edson Raff