WORLD WAR II AMERICAN PARATROOPERS, 1941-1945: NUISANCE AND NOSTALGIA FROM THE SKIES

Abstract

Beginning on November 8th, 1942 over Algeria, the United States changed their fundamental attack patterns of war through the large-scale implementation of paratroopers. A relatively new form of combat of World War II, paratrooping allowed for soldiers to be dropped behind enemy lines or into ongoing battles to increase military size and strength. Throughout the course of the war, the Army would form five Airborne divisions (11th, 13th, 17th, 82nd, and 101st) along with the formation of numerous infantries and regiments. Interestingly, the overall success of paratrooping varied: some combat jumps achieved their goals, others were disastrous. Despite this, paratrooping became popular in postwar mass media and figured into collective memories of World War II. Why paratrooping persists as a marker for WWII, and as its own entity in the collective memory, is linked to its impact on the war as a "new technology" with unquestionable advantages.