.
The 503d would spend nine months in Gordonvale, and practice jumps
were a necessity to keep skill and proficiency - and to maintain the
currency of parachute pay. Practice jumps were made into unimproved
fallow sugar cane fields, and broken ankles would become the bane of
an orthopedic surgeon posted at the local station hospital - Dr.
Charles Bradford, enjoying the paratrooper camaraderie, would
transfer into the Paratroopers, and despite being a big man, never
broke any bones. He became an invaluable, and saved the lives of
many friends.
|