







(Courtesy of Don Swinford)





Paramount's 1939 western GERONIMO

... a forgotten movie with a giant legacy.

by Ed Howard



A 1939 western named GERONIMO, the inspiration it gave a US Army paratrooper, and the formation of a US Army paratrooper tradition were events that combined to transform a character in a now-forgotten movie into a household word. This is the story of the relationship between the 1939 Paramount movie, the WWII paratroopers, and the motivational yell, "Geronimo".



1SG Ed Howard, A Co, 1/507th PIR (Airborne School). Late 1999 photo taken at Fort Benning, Georgia, about a year and a half before his retirement.

Down from Heaven comes ELEVEN

and there's HELL to pay below

shout "GERONIMO" "GERONIMO".



Hit the silk and check your canopy

and take a look around

The air is full of troopers

set for battle on the ground



Till we join the stick of ANGELS

killed on Leyte and Luzon

shout "GERONIMO" "GERONIMO".



It's a gory road to glory

but we're ready here we go

shout "GERONIMO" "GERONIMO".

The cry also found its role in the civilian sector, introduced to the public by the intense media coverage of America's shock troops - the paratroopers. The Geronimo cry had entered the public mainstream, and to the public, Geronimo was a novel expression of bravery, carried by the equally new type of warrior - the paratrooper. It is no wonder the shout caught the attention of America, as it went hand in hand with the larger than life paratrooper. To the red-blooded American boy, the jump cry of the paratrooper seemed like just the thing to say for his equivalent event. What did little Johnny shout when he jumped from great heights such as the top bunk? "Geronimo". Across America the cry would be identified with a subsequent act of bravery, usually followed by pain!



After the war, practical training methods replaced tradition, and paratroopers were finally forbidden from yelling "Geronimo" in the air. This was inevitable because the cry was never approved in any military parachuting manuals, and if actually executed in combat could become a bullet magnet. The great paratrooper cry had run its course and served us well as a great WWII paratrooper tradition, but at war's end, it would make way for peacetime Army practices, never to be heard at great heights again. But while it is no longer shouted, it is still seen, worn, and sung! The pocket patches are no longer worn, but the 501st and 509th are active army units in the modern Army and proudly display the "Geronimo" motto. Troopers of the 501st PIR still wear the unaltered unit insignia, complete with the chief's name. The 509th PIR keeps reminders everywhere of their old Geronimo pocket patch.The Song, Down from Heaven, is as familiar to paratroopers today as it was in WWII. It is a dramatic and lively tune that never lost its appeal over the years. It is almost impossible to attend a major ceremony in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg without hearing this staple of war-era music fill the air. So well-loved is this song that even troopers who are not so musically inclined find themselves drawn into singing along! In the civilian world, remnants of the confidence-inspiring yell remain. They can still be seen in the actions of that kid jumping from the death-defying height of the top bunk and yelling what he thinks might be his last word, "Geronimo".



Ed Howard

September, 2004









Links



1-501st Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR):

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/1-501pir.htm

http://www.501stpir.com/index.html

http://www.ww2-airborne.us/units/501/501.html



Wikipedia has a profile on the 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/509th_Parachute_Infantry_Battalion



Mark Bando's Collection of pre- 1946 vintage U.S. Airborne Insignia: http://www.101airborneww2.com/insignia.html



Wikipedia has a profile on the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501st_Parachute_Infantry_Regiment













(Courtesy of Don Swinford)

Above - Victor Daniels / Chief Thunder Cloud portrayed the famous Apache chief Geronimo in the 1939 Paramount film and is shown prominently in the left side of this lobby card. Star Preston Foster is in the small photo at the bottom left. The photo inset shows from left to right: Andy Devine, Charlie Stevens, William 'Bill' Henry, Addison Richards, two unidentified players, Ellen Drew, Ralph Morgan (facing the crowd) and Preston Foster.



