Join 11th Airborne Division historian Jeremy C. Holm as we dive in to the history and legacy of Camp Toccoa, Georgia and the impact those who trained there had on World War II.
In July of 1942, the first 5,000 men arrived at this remote training camp located 5 miles outside of Toccoa, Georgia at the base of Currahee Mountain. Here they would begin their training as a new type of soldier in the United States Army - Paratroopers.
On January 22, 1943, Congressman J. Thomas came to inspect Camp Toccoa, and was impressed by the troops of the 511th and 501st PIRs he saw there. His son Silas, who was serving in the 501st, told his dad:
“Uncle Sam’s parachute troops are, man for man, the finest troops in the world...”
As one headline declared, Toccoa Men were the “Supermen of the air.”
Eventually over 17,000 soldiers from 501st, 506th, 511th, and 517th Parachute Infantry Division; the 295th Ordnance Heavy Maintenance and the 38th Signal Construction Battalion trained at Camp Toccoa during World War II. These men, many of them just out of high school, would go on to see action in both Europe and the Pacific and would leave a legacy of courage, service and sacrifice that inspires us today.
As part of The Greatest Generation, when Toccoa Men fought in France, or Italy, or Holland or on Leyte or Luzon, it was unquestionably to protect and preserve freedom. While Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan came to conquer, The Boys of Currahee came to liberate.
The men who trained at Camp Toccoa jumped “down from heaven” to combat the tyranny and darkness that engulfed much of the world. That, more than anything, is the true legacy of Toccoa.
To learn more about the 511th PIR's time at Camp Toccoa and their history in World War II, you can purchase one of Jeremy's acclaimed books here: www.amazon.com/dp/B0C83KT18D
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You can dive into the history of the 511th PIR here: 511pir.com/
If you'd like to reach out to Jeremy, you can email him at jeremy@jeremycholm.com.
Down From Heaven Comes Eleven! Airborne All the Way!
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