Hard Charger Airborne Jimmy Clapp
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It has recently been brought to my attention by J.D. Ray that tucked away in North Carolina is his uncle Sirreno "Jimmy" Clapp. He was a hard charger, a member of the 187th RCT and made two combat drops in the land known as Chosen (Korea for the uninformed). While serving in the Land Of The Morning Calm he was wounded on 26/3/51 in the left leg, foot, and side of his head. On 28/5/51 he earned another Purple Heart being wounded in the left foot and knee.
He has been named Honoray Honcho of the Tarheel branch of ALL ( a top secret group the designation only divulged on a need to know basis). He was chosen for this honor based on quick thinking and selflish action when he gave up the whereabouts of a pseudo trooper not only naming this individual but leading the charge himself. Way to go buddy.
Jimmy lives by the creed, "Drive on, all the way."
Lou Schreiner
TO READ ABOUT JIMMY CLAPP,AND HIS TWO COMBAT JUMPS GO TO LINK PAGE,AND CLICK ON PARATROOPERS OF THE 50's
  
The Expert Rifleman
As previously noted in a different story about life in the 504, I mentioned how the powers that be were wont to disregard men wearing casts and ignored their being on profile and took them to the field regardless of their injuries.
Once upon a time when they had just issued us M-14s off we went to Baumholder, the sick, lame, lazy, and the able bodied to fire for qualification.
One young trooper who was right handed had it in a cast due to having his fist bounce off a hard head downtown one night. While at the range Captain Kasavubu started popping rounds from his chromed 45 caliber automatic complete with pearl handles from the hundred yard line. Naturally he got bullseyes. He then turned to this this young trooper from Texas and told him to qualify cast or no. I was on the field telephone to the pits and told the troops pulling targets what one he was on (both the guys in the pits and this guy were in my platoon). He commences to fire and is in a lot of pain from the recoil but he is dead center in the bull every single shot. In fact he fires the highest score in the company. Back at Lee Barracks he is bragging about what a great shot he is and even with his handicap and pain he won the $25 savings bond for taking first place. We tell him how we rigged it, he insists we didn't, his cast comes off quite a bit later and he winds up having several fist fights with various platoon members due to his continuing to insist he won fair and square. Such was his stubborn ways.
Lou Schreiner
The Plastic Man Who Would Be King
It has been quoted in Newsweek, that he would do anything to be president. This with each passing day is blatantly obvious save to the easily misled. He who knows nor recognizes no legal authority would now usurp the Constitution. He sends forth his minions to lie, cheat, and manipulate the vote count.
One man, one vote, if you made an error while voting, the solution is to exercise due caution next time, not a subjective recount or a new vote. The winner is that candidate who wins the electoral college votes, that is the law. Like it or not, if one finds this offensive, work to change the law and not to try to change rules day to day.
"Stalin" Gore slaps the military personnel in the face by having his consorts throw out their votes often as possible ignoring the fact that their mail need not be postmarked. Yet he piously cries to the heavens that every vote should be counted (if it is or perhaps was meant for him). Is this a double standard? Be a man "Stalin", stop the shenanigans and concede. You have lost. If the "Supremes" don't change the dance tune I find it fitting and well met that the military your regime misuses and despises by their vote help to undo you.
Should you finagle things and win you should be designated, "Commander In Thief".
Lou Schreiner
I Don't Know About You But
that arose in my mind, since the "Slickster" and the newly crowned Senator from New York are so concerned about unexploded land mines and ordinance in Viet Nam (of course only left by GI Joe), I have a suggestion;
Disposal teams equipped only with bayonets for probing be despatched forthwith made up and led by Willie, Hillary, Al, Bill Daley of Crook County, Al Dershkowitz, Paulie Begala and the rest of these shameless brigands, he now has at his beck and call. Furthermore there are several rabble rousers he can send ( can you make a guess?) who could exhort the masses to march on Hanoi and demand their due. Then when the authorities practice their version of democracy Madeline could be sent over to convince them that it is not nice to machine gun people while showing them her collection of pins. Then she could come back home and get together with Janet Baby and Babs, sing a rousing rendition of" People " and then explain why it is the agenda of so many to try to divide the people of our nation and pit them against one another. And mayhap explain the statements made by some of her misanthropist allies who seek to divide the military re officers and enlisted personnel by stating that one group votes one way and the other one differently. Could they be suggesting that the only good troopers vote a certain way and that the officer corps is suspect in their eyes?
Lou Schreiner
Slanguage - - - Heroes? - - Vas Ist Los?
When this damn yankee and that rebel lad J.D. Ray were growing up we hero worshipped people like Audie Murphy, "Manila John" Basilone, Colin Kelly, "Chesty" Puller, The Sullivan Brothers, Ira Hayes, Rodger Young, Alvin York, Dan Daily, Teddy Roosevelt, Robert E. Lee, J.E.B. Stuart, Nathan Hale, The Unknown Soldiers, and many more. Since we were boys we could not admit to it but we also idolized women such as Molly Pitcher and Amelia Earhart to name a few.
In the course of our service with the 82nd Airborne Division and the 504 we met and lived with some of the real heroes.
As I did my 20 years with the N.Y.P.D. I met many more heroes and knew personally many who died in the line of duty.
Today one hears all kinds of people referred to as heroes. Athletes, movie stars, and others none of whom meet the definition of the word. The latest bandying about of the word has been applied by an idiot down in Florida who brands those folk doing the hand count of the ballots true heroes of democracy.
Give me a break.
Lou Schreiner
The Brown Bar Brain
Once upon a time in that land across the sea, wherein dwelt the 504 Airborne Infantry, there came to take up residence, a brand spanking new brown bar 2nd Looey. He suffered from a severe case of lordlier then thou then those underlings he did command, strutting about in a most supercilious manner offending one and all. It was whispered among the troops that even his brother officers hated his guts. Father Doty would often look askance at this burden thrust upon his broad shoulders.
One of his favorite means of impressing the troopers was his constant offering of unwanted information. He once addressed a group of us making the observation that when in the field when the going got tough he would splash cold water on his face enabling him to drive on. I remarked (too loudly to my comrades) that "Why the *&^%$ didn't I think of that?" He asked if I were a wise guy to which I responded, "To the contrary, sir I am merely an ignorant trooper from Brooklyn." He told me to knock it off and listen up. With bated breath we all awaited his next divine utterance that would ease our lot in life.
Lou Schreiner
Hong Kong Charlie Was He A Spy?
often wondered if "Hong Kong" was a spy. Every pay day he would rove the 504 area popping up in the PX, the barracks, the mess hall, the parade ground, the EM club, everywhere we troopers trod. I can still hear his sing song voice, "You got Charlie money, you pay suit now?" He would also hawk suits made to order, good plice I give you in his accented tones. I never dealt with him but I and several comrades wondered why he had such free access to our environs. Also we mused upon the fact that while we should not spend greenbacks downtown (The order of Gold Patriots) it was okay to give money to this guy.
I saw him several times during my stay and/or his cousins/brothers, at various bases in Germany and France.
To me he and his crew were too sleek. I saw that many troopers just took him for granted and acted like he wasn't there, and I often saw him display interest in things that had naught to do with suits.
To this day I often ponder thusly; Merchant or spy extrordinaire??????
Lou Schreiner
The Best Laid Plans
of mice, men, and young airborne troopers oft go astray, however sometimes they doth succeed, sort of. That same Lt. that I referred to as a brown bar brain chanced to live 10 clicks or so from Lee Barracks, to the northeast in a tiny hamlet. It so happened that my old drinking buddy and several guys from his platoon decided during one of our monthly alerts to go AWOL in search of refreshments and perchance settled in a bierstube in the town where the Brain dwelt. Old J.D. and his pards had imbibed a few, Jerry says about six beers (in his case being the original" Zwei Bier Bitte Man" he had a dozen) when they noticed this Lt's teensy white sports car arrive across the street from where they were quenching their thirst. Ole Brainy observed the car one of these troopers owned in front of the establishment and his brow did furrow as he tried to place it. Hastily it was decided that if he entered the joint ole J.D. would hide behind the door and cold cock him as he came in as the others escaped out the back. Luckily the Brain went into his house, the troopers ordered a dozen flip tops to go and fled back to base. J.D. figures he would have got at least 5 years in Mannheim if he got caught dropping this leader of men (ahem) I figure 10 more than likely would have been the result. Ah yes, this Lt. always talked like he had rocks in his mouth to match the ones in his head.
J.D. Ray as told to Lou Schreiner
Just Like Ten Pins
Sometimes we young troopers did things that upon reflection were obnoxious to say the least. After four months or so upon being assigned as the driver of a gun jeep and learning to drive, having wrecked a motorcycle I owned illegally, one morning I reported to the motor pool and the Sarge told me I was to drive a 5 ton truck down to Worms or Mannheim (I'm not sure which city) with 6 other troopers to turn them in and pick up new ones. These trucks weren't ours and why we got the duty I have no idea. One of the guys gleefully tells me the governors had been removed and we could highball like hell. I was the 2nd truck in line, following that erstwhile trailblazer Norman Pico. Off we zipped at 60 mph or so, as we wheeled through towns the krauts were scattered in our wakes. Upon arrival at the depot I found out the hard way I had no brakes and rear ended Norman. No harm, no foul, other than a chewing out by some leg E-8. The return trip at 30 mph or so was so boring we were forced to make numerous pit stops for flip tops.
Lou Schreiner
Frogs In The Fog
Down around Pau,France after one of our night jumps and in the midst of a war game, a dense fog came rolling in. It was the type you see in a horror movie, very thick, swirling, a brief glimpse of your area, then closing in again. It was very close to the ground, quite often one could only see a comrades body which caused him to appear headless. We were near a road and all military vehicles in France had to have fog lights mounted and we were amused to see the trucks groping along the road their yellow lights merely causing the fog to take on a mustard hue. Around 0darkthirty hours some Frog civilian farmers came tramping along a cow path toward us, and upon closing our position, one of the guys tossed an artillery simulator at them and the rest of our platoon opened up with blanks. The Frogs nearly croaked on the spot and were last seen bolting back into the pea soup from whence they first appeared. Our platoon leader chewed us out for giving away our position and was further annoyed when one of the troopers told him, "Hell, sir, they might have been spies."
Lou Schreiner
Postscript Forever Airborne
Arnold "Dutch" Nagle also celebrated the 50th anniversary of "Operation Market Garden" by jumping into Holland on September 18, 1994. Also making the jump were former WWII 504 veterans, Larry Reber, Elmo Jones, Bob Murphy, and Moffatt Burriss. Burriss was a company commander in the 504 and is the other of a book entitled, "Strike and Hold", that is well worth reading. They also attended a reenactment of the 50th year crossing of the Maas Waal river.
Lou Schreiner
When Whippoorwills call
you have to be suspicious if you are running manuevers and awaiting a probe by aggressor forces. One night up in Baumholder sitting by the usual crossroad covered by a machine gun and a rifle squad, protecting our gun jeep awaiting a bunch of legs to do their thing, we hear a whippoorwill call somewhere to the left of our position that was answered by another. Even I not being a country boy knew something was amiss. The sergeant in charge of the rifle squad alerted his men and they slunk off into the night. About 10 minutes later the whippoorwills call again, followed by an outburst of firing by our rifle squad, loud cursing, several thuds, moans, and the sound of people running away down the road. Back comes the rifle squad with 2 prisoners, as they regain our position, one of the rebs jokingly says, "Next time, ya'll oughta try screech owls."
Lou Schreiner
Saturday Night - - - Author Unknown
The following often recited by 504 troopers. You translate the @#%$#@.
Now gather round me legs and I'll tell you a tale
Of a bad %$# paratrooper who's as mean as hell
I drink all day and I #@$% all night, and when I feel mean, I pick a fight
Twas on Saturday night, I went downtown where the lights were bright
Up to the bar, through the door, in search of a drink, a fight, or a $#%@
Then I thought I would try my luck, though at gambling, I admit I ain't worth a $#%@
I lost a little here and lost a little there, for awhile I thought I'd sat in an unlucky chair
Then I looked across the table and I shook my head
I looked again and I slowly said, "No wonder my luck is so poor tonight, there's a strange $#%@^%$@ between me and the light."
The stranger looked at me and said as he spit, "What you just said is a bunch of #$@%, I can whip a paratrooper, three, or four, cause I'm a member of the U.S. Marine Corp."
He picked up a chair and came after my $#%
He didn't know it was just my class
I busted a bottle and stepped to the rear
As the %$# of a $#%@$ came by, I sliced off an ear
I kicked and I slashed "til he bellowed in pain
Then slowly I climbed off of his battered frame
The people all looked at me with scorn,
But, $#%@ em all, cause I'm AIRBORNE.
Lou Schreiner
Tank Support - Panama - Operation Just Cause
I ended up as the only Tank Support during Operation Just Cause, for the 1st BN 504 PIR. We linked up with this battalion, right after the taking of the EL TIRGES and that moutain near the University of Panama. Unfornately during the drop, our tank was damaged by some National Guard Pilot that was scare of the pretty red and green lights that were moving across the Drop Zone. However, we recieved a warm weclome from the Sgt. Major, and he treated us like his own. I wanted to thank all the support we got from this unit. I will never forget, the patrols that would gather the Anti-Freeze and Oil because ours was pooring out the broken lines from the drop. I will never forget how the sniper wanted my M3 Grease Gun (.45 Cal sub-machine Gun) for his spotter. I will never forget exchanging names while we were getting shelled with the 120mm shells. I still can't remember their names. I will never forget the Sgt. Major, waking us up for stand too during my 6 min. nap and scaring the Hell out of me. I will never forget sharing MRE's with my crew, because the dropped ours in the ocean. I will never forget running over the cars to finally caputure the 120mm mortors, or capturing the Electrical Plant. I wilI never forget the 9 month deployment to Operation Desert Sheild/ Storm. I WILL NEVER FORGET RUNNING THE GAUNTLET ON ALMOST EVERY MISSION DURING OPERATION JUST CAUSE. Sgt. Paul Croas C Co. 3/73 ARMOR Ret. 82nd Airborne Divison. We have a site now, called AIRBORNE THUNDER on Military.COM. See you there.
Hans Von Das Afrika Korps
I once per chance resided in an apartment house in Brooklyn shortly after leaving the 504 . One day the water ceased to function and my wife called the super. Lo and behold, when what to my wondering eyes should appear but a tall, thin, blond haired, blue eyed, heavily accented German type. He introduced himself as Hans and proudly proclaimed himself to be a former soldaten serving with Rommel and the Afrika Korps. I took an immediate dislike to him since he was another who constantly crowed about the mighty German army and how only our material and not our troops beat them. I once queried him how he came to the states and he said he was captured by the 1st Division, sent here, married an American women and became a citizen. I asked him how a superman like himself could have become a prisoner of such inferior beings, had he no honor? He muttered and stomped off. One day not knowing I was home and being slightly tipsy he cursed at my wife when she asked him to do a minor repair in our apartment. I snatched him by the stacking swivel, pushed him out into the hallway but maintained a grip on his arm and slammed the door on it several times. I then joined him in the hallway and was merrily choking him as he pleaded to be friends and begged my forgiveness. Being a gentle soul at heart as J.D. can attest to, I forgave him with the proviso that if I ever heard one more word about inferior American soldaten, I would be forced to take up where I left off.
Lou Schreiner
Honored To Be One
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My birthday is coming up in February and the Rays have seen fit to have my name and units placed in the Memorial Garden at the Airborne Special Ops Museum in Fayetteville, N.C. This is a gift that I can never express an adequate means of saying Thank You for. My name will forevermore as long as the museum exists be right there with those of many troopers past and present and therefore in good company. I cannot reciprocate because Betty has also put Jerrys there and so we shall always be as we once were "504 Paratroopers", best of buddies, comrades, and for me the brother I never had.
Once I made a statement to my wife a long time ago that when I went "west" a tombstone bearing my name and the words, U.S. Paratrooper" would do me proud.
This day I have been done PROUD.
Thank you buddy, my comrade and brother to the end.
AIRBORNE ALL THE WAY.
Lou
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