Earning Those Wings
The day finally arrives where the men in Easy Company will begin to make the five qualifying jumps necessary to become qualified Army Paratroopers. It is decided that the officers will be the first to jump followed by the enlisted men the next day.
Winters is on the first plane, the first jumper in his stick. They load up early in the morning in order to complete all jumps by sundown. Since these are only training jumps, very little equipment will be carried just a pack, reserve chute, and main chute. They sit twelve to a plane, the plane number one containing Winters, Nixon, Sobel, Meehan, and eight other eager officers.
The planes rattle and shake as they begin their taxi down the runway, the entire body of the aircraft heaving a huge shudder as it finally takes to the air, spending the next ten minutes gaining altitude and settling into the appropriate speed needed for them to jump. Eventually, they reach the drop zone, a lush green field with gently rolling hills and not a tree in sight.
The command is given, rather shouted by the jumpmaster of the plane, to the men to stand up, hook their static lines to the overhead cable, and perform a last minute equipment check on the gear strapped to their bodies. They stand there, single file down the center of the aircraft, twelve anxious but excited pairs of eyes glued to the lights by the open door, waiting for the switch from red to green, for the sign to make the leap that would signal their transition from infantrymen to full fledged paratroopers.
Just as the men begin to will themselves to relax a bit, to not wait so nervously for the changing of the light, it happens in the blink of an eye. The light switches to a blazing green and the command is given to "go, go, go!" and one by one, each man reaches the door, grips the frame, and steps breathlessly into nothingness, waiting for the sharp jolt indicating a deployed chute
For Winters, the experience is like nothing he has ever dreamed of. It all seems so surreal and he has no sensation of falling until the prop blast jerks his body. He watches the Georgia countryside pass below him and is transfixed by the view of green grass and blue sky. His training kicks without him having to think about it, his arms reaching up to work the risers and control his descent. He drifts down to the ground gently and lands with only the slightest thump in the field below.
Quickly, he releases his chute and begins the process of gathering it up to take back to camp where it will inspected and used again. Looking up, he sees his fellow officers floating down from the sky and wonders to himself if any of them feel as changed as he does.
Because, for Winters, this jump marked an internal shift deep within his being. He now feels stronger, more able and more capable than he did just an hour ago. He doesn't quite understand it but he does know that he likes the change.
This process of jumping continues four more times throughout the day culminating in one final jump at sunset with the sky blazing a beautiful red. And as Winters steps off into thin air for his fifth jump, he can't help but wonder if this will be the last jump he makes where he comes out alive at the end of it.
