(Please forgive me). A little paratrooper
korn to go with your egg nog this Christmas
'Twas the Jump Before Christmas
'Twas the Jump Before Christmas
and all through the plane,
The Jumpmaster's crazy
and the Safety's insane
The static lines were hung
On the cables with care,
In hopes that a green light
Soon would be there
At the one minute warning
Not a word would be said,
While malfunctions and entanglements
Danced through their heads
With the door bundles rigged
I hooked up my pack,
Let's pull this jump off
Without a racetrack!
When out on the wing
There rose such a clatter,
I opened the door
To see what was the matter
And what to my night-visioned eyes
Should appear,
But a towed parachutist
And eight tiny reindeer
I leaned out the door
And grabbed hold of his sleigh
He gave a four thousand count
When I cut him away
He fell through the night
'Til I saw him no more,
Then came back inside
And yelled, "Stand in the door"
Some jumpers were happy
And some full of fright,
But when the green light came on
They all jumped into the night
On bundle, on jumpers,
The jumpmaster exits the door,
One thousand, two thousand,
Three thousand, four!
With my body in the blast
And my knees in the breeze,
St. Michael protect me,
From all of those trees!
Dark skies full of chutes
And strong winds did blow,
Then heard a faint distant laughter,
From the DZSO
One riser slip
Hand over hand to my right,
But my hands were so cold
I could not hold on tight
Now lower your ruck
And slip hard as you can,
Put your feet and knees together
And get ready to land
Ball of the feet, calf, thigh,
And push up muscle,
Roll up your chute
And move out with a hustle
To the chute turn-in point,
The red light and a vest,
Be sure your name is scratched
From the jump manifest
I saw the assembly point,
A strobe light so bright,
I knew even new troopers,
Would find it that night
No matter where or when
Be it Desert or Snow,
The Airborne Troopers
Are ready to go
For it was that jolly
towed parachutist
Holding that light,
Saying happy jumping to all
And to all a good night!
Author(s) unknown...
The 505th hits the black of night. Image: US Army
Image: me
