Airborne Badge - 555th Parachute Infantry Bn - SSI w Buffalo Soldiers Tab X 300 Tank Top

During the winter of 1944–45, the Japanese sent 9,300 Fu-Go balloon bombs toward North America. It was believed 1,000 succeeded in reaching the United States; 312 balloon bombs have been found The 555th worked on twenty-eight fires during the 1945 season. Of these, fifteen fires were "jumped" or parachuted to. While some United States Forest Service reports refer to some employees as smokejumpers, the 555th were reported as paratroopers on all fire reports