The Airborne Jump That Got in My Face

Aboard a hot, bucking C-130, a young 101st Airborne paratrooper fought to hold himself together until the stick began to move.

by David F. Crosby

The C-130 rocked back and forth and lurched up and down. The late summer air made flying low in the afternoon turbulent, and the aircraft’s air conditioner worked but didn’t cool the air. They never did until they climbed to higher elevations.

A young infantry paratrooper in the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne, I sat at the rear of the stick. It was 1973 and the 3rd Brigade remained on status. That would end in 1974. But now, I fight air sickness. Normally, I would put my head down on my reserve to ride it out. The heat made that difficult.

David Crosby back in the day.

By the time we stood up, my body wanted to retch and expel the contents of my stomach. Disciplined I fought the involuntary urge. Still I couldn’t stop the retching noises, which just made the nausea worse. Finally, the stick started moving.

My mind focused on one thing—getting out the door before I puked on the man in front of me. My body and mind told me it was going to be close. Then as I began to lose the battle, the door appeared in front of me. Muscle memory took over and just as I exited the door I started to puke. The wind didn’t allow me to throw up the bile. It forced it up my nose and back down my throat. I tasted it; I smelled it.

I hung loose in my harness for a few seconds as I recovered. When I landed, I reached for my canteen and started washing the puke taste and smell out of my throat. It took blowing my nose a couple of times to get rid of the smell.

Then I went back on mission. Still, the experience turned just another ordinary jump into one that I have never forgotten.

David F. Crosby served in the infantry and military police. As a DoW civilian he worked as a history writer/editor for the Air Force and a doctrine developer for the Army. He now owns a private intelligence company.