Minnesota Spy Club<p>This is history that has not been told: </p><p>As a trained wildland firefighter who knew the history of smokejumpers, I have NEVER heard that the first American smokejumpers were the African American troops of the all-black 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion (the Triple Nickles) who, in Operation Firefly, fought the fires caused by Japanese balloon bombs. </p><p><a href="https://mastodon.online/tags/WW2" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WW2</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.online/tags/WildlandFirefighting" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WildlandFirefighting</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.online/tags/BlackHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BlackHistory</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.online/tags/Smokejumpers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Smokejumpers</span></a></p><p><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/05/us/joe-harris-triple-nickle-black-paratroopers/index.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">cnn.com/2025/04/05/us/joe-harr</span><span class="invisible">is-triple-nickle-black-paratroopers/index.html</span></a></p>