© Official Site Of 555th Parachute Infantry “Triple Nickle”. 2008
Pioneering paratrooper Roger Stanley Walden was born on May 21, 1922 in Des
Moines, Iowa. Attending St. Anselm's School in Chicago and Barber Intermediate
School, Munger School, and Chadsey Schools in Detroit, Walden graduated from
Eastern High School in 1941.
A tool apprentice at Ford at the onset of World War II, Walden enlisted on December 7,
1942. Assigned to the 365th Infantry Regiment, Walden volunteered for the first black
test platoon of 20 paratroopers. At Parachute School in Fort Benning, Georgia, Walden
and fifteen others earned their parachute wings as the Sweet Sixteen in February of
1944, becoming the first African American paratroopers in United States military history.
Promoted to sergeant in the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, Walden and his group
were transferred to Camp Mackall, North Carolina. Walden received his commission as
a second lieutenant of infantry in March of
1945 when he finished Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning. After receiving special
training to combat Japanese balloon bombs at Camp Pendleton, Oregon, the 555th was
soon deployed as Army fire jumpers. Shipped to Gifu, Honshu, Japan in 1949, Walden
served as commander of Company A of the 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th
Infantry Division of the Far East Command. In 1950, Walden as a captain
commanded Company F in Pusan, Korea and he was made a Battalion
S4 before being rotated back to the United States. Promoted to Major,
Walden served in Europe from 1957 to 1960 with the 3rd Armored Rifle
Battalion, 51st Infantry, 4th Armored Group.
Earning his B.A. degree in social studies from San Francisco State
University under the Army's Bootstrap Program, Walden was promoted to
lieutenant colonel. He taught military science at Central State University
until his retirement in 1966. Walden worked as manager of the City of
Detroit's Vacant Housing Rehabilitation Program until 1984. Walden is
married to Wendy Brierly and has two sons and three daughters.
During World War II, a time when segregation was still a part
of everyday life, a group of 17 brave men took the plunge to
serve their country and become the first all African-American
paratrooper unit known as the Triple Nickles.
The battalion’s original goal – to join the fight in Europe –
was thwarted when military leaders in Europe feared racial
tensions would disrupt operations. At about the same time,
the U.S. Forest Service asked the military for help to
minimize damage caused by balloon bombs launched by the
Japanese across the Pacific Ocean with the intent to start
forest fires in the western U.S. during World War II.
In the end, few of the incendiary devices reached U.S. soil,
but the Triple Nickles were instrumental in helping the Forest
Service fight naturally-caused fires. They became history’s
first military smokejumpers who answered 36 fire calls and
made more than 1,200 jumps that summer of 1945.
On Jan. 6, Lt. Col. Roger S. Walden, who passed away on
Sept. 17, 2013, was remembered and given full military
honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
Walden holds a special place in U.S. Forest Service history. He will be remembered for his bravery, sacrifice and
groundbreaking achievements in wildland firefighting. During a time of war and social prejudices, the commitment to serve
his country through wildland firefighting was challenging and unique.
“Lt. Col. Roger Walden was one of the original 17 test platoon members of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion – hence
the nickname Triple Nickles – who contributed to fighting wildfires in the Pacific Northwest during World War II led by Gen.
James Gavin,” said Joe Murchison, president of the 555th Parachute Infantry Association Inc. “He will be sorely missed by
all who knew and loved him.”
Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Walden attended schools in Des Moines and
Chicago. While working at Ford Motor Company at the onset of World War II,
he enlisted in the U.S. Army on Dec. 7, 1942, one year after Pearl Harbor. In
1943, at Fort Huachuca, Ariz., he volunteered for paratrooper training at Fort
Benning, Ga., and received his wings in 1944.
Walden was promoted to sergeant in the 555th and later completed Officer
Candidate School at Fort Benning, receiving his commission as a second
lieutenant in March 1945. The 555th was deployed on secret orders to
become history’s first military smokejumpers, combating aerial attacks by
Japanese balloon bombs across the Pacific Northwest during Operation
Firefly.
In honor of the paratroopers, the Forest Service recently named a conference
room after the Triple Nickles in its newly renovated Yates Building, the
agency’s national headquarters office in Washington, D.C.
After being transferred to Fort Bragg, the 555
th
became attached to the elite
82nd Airborne Division. In 1949, Walden served as commander of Company
A in Gifu, Japan. He commanded Company F in Pusan, Korea, and was
awarded the Silver Star for heroism during the Korean War. Walden served
as a major in Giessen, West Germany, from 1957 to 1960, earned his
bachelor’s degree in social studies at San Francisco State University, and
was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He taught military science at Central
State University in Ohio until his retirement in 1966 and then worked as
manager of the City of Detroit’s Housing Rehabilitation Program until 1984.
“I’m very proud of my dad’s military service,” said Rogena Ann Walden. “He
certainly earned the privilege of being laid to rest at Arlington National
Cemetery with full honors. I’m also grateful for the example he set — he was
a wonderful father.”
Processional for LTC Roger Walden at Arlington National Cemetery. (Donna Sinclair)
By Deidra McGee, Office of Communication, U.S. Forest Service