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Subject; 101st Airborne Glider Units
I'd like to post a few comments about some previous posts, most made years ago, about the Glider units of the 101st AB with some of my finding on this subject. I won't go into too much detail on some subjects, and more detail on others. Any questions or comments are encouraged!
To start; Glidermen were not 'Volunteers' to the Airborne, so to speak, as was their Paratrooper brethren. But then again some men were 'Volunteers' to Glider units. Early in the development of the Airborne Divisions (82nd & 101st) men that were already in the units to be designated as 'Glider' had the choice to stay in the unit or to be reassigned to another non Airborne unit. But new recruits, be they volunteers or drafted in to the Army were sent to these Glider units by orders assigning men to a post/ unit. So they were not Volunteers like the Paratroopers. But the Glidermen did have the opportunity NOT to live up to the standards of the Airborne and have himself reassigned to another non-Airborne unit. This happened on occasion but the general feeling among the men was that their country was going to war and they had their duty to perform. Airborne Divisions also had an age limit, the younger the better, 'Old Men' above the ages of 30-31 were considered to old for this young Airborne concept and most all of the older men, with exception to the stronger 'Highly Motivated' one's, were sent to other non-AB units. You still had to have leaders, Platoon sergeants, squad sergeants that the younger men would look up to.
As was the practice in the Army at the time, men not worthy of the unit were sent to cadre other new forming units. These types of men were considered to be second class soldiers for the unit they were in or disliked by the unit leaders, maybe they rocked the boat to much or held different ideas. So this was one way to rid men of the newly forming Glider units.
A general order was issued in the Army to all commanders and Army posts to ask for volunteers for these new Airborne Divisions. Some of these commanders used the practice of sending their disliked or second rate soldiers to the AB div, some commanders asked a few of their best soldiers to volunteer. A commander is not going to send all of his 'Best' troopers to another unit, that would be foolish on his behalf! So some men to the Glider-Borne were volunteers from other units.
So to say that the Glider Troopers were Not All Volunteers is a general statement, because if they really didn't want to be in the Airborne they could of always asked to be transferred to another unit, but the general way a man was attached to the Glider-Borne was by orders sending the man to the unit, then you trained to become part of that unit. Paratroopers on the other hand were ALL Volunteer, you had to ask to be sent to the unit... you still had to measure up!
In any Airborne Division.... in any unit in that Division.... any man in the squad.... once there, you had to EARN your way! You were apart of an Elite unit that was highly trained, you were with others that had trained just as hard as yourself, your apart of something special... all of the men in these units knew that!!
As far as extra pay for Glider troops; this did not exist as with the Paratroops until late in the war. A CG-4A Glider was considered to be a 'Mode' of transportation much like a truck, Jeep or tank, the men could be ordered into combat via the Glider.
More Ramblings about the Glider Riders to come!
Gary Corbin
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