They were impressive, those high-spirited paratroopers wearing good-looking, high, shiny, jump boots with pants bloused in them. A unique, proud group, they often vented that spirit by tearing up any town where they were training. Al Dunn wanted to join this distinctive group, expressing the mood of almost every young man during World War II.

Al was tough and in good shape. He had lived with his grandparents on the farm settled 100 years earlier in Vernon Parish and had the nourishing food to keep him healthy. His dad was a barber at Aloe Army Air Field, Victoria, TX, so Al went there making another attempt to volunteer. : "Go home and finish high school." This was when the 11 th Airborne was training at Camp Polk, Dec. '43 to Feb. '44. By the time his 18th birthday came, Al could not volunteer but wait for the draft. The Battle of the Bulge was raging reaping an unprecedented toll on our infantry; Al looked to make an excellent Rifleman after quick training. That was not what he had in mind that Nov. 1944, getting a condensed five weeks of training.

Al volunteered for the paratroopers and was sent to Fort Benning, GA. Airborne Infantry began about 1940; the 82nd Infantry became airborne at Camp Claiborne and was divided in August 1942 into the 101st Airborne "Screaming Eagles.” Then the 11th Airborne was formed about December while the 13th and 17th formed later. Pitted against regular infantry in the Knoll Maneuvers in North Carorlina, they proved superior, causing the accusations of the arrogant and cocky paratroopers.

Jump school was a five-week course with five jumps in four weeks: A) Hard, physical training and some jumping. B). Jumping out of a 34' tower; hard, physical training PIF. C) Jumping out of 250' tower and parachute rigging. "That night jump was dark; see city light of Columbus. I thought, 'What in the h--- am I doing?' After a jump you were ready to do it, again, for it was fun." D) Make five jumps. This was class 170.

"One of the things that kept people out (Airborne) was the lack of physical exercise. About 50% flunked out of the 34 and 250 feet because they had to climb a ladder to get up there. You couldn't be afraid of heights. Later you were hauled up 250' with a hook.

At the top of the tower was a big ring about 35' in diameter. The four men pulled up were hooked to an arm, and each had a piece of paper. The squawk box directed each one separately, 'Release your paper,' to determine the wind direction; if the paper hit the tower, the man could not jump. A dummy, "Oscar", was dropped for observation.

If you jump out of a C-47, you got prop blast. If jerked back, you got "strawberries" or blood blisters on your shoulders from the straps."

The 11th was the only airborne infantry sent to the Pacific - New Guinea- and the invasion of the Philippines. Paratroopers volunteered! Al volunteered for numerous training schools, including Parachute Demolition and Special Training.. Soon he was on a troopship in the Pacific, when Japan surrendered. Thirty of the 33 days on board were traveling. They stopped at Entiwetok for a day on the beach and were issued six beers, six cokes and a box of candy bars.

Since Al never drank a beer, he made a quick trade for six cokes, consuming all 12 and box of candy bars. Offshore, PBYs were being sunk, as well as most of the machines and material because it was "cheaper than bringing them back to the States." Bill Smith, of Leesville, was aboard with a pocket full of meal chips.

Passing by Ulithi, they went into Manila where the harbor was filled with sunken ships. One group was salvaging the gold dropped into the harbor to prevent the Japanese from confiscating it. While sitting there three days, three P-38s swooped down flying through the sunken ships, and one got too close and exploded. Typically, the troops were unloaded down the nets one night and put on an LCT during a maddening rain.

They walked through the bombed-out city, aware that it had once been a beautiful city called the Pearl of the Orient. Flat rail cars were waiting on a narrow-gauge railroad; they loaded on, so crowded there was no movement among them and arrived at a RePo. Thousands were waiting to go home, while these new troops would take their place.

Since the 11th Airborne had gone to Japan, Al was sent to the 6th Infantry Division. Within a month, the 6th Infantry Division was encamped on the beaches of the north end of Luzon. "We could tell the older (been in Pacific for years) guys, for they were yellow. When you went to the mess hall, you didn't go in; You had to open your mouth for an atabrine tablet to be thrown in. It wasn't sugar-coated; you better swallow that thing in a hurry. It was to prevent malaria."

"Along with other Divisions, we went to Korea, at Pusan. Inchon was the port near Seoul and had tremendous tides. Going into Korea was like walking into an ancient World - the way they dressed, the way they lived, and very few cars. Buses ran on car bide (our lamps and headlights used this also). Homemade plows were used and their own design for carrying huge loads on their backs. Their houses had the fires built outside, unlike our fires inside in chimneys, and a system through the floor for the air to flow through to keep them warm. It didn't! I was there in the winter, and it was cold,and we didn't have any heat. Lots of the guys ate with families, but I didn't."

"We were there for security. The Japanese had enslaved the Koreans, and when they were going back to Japan, the Koreans began killing them. We were there to keep peace. As we moved around, we slept in old barns, old school houses, old buildings. For a shower, we took a water tank, built a fire under it, transferred water by a hand pump up to a 55gallon barrel inside the building. A gallon can with holes punched in the bottom was a shower head. I promised myself if I ever got out of there, I would never take a cold-water bath again, unless I had to. The only thing worse was a salt-water bath on the ship. We had guard duty at night and rode shotgun guard every time the jeep left. "We were in an old school which had a big, double-hinge, wooden gate about 60' long and a solid fence. We pulled every board off that gate and burned in a fire to keep warm.

"There were 6,000 or 7,000 paratroopers getting ready for the invasion of Japan beforepeace was signed on the USS MISSOURI, Sep. 2, 1945. The 11th Airborne went into Japan as honor guard for Gen. MacArthur; they were the first division to go into Japan.

They were suppose to stay there but got into trouble - again. He sent them up to the Island of Honshu and Okyoto. We got over to Japan in Feb. '46 and began writing letters trying to get back in Airborne. Since I had been over there 13 months and risen in rank to Tech Sergeant, I was also ready to return home. I must add that I never saw animosity among the people.

"After heavy guard duty in Japan and seeing some of the sights, I returned to the states and was discharged in Nov. '46. I had been offered a commission if I stayed in Japan, but I was ready to come home. While trying to decide to go back into service, I was standing on the corner of Courtesy Drug Store when a car pulled up, and my buddies shouted, 'Come go with us. We're going to Northwestern and register.

This was Spring of '47. I registered for Engineering courses: all fees and books and $70 per month were provided under the GI Bill. I ran track and continued in pre-engineering. I married Jerry Hicks the next summer and went to Louisiana Tech for a Civil Engineering degree.

Although I almost was called back into service in the Korean War, I graduated in May 1952. Our son David Scott was born. Jobs were becoming more plentiful than in the post-war years, and I signed with McDermott Co. and stayed a few years. I spent the rest of my career with Louisiana Department of Transportation.”

Maintaining an interest in our political system, world news and his own Vernon Parish, Al is the great volunteer in numerous organizations with the goal "to make this a better place."