BY  LEON B. CREWS
Sentinel Staff Writer

In 1946 when Charles Thomas enlisted in the regular Army, he already had 6 years of experience having attended a military academy.

In 1946, Mr. Thomas was a medic assigned to what was known at that time as the Triple Nickels, (555th Airborne) a Black-only paratrooper unit.

“We were among the first Blacks selected for parachute training.”

What Mr. Thomas didn’t know at that time was an incident in 1948 would impact his entire military career as well as that of other Black soldiers.[private]

“We were in Pensacola participating in a training exercise. During that time, we were put in the white folks Army, and then separated. We had all Black officers, and some later became majors and lieutenants.

“They were conducting the exercise, and I was in a tower overlooking the entire area.

“Suddenly, another soldier in the tower with me started yelling for the guys on the ground to take cover, because bombs were falling. When the bombs hit, I dove to the floor. I could her debris and shrapnel hitting the tower.”

Mr. Thomas said when he stood up he saw something that left him forever scared.

“What I saw were Black paratroopers on the ground who had been bombed by their own forces. Two were killed right away and others were severely injured, some losing their limbs. Others died later from their injuries. The planes that did this came from MacDill Air Force Base.”

Mr. Thomas said no explanation was ever given for the incident, nothing was done about the incident, and it was just hushed way.
“Today, there are only two left in Tampa who were members of the Triple Nickels. I discharged after the bombing incident.”

Mr. Thomas said he still vividly remembers coming to the aid of the wounded soldiers after the bombing.

“I was a medic, so I did whatever I could to help them.

“There was never an investigation of any kind after the bombing incident, and it was brushed aside and forgotten. We were told to keep quiet and never talk about the incident.”

Mr. Thomas said he knows it’s been 63 years, but the need of justice has no timeline.

“I will continue to seek justice for the men who died or were permanently injured. If those bombs had fallen on a group of white soldiers, you better believe some action would have been taken. But since we were all Black soldiers, it was treated like nothing happened. This was a direct reflection on the bigotry and racism that was going on in the Armed Forces.”

Mr. Thomas said he’s never appealed to any elected officials to investigate the incident, but is willing to do so now.

“I want whoever reads this to get as angry as I am. I want something done about this incident.”

The entire incident, as well as the creation of the Triple Nickels, was chronicled in a book written by retired Lieutenant Colonel Bradley Biggs, “America’s First All-Black Paratroop Unit, The Triple Nickels.”[/private]