STATUE - Triple Nickle

"Triple Nickel" Soldier resin cast statue. Approximate dimensions 7 x 10.5 in. at its widest and tallest points.

The 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, nicknamed “The Triple Nickels,” was an all-black airborne unit of the United States Army during World War II.

The Triple Nickels also earned the nickname “The Smokejumpers” as they parachuted into areas in the Pacific Northwest, fighting forest fires. Some of these fires were caused by Japanese incendiary balloon bombs, and the resulting mission was dubbed “Operation Firefly.”

The monument is modeled after 1ST SGT Walter Morris, the first person to be assigned and selected for the 555th, and was erected in 2006 by 555th Parachute Infantry Association and Fort Leavenworth.

This monument can be found near the Buffalo Soldier Monument in the Circle of Firsts.