One hundred degree temperatures used to be common in Indiana during September prior to 1960, but they almost never happen any more.
The five hottest Septembers in Indiana were 1925, 1933, 1939, 1931 and 1921. September temperatures in Indiana have dropped by about 1°C over the past 120 years.
Went out this morning at 06:30 and there was a 25 mph wind gusting to 30 or so. Temp was in the low 50s. My grass is still green. Reminds me of England. Cool and wet and and the grass is lush green right now despite the harvest being on and the many trees well on the way to changing to their fall colors.
I was just reading the personal account of a Paratrooper in the 506th Regiment during WW II. He was from NY and when he got to England he said “It’s the greenest place I’ve ever seen”. I would agree with him based on the few times I’ve been there. There is something about England as seen from the air at medium altitudes that is like nowhere else I’ve seen. All tidy and neat and so green in the summer as seen from 5,000 to 10,000 ft or so. Only the view of the Netherlands during the spring comes close in those aspects IMO. We jumped into Sculthorpe one time during daylight and I remember just how lush green the countryside was that I saw during the flight in. We stayed in what had been RAF built barracks during WW II. Who knows who actually used those barracks during the war because they moved squadrons around all the time. Besides the RAF and USAAF there were units from about every other allied country from the Free French to Aussies and Kiwis were stationed there during the war at one time or another. Really quite interesting. I think the stove and bunks in the our place dated from that war too.
Anyway Fall has really announced it’s arrival here In central Indiana. Cool temps with highs in the 60s and lows in the high 40s with steady breezes are our lot for this week it seems. Very wet down in Southern Indiana. They had some flooding on campus at Evansville University where my Granddaughter is a first year student.
RAH, did you jump while at Ft. Devons? I remember one pilot flew over us so low on the approach to the jump field, my horse crouched down like a cat about to pounce. I didn’t know horses could crouch!
I would have to dig out my log book to be certain but off the top of my head I had somewhere between 35 and 40 jumps at Turner DZ at Ft. Devens. Some pretty memorable. I served on SF A teams in Co. A, 3rd Bn, 10th SFG(A) for 5 1/2 years at Ft. Devens. My very first jump with my team was onto a snow covered Turner DZ at night in sub zero weather from the ramp of a C-123 Provider. We jumped ski’s and full combat equipment. I only jumped skis twice in my time in the Army. I did my five jumps for Rough Terrain Parachuting at Ft. Devens wearing the heavily padded special suit and helmet like the smoke jumpers use but all but the first of those jumps were into the woods at that post and not on the DZ. We did one training jump onto Turner wearing MOPP 4 gear. MOPP = Mission Oriented Protective Posture. IOW we jumped wearing gas masks and all of the standard issue activated charcoal filled chemical suit and Butyl Rubber gloves and over shoes with full combat equipment. Full combat equipment means jumping with Weapon, Load bearing Equipment, Rucksack with appropriate contents just as if you were going to war.
But the worst thing about Turner DZ and the ranges at Ft. Devens was the civilian pilots. Devens was a small post surrounded by a fairly dense population of civilians. Airspace over Ft. Devens was restricted to 10,000 ft. and above for Civil Aviation. But the civilian pilots flying into and out of the several airfields in the area just didn’t give a damn. You wanna see a C-130 load of pissed of SF soldiers? Make their aircraft do multiple race tracks around while they stand hooked up and ready to go with 180 lbs of parachute and combat equipment on them because some dumb ass private pilot is following the jump aircraft so he can show his girl friend what it looks like to see jumpers going out the door or off the ramp.
BTW. This day (Oct 3rd) marks the real birthday of the US Army Airborne. it is the day the first regular Army Parachute unit was formally accepted into the Army ranks. The Army first formed a test platoon and then after the basics were worked out by that temporary unit it’s members were used to form the nucleus of the 1st regular unit of paratroops. The 501st Parachute Battalion did the first mass drops followed by tactical exercises in the US Army. It’s members and the members of the 502nd Parachute Bn would provide the cadre for the formation of the first few PIR (Parachute Infantry Regiments). By the end of WW II the US Army would have five Airborne Divisions plus several independent PIRs.
Here is the 2 1/2 minute newsreel introducing the 501st Parachute Bn. to the US public.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2Zsz8BDr4