Talk:Anthony McAuliffe/2022/March

Jump stars

How could Gen. McAuliffe have earned three stars (officially Combat Jump Device) for his parachutist badge ("jump wings") of he only made one combat jump? Each star symbolizes a parachute jump in combat. According to the article, he only jumped into Normandy and rode a glider to the ground in Market Garden. He only made one combat parachute drop, therefore he should only have 1 star on his parachute wings. Were jump stars also awarded for glider drops? If so, that would still only account for 2. Numerous photos available online show the general wearing jump wings with 3 stars, but I don't understand how he could have earned 3. I doubt he jumped during Operation Varsity since he was in command of the 103rd Infantry Division at that point. Few members of the 101st Airborne earned 3 jump stars during WWII, a notable example being Captain Lewis Nixon who was featured in the book and miniseries Band of Brothers. He was temporarily attached to the 17th Airborne Division for Varsity. CUtigers2007 (talk) 04:34, 6 March 2022 (UTC)