On-lookers cheer as Sarah Wittington of Shreveport hugs her son, Capt. Sam Mitchell, after his parachute jump Monday in Mound. Wittington had not seen her son for eight months because of his training at Fort Bragg, N.C. (The Vicksburg Post/MELANIE DUNCAN)

[02/06/01] Nearly 140 years ago one group of soldiers from the U.S. Army arrived at Vicksburg aboard steamboats. Monday the latest group of soldiers arrived, but this time they jumped from an airplane and parachuted into a field near Mound.

Sixty members of the Special Operations Support Command from Fort Bragg, N.C., took the opportunity to make a training jump on their arrival here for a staff ride today in the Vicksburg National Military Park. The jump also gave group members a chance to demonstrate their parachute skills before about 100 people from the surrounding areas of Louisiana and Mississippi.

Two members of the group, Lt. Paul Crum and Staff Sgt. James Cassel, arrived by land transportation. They were already on the ground at Edward Yerger’s Huon Plantation, about 12 miles west of Vicksburg, when the C-130 airplane arrived with the other 60 officers, warrant officers and senior non-commissioned officers who were to make the jump.

Crum said the craft left Fort Bragg at 1 p.m. and arrived over Yerger’s field about 3:30 p.m.

Maj. Kevin Kachinski, the executive officer of the special operations command and one of the jumpmasters on the trip, jumped first to check for any winds. As soon as he was on the ground, the plane returned and the rest of the soldiers jumped, nine or 10 at a time for a total of six passes over the field.

The men jumped with full combat equipment and with main and reserve parachutes, landed with about 100 pounds of gear and had to hike across Yerger’s furrows to reach two chartered buses.

The jump was special for Sara Whittington from Shreveport and for Robert Smothers Sr. and his son, Robert Smothers Jr., from Vicksburg. Whittington’s son, Capt. Samuel Mitchell II, and Robert Smothers Sr.’s brother, Master Sgt. Douglas Smothers, were among the jumpers.

It was the first time Whittington had seen her son jump and she had some tense moments waiting for the plane to arrive.

“I think airplanes are perfectly good and people who jump out of one are crazy,” she said.

Later, after all of the jumpers were on the ground she relaxed but she displayed a mother’s concern.

“Didn’t you hear me go gulp’ when he landed?” she asked.

“It was something,” Robert Smothers Sr. said of his brother’s jump. “I don’t believe I could do it.”

The jumpers were more casual about the whole affair. One of the men received a special set of airborne wings signifying it was his 33rd jump.

Col. Yves Fontaine, commander of the group, said Monday’s jump was good training for his troops.

“This took them out of their comfort zone. Jumping into a foreign drop zone builds their confidence,” he said.

Crum and Cassel complemented the Yergers and others for their cooperation in making arrangements for the jump.

“I really want to thank the people around here. Without them, this couldn’t have happened,” Cassel said.

He said the cooperation started some time ago when he and Crum came to Vicksburg to find a drop zone for the jump.

“We checked and the closest certified drop zone was near Grenada. That would have been a two hour drive to Vicksburg,” he said.

He and Crum got a car and began driving around, looking for a large open field away from power lines and other tall obstructions. They found what turned out to be Yerger’s field and tracked him down to get his approval.

“I wanted to do this so the kids could see this,” Yerger said, gesturing to a couple dozen young people clustered on a small rise just off Thomastown North Road. “People around here don’t get to see something like this.”

“This has been wonderful for the children,” said Margaret Yerger, echoing her husband’s comments.

Crum said the Special Operations Support Command or other airborne units could return.

“This is now a certified drop zone and it has been entered in a database,” he said.

That means it can be used by any unit that wanted or needed to make a jump in the area.

When the soldiers leave the Vicksburg area Wednesday they will again board the C-130 at Jackson International Airport. Their arrival at Fort Bragg will be the same way they arrived here, by parachute.