Army Lt. Clifford Allen of Chicago, Illinois, is one of the fire fighters of the all-black 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion. He wears his complete outfit just before taking off for a jump. Note the 150 ft. rope descending from tall trees; the plastic helmet and catcher’s mask are protections against branches and brambles. Known as the Triple Nickles, the 555th completed 1200 jumps from July-October 1945 in support of the U.S. Forest Service efforts to contain forest fires in the northwest United States. The smokejumpers parachuted into regions difficult for firefighters to reach and helped contain 36 fires during this time.