🇺🇲 WWII uncovered: 11th Airborne Division's Rod Serling, Hollywood's "Angry Young Man"
Before he became the well-known creator of "The Twilight Zone," Rod Serling was a young, 5'4" paratrooper in the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division. As one of "The Angels", Rod did not meet the height requirements for the parachutes, but talked his way into the regiment anyway.
While the division was on New Guinea, Jack Benny came by to perform for the Angels and Rod was able to write and perform in a small skit that was broadcast on Armed Forces Radio. It was a sign of things to come for Serling.
During the Angels' campaign on Leyte in late 1944, T-4 Serling and the Suicide Squad kept busy eliminating enemy bunkers and defensive positions. While high in the island's mountains, the regiment could only be resupplied by air and one day Rod watched in horror as a heavy crate landed squarely on his good friend PVT Melvin Levy's shoulders, killing him instantly. Rod marked Melvin’s grave with a Star of David in honor of his friend’s Jewish heritage. It was the first of the war's many difficult experiences that affected, perhaps even haunted, Rod, in addition to a wound to his knee that plagued him for the rest of his life.
During the Angels' campaign to liberate Luzon, Rod and the Demolitions team kept busy with the dangerous job of blasting countless grass-covered pillboxes and blockhouses, many of which were heavily defended. On one occasion, Rod found himself staring down the barrel of a Japanese rifle. Luckily one of his buddies was quicker and shot the enemy soldier.
In one Manila neighborhood, Rod and the other Angels were enjoying an impromptu celebration by the newly-liberated Filipinos when the Japanese began shelling the area. Noticing a wounded Filipino woman out in the open, Rod rushed into the fire to carry her to safety, an action to earned him the Bronze Star.
After the war, Rod turned to writing to "face his demons" and went on to become one of televisions most well-known, and award-winning, screenwriters, playwrights, television producers, and narrators. He also was a passionate teacher at Antioch College (Ohio) and Ithaca College (New York).
Known to smoke three packs of cigarettes a day, Rod died on June 28, 1975. May we all remember these words spoken before his death: "for civilization to survive, the human race has to remain civilized".
For more information on Rod's experiences in World War II, please visit 511pir.com or 11th Airborne Division Association - "Angels"
#ww2uncovered #honorourveterans #ww2 #WorldWarII #worldwar2 #worldwartwo #paratrooper #paratroopers #airborne #greatestgeneration #ww2veteran #WWII #WWIIveteran #AATW #twilightzone #Airborne #rodserling #LestWeForget
Original description and photo submitted by Jeremy Holm ©️ author of "When Angels Fall: From Toccoa to Tokyo: The 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II MacArthur’s Secret Weapon & Heroes of Los Baños"
🇺🇲 WWII uncovered: 11th Airborne Division's Rod Serling, Hollywood's "Angry Young Man"
Before he became the well-known creator of "The Twilight Zone," Rod Serling was a young, 5'4" paratrooper in the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division. As one of "The Angels", Rod did not meet the height requirements for the parachutes, but talked his way into the regiment anyway.
While the division was on New Guinea, Jack Benny came by to perform for the Angels and Rod was able to write and perform in a small skit that was broadcast on Armed Forces Radio. It was a sign of things to come for Serling.
During the Angels' campaign on Leyte in late 1944, T-4 Serling and the Suicide Squad kept busy eliminating enemy bunkers and defensive positions. While high in the island's mountains, the regiment could only be resupplied by air and one day Rod watched in horror as a heavy crate landed squarely on his good friend PVT Melvin Levy's shoulders, killing him instantly. Rod marked Melvin’s grave with a Star of David in honor of his friend’s Jewish heritage. It was the first of the war's many difficult experiences that affected, perhaps even haunted, Rod, in addition to a wound to his knee that plagued him for the rest of his life.
During the Angels' campaign to liberate Luzon, Rod and the Demolitions team kept busy with the dangerous job of blasting countless grass-covered pillboxes and blockhouses, many of which were heavily defended. On one occasion, Rod found himself staring down the barrel of a Japanese rifle. Luckily one of his buddies was quicker and shot the enemy soldier.
In one Manila neighborhood, Rod and the other Angels were enjoying an impromptu celebration by the newly-liberated Filipinos when the Japanese began shelling the area. Noticing a wounded Filipino woman out in the open, Rod rushed into the fire to carry her to safety, an action to earned him the Bronze Star.
After the war, Rod turned to writing to "face his demons" and went on to become one of televisions most well-known, and award-winning, screenwriters, playwrights, television producers, and narrators. He also was a passionate teacher at Antioch College (Ohio) and Ithaca College (New York).
Known to smoke three packs of cigarettes a day, Rod died on June 28, 1975. May we all remember these words spoken before his death: "for civilization to survive, the human race has to remain civilized".
🪂For more information on Rod's experiences in World War II, please visit 511pir.com or 11th Airborne Division Association - "Angels"
#ww2uncovered #honorourveterans #ww2 #WorldWarII #worldwar2 #worldwartwo #paratrooper #paratroopers #airborne #greatestgeneration #ww2veteran #WWII #WWIIveteran #AATW #twilightzone #Airborne #rodserling #LestWeForget
Original description and photo submitted by Jeremy Holm ©️ author of "When Angels Fall: From Toccoa to Tokyo: The 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II MacArthur’s Secret Weapon & Heroes of Los Baños"
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