From the Feb. 4, 2021, Chowan (NC) Herald ""Week in NC history."
On February 5, 1844m William C. Lee, the "Father of the Airborne" suffered a heart attack which ended his military career.
Born in Dunn in 1895, Lee volunteered for the United States Army in World War I. After the war, he remained in the Army and, in 1939, was assigned to the Chief of the Army's office in Washington, D.C.. There, he became part of a maverick group of officers advocating for the development of an airborne army infantry force.
The Army authorized the development of a test platoon of paratroopers, and placed Lee in charge. When the Army raised two airborne divisions, Lee received command of the 101st. He oversaw its development and training and was instrumental in getting airborne and glider operations going at Camp Mackall and Laurinburg-Maxton Army Base.
The inclusion of the airborne divisions in the Normandy Invasion in June 1944 was a direct result of Lee's work. Unfortunately, because of the heart attack, he wasn't able to participate in the attack. However, the members of the Screaming Eagle 101st Airborne were ordered to yell the name "Bill Lee" as they jumped out of their transports above France in the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, D-Day.
Lee died in 1948 and is buried in Dunn.
--GreGen
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