FORT BENNING, Ga. — All parachute jumps have been temporarily suspended at Fort Benning while the Army investigates what witnesses are calling a “gory” death, Duffel Blog has learned.
Sources say Pvt. Doug Atkins, 19, of Delta Co., 1-507th Parachute Infantry, was a rookie on a routine training jump. “He was so frightened, he was shaking,” Airborne Instructor Staff Sgt. Cletus McCue said.
“It was routine. The engines were roaring, so I had to shout to ask everybody if they were happy, and he said yes like the others, though he was pretty meek about it,” McCue said. “Then I stood them up for their equipment checks, and he tightened his pack a little. When the light went green, he jumped.”
Private Mo Dwyer, who went out shortly after Atkins, said he wasn't sure if his static line was hooked. "I’m pretty sure he was counting, though. It’s hard to hear up there, but he was loud. After my chute deployed, he just kept dropping. It was awful.”
