Geronimo (exclamation)

Geronimo! is an exclamation occasionally used by jumping skydivers or, more generally, anyone about to jump from a great height. The cry originated in the United States.

Background

This exclamation is believed to date from August 1940, and is attributed to Private Aubrey Eberhardt, member of the US Army's parachute test platoon at Fort Benning, Georgia. The parachute had only recently been adopted for troop drops and this platoon was the first to test it. On the eve of an unprecedented "mass jump" of American paratroopers, the platoon decided to calm their nerves by spending the day before taking in a film at the Main Post Theatre and a night at the local beer garden. The film they saw was a Western featuring the Native American chief Geronimo. Its title is uncertain, but it was probably the 1939 film Geronimo with Andy Devine and Lone Ranger star Chief Thundercloud in the title role.

On the way back to barracks, Eberhardt said he expected the jump would be no different from usual. The others taunted him saying that he would be too scared to remember his name. Eberhardt retorted, "All right, dammit! I tell you jokers what I'm gonna do! To prove to you that I'm not scared out of my wits when I jump, I'm gonna yell Geronimo loud as hell when I go out that door tomorrow!" Eberhardt kept his promise and the cry was gradually adopted by the other members of his platoon.

Another Origin

In his book, Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Richard Winters, Winters offers a different explanation: The 501st parachute platoon at Fort Benning was due to go on the first jump. At the time there was a popular radio song called 'Geronimo' on the radio and it quickly became a favourite amongst the troops. The cry became known to the C.O. who insisted instead they would jump out and cry 'Curahee', the name of the mountain at the first camp of the Parachute training camp which they had run up and down (known to the troops as 3 miles up, 3 miles down) frequently at training.

Response

Emblem

Initially, the top brass were wary of the cry, claiming that it constituted a lack of discipline. Others said that it showed bravery and should be encouraged. Eventually the latter view won out, and when the Army's parachute infantry grew, the cry grew with it. In 1941, the Army's first parachute battalion, the 501st Parachute Infantry Battalion (PIB) (now called the 501st Infantry Regiment), incorporated the name "Geronimo" into its insignia. The cry was also incorporated into the song Down From Heaven by Lieutenant Colonel Byron Paige.

By then, the coverage of the paratroopers' exploits during the war had made the cry "Geronimo" known to the wider public, and its use spread outside the military and air force.

Sources

• The Straight Dope: Why do parachutists yell "Geronimo!" when jumping from an airplane?
• Ed Howard: Paramount's 1939 western GERONIMO ... a forgotten movie with a giant legacy
• Chuck Anderson (September 2004). "Geronimo yell of World War II paratroopers". B-Westerns.com. http://www.b-westerns.com/geronimo.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-15.