Camp Taccoa, Georgia (Currahee!)

As a student of the United States Army Airborne School, located in Fort Benning, Georgia, it was almost an unspoken rule to make the trip out to Camp Taccoa. This was the original site for the Army jump training during the early 1940's which was made famous by Stephen Ambrose's book, "The Band of Brothers" which later become an HBO miniseries. The story begins in 1942 where Echo Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, arrives in Camp Toccoa for their basic airborne training and follows the unit through various campaigns throughout the European conflict until the end of WWII.

The remnants of Camp Toccoa are just a few signs and a memorial commemorating the combat jumps of the 506th, 501st, 511th, and 517th Infantry Regiments in the shape of a parachute. There are initiatives in place to rebuild the site to commemorate the Camp.

The location was a little difficult to find; the memorial located just off the intersection of West Currahee Street and Ayersville Road. When I went, there was no real place to park; I ended up driving into Ayersville Road and parked on the south side of the street, on the opposite side of the street from where the memorial is located.

Here are some of the signs I was mentioning, plus a good indication that you are at the correct location.

COL Robert Sink Memorial Trail is named after the former 506th Infantry Regiment Commander. The trail follows the 6 mile run to the top Currahee.

The memorial is located at the original entrance to Camp Toccoa. The black marble stone structure is at the base of the parachute which can be seen in the picture below. 

6 miles in 45 minutes, the standard for the aspiring paratroopers in the 1940's, does not seem that challenging for a relatively healthy young adult; but this was by far the worst run I have ever done. If I were to let my ego speak, I would blame the humidity of the Georgia weather in the month of January which I was not accustomed too, since I came down from the north east where the temperature was about 30 degrees colder and the air much drier.

The top of the hill is not very well marked and I thought I had reached the top when I came to a graffiti covered rock-face. The picture below is the view looking down on the trail from the top of that rock formation. Don't stop, but keep running for another 200 or so meters.

Once you get to the actual top of Currahee, you will find a saucer plate sized plaque in the ground which is the official reference maker.

 It is really not that noticeable as it is flat on the ground, in-between numerous telecommunications buildings.

Minus the mishap of finding the top of Currahee and spending a few minutes reflecting upon the history of this site, I did the round-trip run in about 43 minutes.

As you can tell, I wasn't feeling that great once I got back to the start of the trail.

In the time that I had completed the "3 miles up and 3 miles down," someone had left a red rose at the base of the statues commemorating the sacrifices of the paratroopers that came before me. Currahee! Airborne!