FRESH OUT OF Army parachute school, I was about to make the first jump with my new outfit, the elite 82nd Airborne Division and I was scared. I had heard the stories about rookie jumpers who had been summarily banished from the division when their nerve failed.

As soon as the green light came on, the jump master screamed, “Stand up!” but my body wouldn’t obey. Then the veteran next to me came to my rescue. A look of utter contempt on his face, he took the action that enabled me to rise: he unsnapped my seat belt.
Contributed to “Humor In Uniform” by Larry Weaver