 At precisely 0830, fifty-one C-47s began wheeling over the two small drop zones in counter-rotating orbits dropping eight men per pass.With Colonel Jack Lackey, the 317th Group commander in the lead aircraft, the 39th and 40th Squadrons dropped on the former golf course while the 41st and 46th Squadrons racetracked to drop on the parade ground.While most of the aircraft were hit by intense ground fire, none were lost.