Macon was one of 22 Tennessee counties that hosted World War II maneuvers before the invasion of Europe in 1944 because its terrain resembled that of Europe. These war games prepared soldiers for active combat after the invasion, with troops divided into Blue and Red camps for mock drills and battles. On June 15 and 16, 1943, the skies above Brattontown were filled with 101st Airborne C-47 transport planes and 326th Glider Regiment WACO CG-4A gliders, and the flat open ground there was ideal for glider practice by the 502nd and 506th Parachute Infantrymen. The previous evening, the same paratrooper unit jumped into Willette in Macon County to draw Red forces in a feinting action.