In 1943, the African-American 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion was formed as the first black paratroopers in the segregated US Army during World War II. Known as the “Triple Nickles,” they were sent in May 1945 on the classified Operation Firefly after Japan launched incendiary balloon bombs across the Pacific to ignite US west coast forests and spread civilian panic. Three hundred members arrived by train near this street corner, then trained with Army Ordnance personnel and US Forest Service smokejumpers in bomb disposal and wildland firefighting. That summer, the 555th jumped on 15 fires and fought at least 28. In October 1945, they returned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and were soon assigned to the previously all-white 82nd Airborne Division under General James Gavin. Many of the first volunteers for the 555th came from the 92nd Infantry Division, nicknamed Buffalo Soldiers, and the name “Triple Nickles” symbolized a combination of the Buffalo Division, the pre-World War II era “Buffalo Nickels,” and the 555th unit number.