August 'Forty-Nine, North Montana
The hottest day on record the forest tinder dry
Lightening strikes in the mountains
I was crew chief at the jump base
I prepared the boys to fly
Pick the drop zone
C-47 comes in low
Feel the tap upon your leg that tells you go
See the circle of the fire down below
Fifteen of us dropped above the cold Missouri waters.
From "Cold Missouri Waters" by James Keelaghan.
It's about a jump on a forest fire that went terribly wrong. The fire crowned, and thirteen smoke jumpers burned to death when they couldn't outrun it.
Dunno why, but it gets to me.