3 Miles Up, 3 Miles Down or How to Conquer Currahee Mountain
On Memorial Day, 2015, we loaded up the car and headed out for a day trip to Toccoa, Georgia. Although this Blue Ridge region of the Peach State has many spectacular places of interest, I was only focused on finding one particular landmark: Currahee Mountain. Currahee is a Cherokee word meaning “stand alone”. Most likely the name was derived from the mountain’s prominent peak that extends higher than all others within Stephens County. Currahee Mountain, which rises abruptly above the Chattahoochee Forest, climbs about 800 vertical feet above the local terrain and its summit is visible for many miles on a clear day.
Camp Toccoa, located outside of Toccoa, GA, USA
For me, the significance of Currahee Mountain was not due to its topography, but rather the historical legacy it offers to the local community and our country as a whole. In 2001, the mountain received international notoriety by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg when they created their HBO television miniseries, Band of Brothers. The show chronicled the story of Easy Company of the US Army’s 101st Airborne division and their mission in WWII Europe from Operation Overlord through V-J Day.
The immediate area surrounding Currahee Mountain was once the official training site of the American paratroopers stationed at Camp Toccoa, Georgia. It was this grueling terrain that the men of Easy Company and the 506th Infantry Regiment ran up and down on a regular basis to condition their bodies for combat. The name of the mountain, “Currahee”, became the proud motto for these paratroopers including the now famous quote: “3 Miles up, 3 Miles down”.
A soldier of the 506th Infantry Regiment poses in front of the entrance to Camp Toccoa, GA.
Paratrooper display at Currahee Military Museum, Toccoa, GA
If you visit Toccoa, no trip is complete without a stop at the Currahee Military Museum. Housed in the town’s historic train depot—the very place where thousands of young recruits first stepped off the train before marching to Camp Toccoa—the museum preserves the remarkable story of the American paratroopers who trained on Currahee Mountain during World War II.
Exhibits include original uniforms, weapons, photographs, personal artifacts, and an authentic barracks section from Aldbourne, England, where members of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, including Easy Company, were quartered before D-Day.
More than 17,000 paratroopers trained at Camp Toccoa, and the museum does an outstanding job of bringing their experiences to life while honoring the legacy of the men who answered the call to serve.
Memorial Day is a much more solemn holiday than Veterans Day as it was set apart to honor only those veterans who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Although I typically spend this day engaged in family-themed activities such as recreation and barbeques, I wanted to do something this year that would allow me to reflect more on the people who gave their all so we can enjoy those liberties so often taken for granted.
This year I became determined to know the pain of running the “three miles up, three miles down” of Currahee Mountain. So, nearly seventy years after Easy Company first climbed Currahee, we came to see whether the mountain could still teach the same lessons of determination, sacrifice, and perseverance. Though I’m hardly as fit as I once was, I devised a couple of rules for myself to make this special run as challenging as possible: I would not allow myself to walk at any point in the climb or descent; also, I would do the entire thing wearing combat boots.
So many Americans throughout the history of our country have felt the pain of death in combat. So many Americans throughout the history of our country have felt the deep, heart-wrenching pain that comes about when a family member or loved one is killed in the heat of battle. What a small price it is to pay, what a small discomfort it is to endure, simply to run up a small mountain when so many Americans, past and present, have given away God’s greatest gift -their very own lives for the service of others.
Finding Currahee Mountain was a challenge all of its own. Aside from a small roadside marker, the trail leading up the mountain had no real distinguishable characteristics. It was simply a dirt road where heroes once trained.
“In memory of Col. Bob Sink, first Commanding Officer of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment”
Col. Charles H. Young and Col. Robert F. Sink Review Final Plans for D-Day, Photo Credit: U.S. Army Signal Corps / National Archives (photographer not identified).
Aboard a C-47 transport aircraft on the eve of the Normandy invasion, Col. Charles H. Young, commander of the 439th Troop Carrier Group, reviews flight maps with Col. Robert F. Sink, commanding officer of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Young would personally pilot the lead aircraft carrying Sink and his headquarters across the English Channel during the early hours of June 6, 1944, guiding the formation toward the drop zones behind Utah Beach despite heavy cloud cover and intense German anti-aircraft fire. Their successful mission helped deliver the Screaming Eagles into Normandy to begin one of the most pivotal airborne operations of World War II.
Although Rebecca’s knees were injured and Noah had previously never ran more than a couple of miles on flat ground, they both committed whole-heartedly for the cause.
Members of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, sit aboard a Douglas C-47 Skytrain shortly before departing England for Normandy on the night of June 5, 1944. Within hours, they would parachute into France as part of Operation Overlord, marking the beginning of the D-Day invasion. – U.S. Army Signal Corps photograph.
…and so it begins!
We passed a few others along the way but there were two people who touched me in a profound way. One was a young soldier who was descending back down when we first began our climb. He was in uniform, wearing full battle gear to include a helmet and body armor. He carried a flag similar to mine and had an assault rifle slung across his chest. What a symbolic image he presented as he marched down that dusty trail!
The other was a heavyset, middle-aged man with a photograph of his brother memorialized on the back of his t-shirt. We exchanged words in passing and he informed me that he was making the trek for his dear brother who had been killed on his second tour in Iraq.
What a small sense of pain I felt on this run compared to the internal wounds this man suffers daily over the loss of his own brother. I pray he found comfort knowing that we didn’t forget, we will never forget, the price that his brother paid for all of us so that we may live in a safer world. This run was for all those who we will never be forgotten. We honor them on this Memorial Day and every day.
Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division
Members of Easy Company pose in the village square of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, Normandy, France, shortly after the D-Day landings in June 1944. Having parachuted into Normandy during the early hours of June 6, 1944, the men of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment fought to secure vital roads, bridges, and causeways behind Utah Beach. Their actions during the Normandy campaign helped pave the way for the Allied breakout from the beaches and marked the beginning of one of the most celebrated combat records of any American unit in World War II.
Easy Company would later distinguish itself in Operation Market Garden, the defense of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, and the final drive into Germany, earning a lasting place in military history through both its battlefield achievements and the later book and television series Band of Brothers.
Photo Credit: Robert Capa / Magnum Photos.
Rebecca carries the flag up Currahee Mountain.
Easy Company in Normandy, photo credit: Original wartime photographer unknown.
Paratroopers of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, pause for a photograph in Normandy, France, shortly after the D-Day landings in June 1944. Still wearing their combat gear after days of intense fighting, these Screaming Eagles had already helped secure key causeways behind Utah Beach and would soon take part in the bitter fighting for Carentan. The image captures a brief moment of calm between battles that would become defining chapters in the history of the 101st Airborne Division.
Noah takes his rite of passage!
About a quarter of a mile from the top, something truly remarkable occurred as Noah grabbed the colors and took the lead. I do not know how he mustered the willpower as we were facing the steepest, harshest part of the climb. My jog had slowed considerably, and it had admittedly become more of a crawl than a run.
It was at this moment, when the mountain seemed to be giving us her worst, that Noah grabbed a hold of the flag and took off in a full sprint towards the peak. To see him run like that, fueled by nothing other than raw determination, filled me with pride beyond words. Noah understood the meaning of selfless service and he had come to understand the meaning of sacrifice.
Easy Company in Berchtesgaden, Germany – Spring 1945, Original photographer: Unknown (U.S. Army photograph).
Members of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, pose for a group photograph against the dramatic backdrop of the Bavarian Alps near Berchtesgaden, Germany, in the closing weeks of World War II. After fighting from the hedgerows of Normandy through Operation Market Garden and the frozen forests of Bastogne, the veterans of Easy Company had advanced deep into Nazi Germany. This image captures a rare moment of reflection following one of the most remarkable combat records of any American airborne unit.
Rebecca leads the way as she takes those few remaining steps to the summit.
Easy Company Near Carentan, Normandy – June 1944, Original photographer: Unknown (U.S. Army Signal Corps photograph).
Paratroopers of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, pause along a hedgerow road near Carentan, France, after days of intense combat. Their weary expressions reflect the physical and emotional toll of the Normandy campaign, while the covered enemy dead beside the road serve as a stark reminder of the fierce fighting required to secure the strategic crossroads linking the Utah and Omaha Beach landing areas. The photograph captures a rare moment of respite before Easy Company continued its advance across occupied France.
All three of us made it to the top, but we still have to make our descent. Noah leading the charge as we head back down the mountain!
Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, relaxes in the Bavarian Alps near Berchtesgaden, Germany, in May 1945, shortly after the German surrender. Having fought from Normandy through Holland, Bastogne, and into Germany, these paratroopers pause to celebrate the end of the war in Europe. The photograph includes several of the company’s best-known officers, including Major Richard Winters, Captain Lewis Nixon, and First Lieutenant Harry Welsh. The original black-and-white image was taken by a U.S. Army photographer, although the individual photographer has never been conclusively identified. This version has been digitally colorized.
Our trial is nearly over! We will conquer Currahee! We would be among the lucky one to leave that mountain and head back home. Many brave men left that mountain to fight in a world war and never returned.
“3 miles up, 3 miles down” – We had conquered Currahee Mountain. Along the way, the mountain gave us stories of sacrifice, taught us life lessons, and made an impact on us that goes much deeper than sore muscles and aching joints. God willing, we’ll all return here next Memorial Day. May we never forget!
Camp Toccoa Memorial, Toccoa GA
The summit of Currahee was not the end of Easy Company’s journey—it was only the beginning. From the hills of Toccoa, these young paratroopers went on to England before parachuting into Normandy on D-Day. They fought through the hedgerows of France, helped capture Carentan, jumped into Holland during Operation Market Garden, endured the brutal winter siege of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, and pushed deep into Germany as the Third Reich collapsed. By the time they reached the Bavarian Alps in May 1945, they had become one of the most respected companies in the 101st Airborne Division.
The cost of that journey was staggering. Roughly 140 men entered combat with Easy Company on D-Day, but more than 300 would eventually serve in the company as casualties were replaced throughout the war. Forty-eight paratroopers were killed in action, more than one hundred were wounded, and many bore the physical and emotional scars of combat for the rest of their lives.
Standing atop Currahee today, it is difficult to imagine what lay ahead for those young soldiers as they made their famous three-mile run to the summit and back. Yet that mountain forged the discipline, endurance, and brotherhood that would carry them through some of the fiercest fighting of World War II. “Three miles up, three miles down” became far more than a training exercise—it became the foundation of a legacy that continues to inspire generations more than eighty years later.
Toccoa Falls, Toccoa, Georgia
No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends – John 15:13
I appreciate you taking the time to read my article and thank you for visiting my blog site. Feel free to leave a comment, explore more of my site, or share some love on social media.
Happy Travels,
Big John
Posted in Adventure Fitness, Adventurous Places, Historical Journeys, North America and tagged 506th Infantry Regiment, Band of Brothers, currahee, Currahee Mountain, Toccoa Georgia, WW2
Leave a Reply