Brother Hibernians and Brother Paratroopers. LTC (Ret) Cole Slattery, past President of the Col. Thomas J. Cunningham Jr. Div., Loudoun County, VA (Left) and MAJ (Ret) Keith Kettell, current President of the Herbert /Cady Div. Alexandria. VA (Right), stand proudly before the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Old Town Alexandria in early March and meet up again in late March in Palatka, FL to close out Irish American Heritage month by jumping from the 80-year-old C-47, Tico Bell. The storied aircraft dropped Paratroopers into Normandy on D-Day June 6th, 1944, and again during Operation Market Garden into Holland September 17, 1944. After the war, the Tico Bell flew missions of relief in support of the Berlin Airlift. Presidents Slattery and Kettell served several tours of duty in the 82nd Airborne Division in addition to other Airborne units throughout their military careers.
