Great story! Sort of reminds of what an old friend, a Mr. Ralph Stiers, told me years ago, about how he (and presumably others of his unit?) were snatched out of their unit in Italy, sent to England and made his first, last, and only parachute jump around St Mere Eglais (IIRC) on D-Day, with no training in parachuting at all. The Army just told them, "if you're going to break a leg, it might as well be in combat"!
How much do we owe these guys...
Ed