D-Day Vets In Their 90s Parachute Into Normandy 75 Years Later, This Time To Cheers
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
U.S. World War II D-Day veteran Tom Rice, from Coronado, Calif., parachutes in a tandem jump into a field in Carentan, Normandy, France, on Wednesday. Approximately 200 parachutists participated in the event, replicating a jump made by U.S. soldiers on June 6, 1944 — D-Day
The first time Tom Rice jumped out of a plane over the Normandy coast, German soldiers were firing into the sky and about to launch a deluge of bullets and gunfire into the sea. Seventy-five years later it was nothing but smooth sailing.
Rice, who is 97 years old and was a U.S. World War II paratrooper, was one of a group of about 200 parachutists commemorating the 75th anniversary of D-Day, which began on June 6, 1944. The invasion of Europe marked a turning point in the war for the Allied forces.
"It went perfect, perfect jump," Rice said afterward, according to the Associated Press. "I feel great. I'd go up and do it all again."
It is a stark contrast to his previous voyage through the sky, which he called "the worst jump I ever had."
"I got my left armpit caught in the lower left-hand corner of the door so I swung out, came back and hit the side of the aircraft, swung out again and came back, and I just tried to straighten my arm out and I got free,"
Tom Rice said later it was a perfect jump: "I feel great. I'd go up and do it all again.
When Rice and his contemporaries first descended on Normandy, France and much of Europe were in the clutches of the Nazi occupation. But on Wednesday, when he floated in a tandem jump from a C-47 transporter, he was met by cheering crowds.
And he wasn't the only nonagenarian to make the leap.
Harry Read, 95, and John Hutton, 94, both British, also jumped into the misty sky over what was once enemy territory.
"I thought the jump was brilliant. The jump was wonderful in every way. I feel good. My health is good and my mind is still ticking away," Read told reporters, according to The Guardian.
Meanwhile, Hutton wondered why he doesn't "have more sense at 94."
Tags
Who is online
87 visitors
Kudos to these fine men....
In honor of my cousin, PFC Monroe ........ As part of the 101st Airborne he jumped on Normandy that fateful day.
All the way cuz, all the way.
Click on SEEDED CONTENT to view the video of the 97 year old jump...75 years after his jump on Normandy, D Day, 6 June, 1944.
More kudo's from me, so impressed with these "old soldiers" and the sacrifices they made and the courage they showed.
I love Mr. Hill's enthusiasm and attitude. I can't even come close to imagining what it would have been like to jump out of an airplane in the dark knowing the Germans are waiting down there.
RIP for all those who did not make the journey home.
My cousin was one of those that didn't make it home, Greg...
KIA, 24 December 1944 at Bastogne, where the 101st Airborne made their stand.
Thank you for the article Kavika.
What an anniversary.
...all the way.
It's 7:15 am, 6 June EST...75 years ago this moment he was experiencing his ''Rendezvous with Destiny'' in the skies over Normandy.
Voted up
I heard about this on the radio this morning on my way in to work. I didn't know that he jumped in tandem. I was thinking "Damn! That guy is tough as nails to do a jump at 90 some years old!"
He's still tough as nails to do it in tandem.
The understatement of the year, Trout...
Here's a visual and audio treat showing the planes and paratroopers participating in the flyover.
It's difficult for me to express enough admiration for these brave young boys and men.
I'm so grateful that some of them were able to go back today after 75 years. They are, indeed, The Greatest Generation.