97-year-old D-Day veteran parachutes into Normandy again
By John Leicester, The Associated Press
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, Wednesday, June 5, 2019. (AP Photo)
CARENTAN, France — Parachutists are jumping over Normandy again, just as soldiers did 75 years ago for D-Day — but this time without being shot at.
Engines throbbing, C-47 transport planes dropped group after group of parachutists, a couple of hundred in all - including a 97-year-old D-Day veteran, Tom Rice.
“It went perfect, perfect jump,” Rice said after his jump. “I feel great. I’d go up and do it all again.”
The jumpers were honoring the airborne soldiers who descended into gunfire and death ahead of the June 6, 1944, seaborne invasion.
The landing zone for Wednesday’s operation was fields of wildflowers outside Carentan, one of the objectives of the thousands of paratroopers who entered occupied France from the sky dropped over Normandy in the D-Day prelude.
They are back, some for the first time since war stole their innocence 75 years ago on Normandy’s D-Day beaches.
Rice, of San Diego, jumped into roughly the same area he landed in on D-Day. He said it was dark when he touched down in 1944 and he can’t be sure exactly where he was.
Rice jumped with the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division on that momentous day 75 years ago, landing safely despite catching himself on the exit and a bullet striking his parachute. He called the 1944 jump “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,” he told The Associated Press in an interview.
His jump on Wednesday was a different story. He came down in tandem with another parachutist, after preparing for six months with a physical trainer.
Rice flew down with an American flag fluttering beneath him and landed to a wave of applause from the crowd of thousands that gathered to watch the aerial display.
Parachutists jump from C-47 transport planes in Carentan, Normandy, France, Wednesday, June 5, 2019. Approximately 200 parachutists participated in the jump over Normandy on Wednesday, replicating a jump made by U.S. soldiers on June 6, 1944, as a prelude to the seaborne invasions on D-Day. (Rafael Yaghobzadeh/AP)
Other parachutists jumped with World War II souvenirs, some carrying items their grandfathers took into battle. Many spectators wore war-era uniforms, and music of the time played over loudspeakers.
Robert Schaefer, a retired lieutenant colonel with the U.S. Army’s Green Berets who served in Afghanistan, carried whiskey, cigars and the dog tag and wallet his grandfather, George J. Ehmet, had with him when he fought as an artillery man in France.
“I feel like I got to jump with my grandpa,” Schaefer said afterward.
Seventy-five years ago, Hollywood director George Stevens stood on the deck of the HMS Belfast to film the start of the D-Day invasion.
British parachutists jumped later Wednesday en masse over Sannerville. D-Day veterans were expected to be among them. The jumps were part of events marking the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.
Asked how his D-Day comrades would have felt about him jumping, Rice said, “They would love it.”
“Some of them couldn’t handle it. Many of them are deceased. We had 38% casualties,” he said.
With the number of D-Day survivors dwindling fast, Rice said, “I represent a whole generation.”
Like many other veterans, he said he remains troubled by the war.
“All the GIs suffer from same blame and shame,” Rice said. “It bothers us all the time for what we did. We did a lot of destruction, damage. And we chased the Germans out, and coming back here is a matter of closure. You can close the issue now,” he said.
Milos Krivokapic in Carentan contributed.
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World War II re-enactors stand looking out to sea on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, at dawn on Thursday, June 6, 2019 during commemorations of the 75th anniversary of D-Day. (Thibault Camus/AP)
Re-enactors stand at the shore of Omaha Beach at sunrise as part of events to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day on Omaha Beach in Vierville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, Thursday, June 6, 2019. World leaders are gathered Thursday in France to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. (Cedric Lecoz via AP)
President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron, watch a flyover during a ceremony to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day at the American Normandy cemetery, Thursday, June 6, 2019, in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France. (Alex Brandon/AP)
First lady Melania Trump, President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron, watch a flyover during a ceremony to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day at the American Normandy cemetery, Thursday, June 6, 2019, in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France. (Alex Brandon/AP)
President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, talk to a World War II veteran during a ceremony to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day at the American Normandy cemetery, Thursday, June 6, 2019, in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France. (Alex Brandon/AP)
President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron greet veterans as they arrive to a ceremony to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day at The Normandy American Cemetery, Thursday, June 6, 2019, in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
U.S. President Donald Trump salutes to veterans prior to a ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, Thursday, June 6, 2019. World leaders are gathered Thursday in France to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus/AP)
U.S. World War II veteran Jacques Michienzi, center, stands up among other veterans during a ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, Thursday, June 6, 2019. World leaders are gathered Thursday in France to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. (David Vincent/AP)
British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron attend a Franco-British ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of D-Day landings at Ver-Sur-Mer, Normandy, Thursday, June 6, 2019.(Philippe Wojazer/Pool via AP)
President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron, walk through The Normandy American Cemetery, following a ceremony to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day, Thursday, June 6, 2019, in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France. (Alex Brandon/AP)
An honor guard marches on stage during a ceremony to mark the 75th Anniversary of D-Day, when the Allied soldiers, sailors and airmen conducted an invasion that helped liberate Europe from Nazi Germany, Wednesday, June 5, 2019, in Portsmouth, England. (Alex Brandon/AP)
A flyover trails colored smoke to conclude a ceremony to mark the 75th Anniversary of D-Day, when the Allied soldiers, sailors and airmen conducted an invasion that helped liberate Europe from Nazi Germany, Wednesday, June 5, 2019, in Portsmouth, England. (Alex Brandon/AP)
Britain's Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II, President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, from left, applaud as they watch a fly past at the end of an event to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Portsmouth, England Wednesday, June 5, 2019. World leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump are gathering Wednesday on the south coast of England to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. (Matt Dunham/AP)
Queen Elizabeth II, President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, from left, applaud as they watch a fly past at the end of an event to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Portsmouth, England, Wednesday, June 5, 2019. World leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump are gathering Wednesday on the south coast of England to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. (Matt Dunham/AP)
A veteran wipes his eyes during a ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day, Wednesday, June 5, 2019, in Portsmouth, England. (Alex Brandon/AP)
D-Day veterans gather during a D-Day commemoration event at the Historical Dockyard in Portsmouth, southern England, Sunday June 2, 2019. There are many events over the coming days to mark the 75th anniversary of the landings by the Allied forces on Tuesday June 6, 1944, in Normandy, France, that became known as D-Day. (Andrew Matthews/PA via AP)
Soldiers from the U.S. 75th Ranger Regiment, in period dress, climb the cliff of Pointe-du-Hoc in Cricqueville-en-Bessin, Normandy, France, Wednesday, June 5, 2019. During the American assault of Omaha and Utah beaches on June 6, 1944, U.S. Army Rangers scaled the 100-foot cliffs to seize German artillery pieces that could have fired on the American landing troops. (Thibault Camus/AP)
Rangers from the U.S. 75th Ranger Regiment, in period dress, hold the American flag after scaling the cliffs of Pointe-du-Hoc in Cricqueville-en-Bessin, Normandy, France, Wednesday, June 5, 2019. During the American assault of Omaha and Utah beaches on June 6, 1944, U.S. Army Rangers scaled the 100-foot cliffs to seize German artillery pieces that could have fired on the American landing troops. (Thibault Camus/AP)
WWII enthusiasts watch French and British parachutists jumping during a commemorative parachute jump over Sannerville, Normandy, Wednesday, June 5, 2019. Extensive commemorations are being held in the U.K. and France to honor the nearly 160,000 troops from Britain, the United States, Canada and other nations who landed in Normandy on June 6, 1944, in history's biggest amphibious invasion. (Thibault Camus/AP)
Parachutists jump from C-47 transport planes in Carentan, Normandy, France, Wednesday, June 5, 2019. Approximately 200 parachutists participated in the jump over Normandy on Wednesday, replicating a jump made by U.S. soldiers on June 6, 1944, as a prelude to the seaborne invasions on D-Day. (Rafael Yaghobzadeh/AP)
Enthusiasts ride a jeep on the beach of Arromanches, Tuesday, June 4, 2019, in Normandy. Extensive commemorations are being held in the U.K. and France this week to honor the nearly 160,000 troops from Britain, the United States, Canada and other nations who landed in Normandy on June 6, 1944, in history's biggest amphibious invasion. (Thibault Camus/AP)
In this June 6, 1944, file photo, provided by the U.S. Army Signal Corps, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower gives the order of the day, "Full Victory - Nothing Else" to paratroopers in England just before they board their planes to participate in the first assault in the invasion of the continent of Europe. (U.S. Army Signal Corps Photo via AP)
In this June 6, 1944, file photo, U.S. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, left, gives the order of the day to paratroopers in England prior to boarding their planes to participate in the first assault of the Normandy invasion. A dwindling number of D-Day veterans will be on hand in Normandy in June 2019, when international leaders gather to honor them on the invasion’s 75th anniversary. (U.S. Army Signal Corps via AP)
In this June 6, 1944, file photo, members of an American landing unit help their comrades ashore during the Normandy invasion. The men reached the zone code-named Utah Beach, near Sainte- Mere-Eglise, on a life raft after their landing craft was hit and sunk by German coastal defenses. (Louis Weintraub/Pool Photo via AP, File)