he motto of the 101st Airborne Division is "Rendezvous with Destiny."
In a true rendezvous with history, paratrooper veteran James "Pee Wee"
Martin again took to the sky Thursday, over Normandy, France, and
parachuted onto the one-time battlefield, seven decades after his
historic D-Day landing.
A veteran of the elite 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, wearing his
vintage tan paratroop jacket with jump wings and patches, Martin caught
his breath and seemed surprised the flight was already over after
sliding to a smooth landing.
"It was absolutely wonderful," Martin told the swarm of reporters. "The
best part was when we went out of the door -- that was the most exciting
part. It's always exciting until the chute opens."
But open it did, and Martin floated through the sky over Normandy,
attached to his tandem partner Dominic Kervestin, who landed him safely
in the same area where he landed in June 6, 1944 -- in field behind Utah
Beach.
This time, however, there was no fear for the seasoned paratrooper.
While many were concerned about his safety, Martin said he wasn't
worried this time around.
"I wasn't scared at all," he said. "There is really nothing to be scared
of. Once you get in that plane, you forget about everything. It
certainly wasn't scary today, because there wasn't anybody shooting at
me."
But even a war hero has somebody to answer to. Only minutes after
landing, one of Martin's friends handed him a cell phone for a surprise
phone call from his wife, asking if he was safe.
"I really wanted to do this, for one, to show people that just because
you're getting old it doesn't mean you have to stop doing things," he
said. "On the other hand, there is a little ego in it, too, because I'm
93, but I can still do this."
More overwhelming than maybe the jump was the attention by media and spectators waiting for his historic jump.
"All the attention (on me) is unbelievable," he said. "I expected maybe
50 people here. But it's always a good thing to know that people like
you and what you do. Now, of course, when I landed here before, they
were all trying to kill me. Now people all want to take a picture and
give me kisses on the cheek. It's quite a change."
While the jump made for an iconic déjà vu, Martin said the jump was not
so much about looking back, as about the freedom that was won during the
brutal battles around Normandy's landing beaches.
"I really don't look back on the memories too much," he said. "I like to
look at what we're doing in the here and now, that's what I'm
interested in -- and I like being with the people. But I enjoy the
interest in history and all the young people who are interested in
history. That's what we're all about, is the history."
Also on his mind were the future generations of war fighters following in his jump boots.
"At the time of D-Day, we were almost in a position of losing the war,"
he said. "That's why I joined. And today, I applaud anyone who is
willing to serve in the military ... (hang) in there, keep motivated and
keep your passion up. You may think it's terrible today; some of us did
at the time. But now, looking back 70 years, it was the best time of
our whole lives.
"There is a great deal of satisfaction from doing what we did (back
then), and I'm sure all the young guys out there today will feel the
same way when you get there," Martin said in advice for young Soldiers.
"You guys can do it, if I could."
(For more ARNEWS stories, visit www.army.mil/ARNEWS, or Facebook at www.facebook.com/ArmyNewsService)
Retrieved on 9 June 2014
http://www.army.mil/article/127522/93_year_old_D_Day_vet_jumps_again_in_Normandy/
By Senior Airman Alexander W. Riedel
No comments:
Post a Comment