97-year-old WWII veteran parachutes to mark D-Day anniversary

Pulse News Agency International by AFP 02:31 - 13 August 2024

US WWII veteran Tom Rice parachutes into Normandy 75 years after the D-Day landings

A US veteran who was parachuted into France during D-Day in 1944 defied his age on Wednesday as he recreated his courageous feat of 75 years ago as part of ceremonies to mark the famous landings.

"It feels great," 97-year-old Tom Rice said after landing to applause in a field near the French village of Carentan where he flashed the V sign. "I want to go back up and do it again!"

Rice, who was strapped to a parachutist who controlled their flight during their tandem jump, was one of several veterans set to jump in northern France, the day before the 75th anniversary of the June 6 landings by 150,000 Allied troops.

Thousands of people also gathered on Tuesday in the village of Sannerville to watch British veteran Harry Read jump, but his ambitions looked to have been thwarted by a technical problem with his plane.