Man parachutes into Normandy....again....

[Misfit]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/05/world/europe/d-day-paratrooper-jumps-again/

Normandy, France (CNN) -- Jim "Pee Wee" Martin acted like he'd been here before, like jumping from a plane is as easy as falling off a log.

Maybe that's because he had -- 70 years ago.

"I'm feeling fine," Martin told reporters moments after landing in a French field. "... It was wonderful, absolutely wonderful."

Martin was part of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division that parachuted down over Utah Beach in their bid to retake France and, eventually, the rest of Europe from Nazi Germany. They actually touched down in enemy-controlled territory a night before what's referred to as D-Day.

His jump Thursday in the same area was different and -- despite his being 93 years old now -- a whole lot easier.

"It didn't (compare)," Martin said, "because there wasn't anybody shooting at me today."

 

[mamatutu]

I love this story! Thanks for posting it, Misfit! Just great. God bless America, and all who have fought to keep us, and others free!

 

[mamatutu]

British WWII vet missing from nursing home found at D-Day events in France:

"An 89-year-old British Royal Navy vet was so determined to get to D-Day commemorations in Normandy Friday that he snuck away from his nursing home without warning and boarded a bus for France. Staff members at The Pines nursing home in the town of Hove in Sussex, England called police Thursday when they discovered Bernard Jordan didn’t return from his morning walk to town. Jordan left the home wearing his war medals under a jacket and secretly boarded a bus to France, Sky News reported.

After searching for 12 hours, the home received a call from a younger veteran who had met Jordan on the bus and said he was safe. The two vets were at a hotel in Ouistreham, Normandy, where world leaders and veterans from all over the world were marking the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

"We have spoken to the veteran who called the home today and are satisfied that the pensioner is fine and that his friends are going to ensure he gets back to Hove safely over the next couple of days, after the D-Day celebrations finish," a Sussex Police spokesman said in the Sky report.

Jordan was the former mayor of Hove and when local authorities discovered his sneaky escape, they hailed the vet as a hero again."


More: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/0...sing-from-nursing-home-found-at-d-day-events/

 

[b23hqb]

British WWII vet missing from nursing home found at D-Day events in France:

"An 89-year-old British Royal Navy vet was so determined to get to D-Day commemorations in Normandy Friday that he snuck away from his nursing home without warning and boarded a bus for France. Staff members at The Pines nursing home in the town of Hove in Sussex, England called police Thursday when they discovered Bernard Jordan didn’t return from his morning walk to town. Jordan left the home wearing his war medals under a jacket and secretly boarded a bus to France, Sky News reported.

After searching for 12 hours, the home received a call from a younger veteran who had met Jordan on the bus and said he was safe. The two vets were at a hotel in Ouistreham, Normandy, where world leaders and veterans from all over the world were marking the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

"We have spoken to the veteran who called the home today and are satisfied that the pensioner is fine and that his friends are going to ensure he gets back to Hove safely over the next couple of days, after the D-Day celebrations finish," a Sussex Police spokesman said in the Sky report.

Jordan was the former mayor of Hove and when local authorities discovered his sneaky escape, they hailed the vet as a hero again."


More: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/0...sing-from-nursing-home-found-at-d-day-events/

Wonderful story. Those guys were determined to do the job 70 years ago, knowing that many would die or be maimed, and their determination to do what they want today is just as admirable. Heros all.