WATCH: 93-Year-Old WWII Vet Jim ‘Pee Wee’ Martin Jumps Into Normandy To Mark 70th Anniversary
Earlier this week, we
reported on 93-year-old WWII vet Jim “Pee Wee” Martin’s plans to jump into Normandy the same way he did 70 years ago. The D-Day veteran, who served with the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, went for it and took the leap again on Friday.
http://www.ijreview.com/2014/06/145103-w...-normandy/
My best friend's dad was in the 94th Infantry Division, and participated in the D-Day invasion. He passed away 10 years ago this past February. I used to love to talk to him about his time in WWII. He was wounded in the invasion, but continued to fight despite having his shoulder shot to heck during the invasion. He had some great stories about his time in France.
My friend went with his father to the 50th anniversary celebration at Normandy. He wanted to share that experience with his dad, so he traveled to France. When he came back, the one thing that struck him was that in all the depictions he'd seen of the invasion, they never really did it true justice in showing just how steep the climb was from the beach, and just how little beach they had to work with as Germans were raining bullets down upon them. HIs dad was somewhat fortunate in the fact that when his unit came ashore during the invasion, they were actually deployed to a breach that had occurred, so they had at least some opportunity to find cover. Even then, he said it was just a luck of the draw that he made it out alive.
To see this guy, who would be the same age as my friend's father, take a jump out of an airplane at 93 is just incredible, but it's a testimony to the quality of individuals there were who fought in WWII. If you watch the video, listen to what he has to say about how humbled he is, and how he was just there to do what was right. Those guys faced almost certain death, but they didn't flinch.
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To see this guy, who would be the same age as my friend's father, take a jump out of an airplane at 93 is just incredible, but it's a testimony to the quality of individuals there were who fought in WWII. If you watch the video, listen to what he has to say about how humbled he is, and how he was just there to do what was right. Those guys faced almost certain death, but they didn't flinch.
That's what makes them The Greatest Generation.