A bipartisan group of House members will mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day on Thursday by parachuting from a World War II-era plane over Normandy, France, just as Allied paratroopers did on June 6, 1944.
The 10 lawmakers – nine Republicans and one Democrat, all military veterans – plan to dress up in World War II military uniforms and jump into Normandy from a US C-47 military transport plane, which was used widely during the war.
“The fact that we’re in Normandy, the fact that we’re wearing a military uniform, the fact that we’re jumping out of a plane, that’s something we’re used to. [service]”We’re trying to go back in some ways and really think about how much sacrifice was made,” Rep. Corey Mills, R-Fla., one of the lawmakers who took part, told Fox News Digital.
“This is one of the best opportunities I’ve had since I was in Congress, to literally recreate and replay what they did in 1944,” he said. “And [what is] One of the things I really think about is how many lives we’ve lost and how lucky we as Americans really are.”
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Rep. Ronny Jackson (left) and Rep. Corey Mills pose during a parachute jump training exercise to commemorate the Normandy landings. (House of Representatives)
When asked what he was thinking as he jumped out of the plane, Mills joked, “Either this is going to be a great jump or we’re no longer in the majority.”
He also noted that the ceremony will likely be one of the last Normandy D-Day anniversaries to be attended in person by elderly veterans of that war.
Mills and his company are part of a group of lawmakers who will travel with President Biden to Normandy to mark the anniversary of what is widely considered a turning point in the European war, when Allied forces defeated Germany and its leader, Adolf Hitler’s Axis powers.
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The bipartisan group taking part in the parachute jump ceremony are all military veterans. (House of Representatives)
Colorado Democratic Rep. Jason Crow, who has participated in previous jumps with Florida Republican Rep. Mike Walz and plans to participate again this time, told Fox News Digital that it was “a real honor to be able to observe and pay tribute to our veterans in the way that we do.”
Crow, a former Army Ranger, served with the 82nd Airborne Division, like Mills, and said both units played key roles in the June 6, 1944, operation.
“It’s a real honor to actually lead the drop and pay tribute to the veterans who served in these units before me,” he said.
The Colorado Democrat said he and Walz first came up with the idea on the House floor, saying, “We’re both former paratroopers, so we thought it would be a good way to actually get involved and honor our veterans.”
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US troops disembark from landing craft on D-Day, June 6, 1944. (Imperial War Museum/AFP via Getty Images)
Another attendee, Texas Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson, told Fox News Digital, “It’s probably not the smartest thing to do at my age, but hey, I’m gonna do it.”
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“It’s really wonderful. It’s going to be one of the last Normandy D-Day anniversaries where all the veterans who were actually there at the time will come together,” Jackson said.
Other lawmakers participating are Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), Rep. Derrick Van Alden (R-Wis.), Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.), Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas), and House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.).
