Texas Republican Congressman Keith Self returned to his roots as a veteran himself — jumping out of airplanes — on Friday.
This time it was to honor the soldiers — and their families — who did it for real at Normandy, France, 80 years ago on D-Day, he told Newsmax.
Self, a former Airborne Infantry company commander, said he carried medals and a portrait of former vets for his jump as a way “to honor them.”
“Many of the old vets won’t be with us five years from now. The oldest one who came on this trip was 107. So, they’re just aging fast. I will tell you, this is to honor them,” Self told Newsmax. “This is not to have fun; this is to wear the uniforms that they wore, this is to jump out of the planes that they jumped out of, this is to jump out of [the drop zone] in Normandy, like they did all those 80 years ago.
“I’m carrying medals that were won in World War II; I’m carrying a portrait of a man that was an airborne trooper on D-Day in this pocket. So, I will give them back to the families. That was my little way of honoring their family members who were part of D-Day,” Self added.
The first-term lawmaker said in his day, he jumped out of a C-130.
“Today we jumped out of a C-47, one of the D-Day old airplanes. A different jump. Great chute, great exit, very calm weather. Obviously, the scenery with Mont Saint-Michel in the background was just great,” Self said.
“You have to make a vigorous exit” out of the C-47, Self said. “This plane is known as the ‘old thump-thump;’ because if you don’t go out strong enough, it’s the sound you make hitting the fuselage,” he joked.
“It’s been a fun day, it really has, because paratroopers are a brotherhood of arms. So, we just bond together. I bonded with the people that were on the job itself, it was so fabulous. The winds are perfect, the drop zone is perfect, the scenery is perfect.
“What a wonderful jump.”
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Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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