D-Day Vets In Their 90s Parachute Into Normandy 75 Years Later, This Time To Cheers

June 6, 2019 at 10:39 AM PDT

Speaker 1: 00:00 Speaker 2: 00:28 Speaker 1: 00:56 Speaker 3: 01:04 Speaker 4: 01:12 Speaker 3: 01:20 Speaker 4: 01:25 Speaker 3: 01:48 Speaker 4: 01:54 Speaker 3: 02:17 Speaker 4: 02:26 Speaker 3: 02:37 Speaker 4: 02:44 Speaker 3: 02:53 Speaker 4: 03:03 Speaker 3: 03:09 Speaker 4: 03:13 Speaker 3: 03:17 Speaker 4: 03:22 Speaker 3: 03:47 Speaker 4: 03:57 Speaker 5: 04:09 No, Speaker 3: 04:11 Speaker 4: 04:13 Speaker 3: 04:20 Speaker 4: 04:27 Speaker 3: 04:44 Speaker 4: 04:49 Speaker 3: 04:53 Speaker 4: 04:58 Speaker 3: 05:09 Speaker 4: 05:16 Speaker 3: 05:26 Speaker 5: 05:28 Speaker 4: 05:32 Speaker 5: 05:48 Today marks the 75th anniversary of d day when American and allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, marking a defining moment in World War II and the fight to defeat Hitler's forces. Survivors of d day are now in their nineties that includes cornetto resident and former paratrooper. Tom Reiss, who returned to France this week for a commemorative parachute jump after landing safely. He compared yesterday's jump to the one he made in 1944. That's great. Beautiful, beautiful job. Beautiful flight. Everything was perfect. Dead Rizza morning here. The dark, there was hard going. Oh No. The DVA jumped. He landed standing up for the most part. She then went down to my knees and bounced a couple times because I have so much equipment and I had a difficult time getting out of that equipment. KPBS reporter Susan Murphy spoke to Tom Rice about his d day experience in 2014 here's more of his story. Well, what is that in our steel bucket seats and a, the takeoff time was uh, 10 41. Tom Rice has vivid memories of that night. 70 years ago when he flew across the English Channel in the predawn hours of d day. I can't recall exactly how long the flight was, rather than maybe 57 minutes, 59 minutes. Only 22 years old. Rice was among the oldest of the 18 paratroopers onboard the sea. 47 military transport plane, all were part of the 101st airborne division. 501st parachute. Infantry companies see the ones avid runner and lifelong cornetto resident says he had no time during the flight to worry. He was busy assisting, has jumped master with equip miss then I moved up to the front, make sure that everybody was a alert and awake and cigarettes route. Their mission dubbed Operation Overlord was to parachuted behind enemy lines in German, occupied France near the beaches of Normandy. They were to secure bridges, roads and canals just hours before a massive sea and land invasion of 5,000 ships and nearly 140,000 American and allied troops for rice. The mission was the culmination of a year and a half of intensive training. Yeah. You know, we were 45 aircraft. Uh, you know, the of these shape I within the third one for the right in all more than 1000 planes stretched for miles across the sky from the plains open back door, rice watched enemy fire streaking up from the ground as they approached their jump location. Can we, were y'all going and pitching, trying to get out of the away from the flak and all of a candle works coming up at us. Heavy fog and enemy fire caused pilots to panic and break up their formations. Still Rice says the red light above the back door of the plane came on. That means we got five minutes ago. So we got them a lieutenant God with all funding. Oh, in the order there. Stand up and hookup. Nice was always the first jumper out of the plane. So when the green light came on, he jumped and got snagged. Yeah, my armpit and got caught in the lower left hand corner of the door. He swung himself out with a load of gear on his back that outweighed him. Uh, I normally weigh 237 pounds that night. I weighed two 76 he says he twisted, freed himself open to shoot in plunged in pitch darkness toward heavily armed Germans, miles from his intended drop zone. He made a hard landing and the fields near Utah Beach, many paratroopers died when they fell into rivers and drowns from the weight of their gear. Others were shot and killed during their dissent. By nightfall on June 6th more than 9,000 American and allied troops were dead or wounded. We were spread over 400 square miles. Only 15% of us got together for the first five are thick. Today, rice spent 37 days fighting in Normandy, living out of holes and equipped with just three days of food. He says he lost many friends and saw things. Eyes weren't meant to see. He's never forgotten. no. That stays. Yeah. His living room mantle is filled with memorabilia and awards, including a bronze star, Oak leaf cluster and Purple Hearts did the two metals that are French Department of Ancient Warriors, the gave me, he hasn't always openly shared his war stories. After retiring from the military, he got married, had five children, and was a history teacher in Chula Vista for 44 years. But his students were never aware. Their teacher was a walking history lesson. They figured out within the military, but I never called him a word about, I wasn't an airborne, not even when he taught lessons about world war two and d day. The stuff was still too heavy in [inaudible] just didn't do it. Now at 92 rice uses every opportunity to share his accounts of d day and world's war too. He knows his aging generation of d day veterans is facing, Oh, develop a lot of comradery with those guys. Have, they have a lot in common with them. Rice plans to commemorate the 70th anniversary like he does every anniversary by jumping out of an airplane this year over oh lakes in south county. Haven't done it yet. Then we're going to [inaudible] rice was among the first American troops to set foot in Norman, Normandy, young, scared and unsure. He'd survive even at a distance of seven decades. The day continues to shape his life. Susan Murphy Kpbs News [inaudible].

By KPBS Public Media

Three nonagenarians were among 200 parachutists marking the anniversary of the allied invasion of Europe, June 6, 1944. They leaped into the same fields once occupied by Nazi forces.