FORT BRAGG, N.C. - Forty Airmen from the 18th Air Support Operations Group commemorated the 70th anniversary of D-Day by parachuting onto Fort Bragg’s Normandy Drop Zone from C-130 Hercules aircraft on June 6.
Tactical air control party and battlefield weather Airmen jumped with over 300 paratroopers from the 27th Engineer Battalion (C) (A) and 82nd Sustainment Brigade commemorating the paratroopers who jumped into France on June 6, 1944, to begin the push into Europe to defeat the German army during World War II.
“Participating in this really gives me a sense of pride in paying tribute to the brave men that took part in Operation Overlord,” said Master Sgt. Troy Misiak, 18th Weather Squadron. “The sacrifices and hardships these men endured in comparison to modern warfare were truly astonishing. The World War II veterans were away from home up to three years without the modern communication comforts we now possess. The intense warfare these men experienced coupled with the disconnection from loved ones and their lives exhibits the true nature of why this group of Americans earned the name of the Greatest Generation,” he said.
The Fort Bragg soldiers and airmen who participated in the jump received a D-Day operation history presentation and watched a video before loading onto aircraft and jumping onto Fort Bragg’s Normandy Drop Zone. All the jumpmaster and safety duties during the Air Force’s commemorative jump were performed by Airmen with jumping safeties just as it was conducted on D-Day.