Photo By Spc. Stephanie Madrid | Canadian army Maj. Charles Gaudreau, left, Canadian Maj. Timothy Dwyer, center, and...... read more read more
Subscribe
FORT BRAGG, N.C. – Toys and parachutes make a great combination, especially this time of year.
Thousands of toys and hundreds of allied and American paratroopers come to Fort Bragg each year for the Randy Oler Memorial Operation Toy Drop, now in its 18th year.
What makes this charity event so unique is the fact that it is also an airborne operation that combines valuable training and the holiday spirit of giving.
The toys collected are donated to area Families and their children throughout the Sand Hills of North Carolina.
“I am very appreciative to be a part of something that makes a difference in the community,” said Staff Sgt. Phillip Moore, a Fort Bragg paratrooper whose uncle was also a paratrooper in World War II.
Today’s event was Moore’s 100th parachute jump.
This is not just a one-day spectacular it is a two-week event.
The Nijmegen landing zone was flooded with many faces and different types of service uniforms at this unique event. Soldiers from Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, and the United States participated in the jump.
Maj. Charles Gaudreau, with the Canadian army, heard about the event from one his fellow Canadians stationed here at Fort Bragg.
“This was my first toy drop and I enjoyed it immensely,” Gaudreau said. “I hope to be able to do it again it just depends on where my career takes me.”
He said his jump today was “smooth and one of the best.”
This isn’t an event just for troops from all over the world to come together to jump but it is also for the community to come together during the holidays.
| Date Taken: | 12.03.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 12.03.2015 22:33 |
| Story ID: | 183433 |
| Location: | FAYETTEVILLE, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 112 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Smoothing sailing, by SPC Stephanie Madrid, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT