Passing the Torch Part 2

Photo By 1st Sgt. Daniel Wallace | Spc. Christopher Smith, an infantry paratrooper with 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, reads the inscription on a wall at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial on June 7, 2018 at Colleville-sur-Mer, France. Smith was selected to serve as a representative for the 82nd Airborne Division during the 74th D-Day Commemoration.  

FRANCE

06.07.2018

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Wallace 

82nd Airborne Division

It’s like a heavy undertow.
Once in it’s grasp, it’s hard to escape.
Maybe that’s because there is a bond, better yet a brotherhood that is forged when people jump out of an aircraft together.
Then again, sometimes Soldiers want to be part of something more or to come from a storied division. A division that helped change the course of history on June 6, 1944 and saw some of the bravest warriors of the greatest generation there’s ever been.
Sometimes a young paratrooper gets the opportunity of a lifetime and is chosen to walk the same grounds where those heroes and legends were born.
When first told that he would be going to the 74th D-Day Normandy commemoration, Spc. Christopher Smith, an infantry paratrooper with 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, thought his platoon sergeant was talking about the drop zone on Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
“I just kind of laughed and said, ‘so I’m jumping,’” said Smith. “My platoon sergeant said, ‘no, France,” and I was like ‘no way.’”
Having only been in the division for two years, once the reality of this monumental opportunity sank in, Smith felt proud of being selected to represent the division and airborne community on the prestigious mission.
“It’s such an honor to see the heritage of our fore fathers from the division,” said Smith, a West Jordan, Utah native. “To see what they had to go through to help enable the United States to win World War II.”
Stepping off the plane in Paris, France on May 27, 2018, Smith said he couldn’t believe he was really here.
“Aside from Afghanistan this is the only other country I’ve ever traveled to,” said Smith. “It’s surreal”
While in Normandy, Smith and more than 50 paratroopers represented the division in ceremonies and events, but for him it’s been more than work, it’s been a deeper education.
“I knew a lot about World War II, but my understanding of what the they went through has increased so much,” said Smith. “Hearing and seeing everything, it’s really just super human the stuff that they accomplished.”
“I’m just incredibly proud to be here, where they were,” he added.
Part of coming to Normandy as a paratrooper is getting to jump into La Fiere Field, which many seasoned paratroopers consider the Holy Grail of jumps.
Smith described his experience as chilling.
“You know exactly where you are as soon as you exit the plane,” said Smith. “You look down and you see thousands of French, Europeans and Americans watching the jump happen.”
“Just fact that they greatly appreciate and have not forgotten what the United States did for them, it gave me a much greater appreciation of the gratitude that they have for us,” Smith added.
Making the jump even better is the fact that Smith jumped from a German aircraft, with German jump masters, while using a German Army parachute.
“They jump the T-10 (parachute) and its something we used to use, so it’s something we’ve heard about from guys who’ve been around longer,” said Smith. “Also, it’s very interesting to see the different procedures that different countries use.”
Now that everything is over and Smith heads back to Bragg, but what does he do with this experience?
“My outlook, on the Army and the 82nd (Airborne Division) especially, has changed,” said Smith. “We’ve done a good job about making people aware of the history, but now that I’ve been here and I’ve seen it, I have a much greater appreciation. I am not, by any means, going to take for granted, what the 82nd was able to accomplish.”
I have a much greater pride to be here in this unit,” he added.
Though he personally takes this experience back with him, Smith will do what any good leader does, use it to better his paratroopers and those around him.
“It’s going to be important because of what I’ve seen and what I’ve been able to do,” said Smith. “Even though they may not get the same chance as me, I’m going to pass along the pride and history I’ve been able to experience here. To instill that in them.”

• Date Taken: 06.07.2018
• Date Posted: 06.07.2018 15:46
• Story ID: 280019
• Location: FR
• Hometown: WEST JORDAN, UT, US