97-year-old World War II veteran marks D-Day anniversary by parachuting into Normandy

Tom Rice parachutes into Normandy. — (Image credit: AP Photo)

His jump in 2019 was nothing like the one he experienced in 1944.

During World War II, Tom Rice served as a paratrooper with the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division. He was one of thousands to parachute into Normandy on D-Day, which launched the liberation of occupied France and was a turning point for Allied forces. As he jumped out of the plane that day, his parachute was pierced by a bullet, and he had "the worst jump."

Now 97, the San Diego resident returned to Normandy this week to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day, joining a gathering of about 200 other parachutists. Rice decided he wanted to honor the occasion by recreating his jump from a C-47 military transport plane, landing in the same zone as in 1944. He spent about six months preparing, and on Wednesday, he jumped with a trainer, unfurling an American flag as he made his way down. "Woo hoo!" he said upon landing. "I represent a whole generation." The jump, he told The Associated Press, "went perfect. I feel great. I'd go up and do it all again." Catherine Garcia

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.