Jason Crow Commemorates D-Day With Solo Jump From World War II Era Plane
DENVER (CBS4) - A former Army Ranger-turned-United States Congressman from Colorado jumped out of an airplane to commemorate D-Day last week. Rep. Jason Crow served in the 75th Ranger and 82nd Airborne Battalions - both of which were part of the Allied invasion.
He marked the 75th anniversary of that invasion with a commemorative jump in Normandy.
"And I was just thinking about, as I was getting my parachute on, walking to plane as we were taking off that 75 years ago there were men, paratroopers, my predecessors who were doing same thing, and many never came home and just what that meant and the impact of their service and sacrifice to this country."
What a day! Honored to have the opportunity to jump into Normandy to remember the soldiers who did the same jump 75 years ago during the Allied invasion. Both of the units I served with - the 82nd Airborne & 75th Rangers - were part of D-Day. Proud to carry on their stories today pic.twitter.com/pfCzNRvNwB
— Jason Crow (@JasonCrowCO) June 9, 2019
A country bitterly divided today, but Crow says the anniversary is a time to reflect on our history of coming together.
"And that's what they did 75 years ago. There were men and women from every corner of the country, from Colorado to farms of Midwest everywhere, but they came together because they had a really important task they had to get done and they got done. And, that's an important lesson for us right now that we still have that obligation to try and find common ground and come together."
Crow made the jump with French paratroopers and a Republican congressman from Florida who is a Green Beret, as a sign of solidarity.
While he hadn't made a solo jump in 15 years, he says it all came back. He was more nervous about the World War II era plane that took him up.
"I was a little bit concerned during the takeoff, and it was an incentive for me to jump out I'll tell you that."