WWII 60th ANNIVERSARY 2004
The year 2004 was marked by being the 60th year following many of
the major campaigns of World War Two and as such, would see a number of key
events take place to celebrate these occasions. With events being planned
throughout the world, it would present a great opportunity for the World War II
Airborne Demonstration Team to highlight the actions of the Airborne Infantry in
its own unique and special way. Some two years in the planning, the Team’s cadre
embarked on an ambitious plan to honor and remember the veterans who took part,
and the soldiers who gave their lives, so that we can enjoy the freedom we do
today.
Founded in 1998 by retired Army Special Forces Sergeant Richard Wolf, the World
War II Airborne Demonstration Team has grown to include members throughout the
United States, as well as members from allied European nations, that also wish
to pay homage to those that liberated their countries so long ago. Jumpers come
from all walks of life including many reserve and retired military personnel.
The one common thread is a desire to say thank you to surviving WWII veterans
and to tell the veterans heroic story to coming generations. Jumpers as well as
all WWII Airborne Demonstration Team members are unpaid volunteers and are part
of a not-for-profit charitable foundation. Each is a graduate of either the US
Army military parachutist course at Fort Benning, Georgia or they have completed
a rigorous fifty-hour WWII ADT ground school and necessary number of qualifying
jumps.
In 2002, the Team embarked on a plan to take as many airborne veterans as could
be afforded, together with the team, to Normandy and participate in the 60th
Anniversary celebrations. To honour the airborne veterans and give the citizens
of the area and visitors the opportunity to get a feel for what it was really
like, the Team planned to make a single parachute jump at La Fière drop zone
outside Sainte Mere Eglise. They would also escort the aging veterans around the
area and take them to official commemoration events as well as back to the
battlefields they left 60 years before. Given the size and the complexity of the
task involved, it was daunting but as time moved on, what started out as a
single opportunity in France, evolved into a major European venture,
incorporating the three principal airborne European campaigns of 1944, Operation
Overlord in Normandy, Operation Market Garden in The Netherlands and The Battle
of the Bulge in Belgium.
At times a less dedicated group would have given up, but the desire to complete
the task in hand was strong. Encouraged by the support given by its members, the
officials and citizens of the towns involved, the US Military, US Embassies,
sponsors and most of all the veterans and their supporting organizations, the
World War II Airborne Demonstration Team made it happen. What follows is a brief
outline of the events and while it cannot convey the emotion and joy of those
who took part and those who watched, it serves as a reminder of the sacrifice
that was made in 1944.
Airborne!
