PHOTOS: U.S. commemorates D-Day anniversary with largest airborne operation since WWII
Over 900 military paratroopers and 110 civilian parachutists from seven countries, including the United States, commemorated the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion with the second largest airborne operation since WWII outside Normandy.
The commemorative airborne operation provided a chance for the multinational force to honor their past by jumping into the same location the liberation of France began, the Iron Mike Drop Zone, in Saint-Mere-Eglise, France. And for many who made the jump, that history made the day a very emotional one.
“It’s incredibly overwhelming,” U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Heath Jr. said. “As you know, everyone is jumping here today to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of France and Normandy. Ever since I was a kid I wanted to be a paratrooper. I was always studying and reading about World War II and the fact I’m jumping here today is absolutely mindblowing.”
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After the last paratrooper dropped, the annual Iron Mike Ceremony took place to honor the 254 U.S. soldiers who gave their lives and 525 who were wounded during the Battle for La Fiere Bridgehead during fighting between June 6 - 9, 1944.
Along with 780 paratroopers from the United States, 120 were from France, 60 from the Netherlands, 57 from the United Kingdom, 55 from Germany, 53 from Belgium, and 20 from Romania.
