For years he feared that the French would not have forgiven him for the devastation he caused in the war. Seventy-five years after the Normandy Landings, 97-year-old Tom Rice today repeated the parachute jump he had made on June 6, 1944, to the applause of the crowd.
"Nice flight, nice jump, everything was perfect," said the former paratrooper of the US Army's 101st Airborne Division as he landed in a field north of the community of Carendan. The veteran, with his parachute in the colors of the American flag, wearing his unit's helmet and dark sunglasses, made the victory sign as he saluted the assembled crowd of enthusiastic onlookers.
Exactly 75 years ago, at the age of 22, Rice boarded a Douglas C-47 in England. In the middle of the night, he jumped with 9,000 other men over Cotentin in Normandy. As he was carrying a load weighing 50 kg, and carried away by the speed of the aircraft, he hung for a few minutes from the cabin, but finally managed to make the jump, although he was injured.
The division's objective was to secure the roads around Carendan, a town between Utah and Omaha Beaches, where thousands of Allied troops were to land at dawn. With his companions, Tom Rice had to take up a position at Barquet's weir, in the Canal de Carredan.
And they succeeded
Since that day, the young man who later became a history teacher has made around 60 parachute drops and for the past six years has been jumping every June to commemorate D-Day. "He's doing it for all those who sacrificed in World War II and will continue as long as he can," said his wife, Brenda, who watched his final jump.
In 1994 Rice had parachuted again in Normandy, for the 50th anniversary of the D-Day. But he was always afraid of how the French would react to his presence in the country.
"The people of Caredan have never forgiven us for the destruction of the city and the death of their relatives", he wrote in 2004 in his book "Trial by Combat". "We did a lot of damage, people were killed, there was damage from the artillery, broken windows," he also said in an interview he gave to AFP.
Last year, the mayor of Carrédan, Jean-Pierre Launer, received him in Normandy and then wrote to assure him that all had been forgiven for many years. "All veterans say this:'we destroyed your country.' They are surprised when we welcome them with open arms", Lohner commented.
"I would never have believed that there would be such a crowd today. It's unbelievable," said a truly amazed Rice. “The French are so kind to us and so good. To most, we are like family," he continued. And, when asked if he would skydive again, the 97-year-old didn't hesitate at all:"I'll do it again tomorrow!"
SOURCE:APE-ME