AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - 75

Anniversary re-creation takes shape
On June 6, 1944-D-Day-more than
13,000 paratroops were dropped by
some 800 Douglas C-47s into Normandy, France. In June 2019, to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the
historic event, 300 paratroopers are
slated to jump from an anticipated 30
C-47s, including many flying from the
United States.
The World War II Airborne Demonstration Team is one of several organizations participating in the anniversary
events, sending 67 jumpers and 12
support personnel.
"It's a little overwhelming to be able
to jump where it actually happened,"
said Kat Healey. "And it will be the last
big anniversary with World War II vets
present. I want to see their faces and
shake their hands."
"To be able to go to Normandy on
the seventy-fifth means a lot because
I'll get to see and experience the place
that they jumped into-our veterans-
where they risked everything, their
lives, to save their country," Kaitlin
Harriott added. "And other countries,
for that matter."
The D-Day Squadron (http://dday
squadron.org) is raising funds to help
support the 19 C-47s and DC-3s currently slated to fly from the United States to
Europe. Daks over Normandy (www.
daksovernormandy.com) is planning
most of the aerial activities and also
seeks contributions. In addition, many
C-47 operators are seeking donations to
help defray expenses. A mass practice
jump in the United Kingdom is set for
June 4; then on June 5, a formation of
C-47s will cross the English Channel
and drop paratroopers into a 1944 drop
zone. Additional jumps will take place in
France from June 6 through 9.
Several of the D-Day C-47s plan to
participate in the AOPA Fly-In May 10
and 11 in Frederick, Maryland.

amazing guys and gals," he said. "The mission statement is a great one: 'Remember,
honor, serve.'" Ouellette said the airport was built during World War II for multiengine
training, using Cessna AT-17 Bobcats.
ADT even has its own chaplain. Robert "Padre" Starr, 71, of Racine, Wisconsin,
became a deacon in the Catholic church in 2003 and first visited ADT in 2012. "It's
helped me to grow in an ecumenical community, and bring out the spiritual basis," he
said. "It's a great place. The camaraderie is wonderful."
Raymond Steely of Chandler, Oklahoma, had retired from the U.S. Army as a colonel after serving 38 years in Special Forces when a friend asked if he would like to
again jump from a military aircraft, using a military parachute. Steely hadn't jumped
in 18 years. "It was so exciting, so exhilarating to step out of that World War II aircraft,
in the footsteps of so many World War II veterans-and some that didn't come home,"
he said. "It was awe-inspiring."
That was 10 years ago. Today he's ADT's chief of staff, coordinating operations
and adherence to ADT's mission: to remember those who fought and died to preserve
America's freedom; to honor the memory of those who gave their lives, as well as those
who survived; and to serve by entertaining and informing the public of the sacrifices
made by America's warriors.
Why? For veterans like the late Bobby Hunter. In 2009 Hunter accompanied ADT
to Europe for the sixty-fifth anniversary of D-Day and Operation Market Garden and on
a battlefield he would pause, look around, then slowly walk again. Finally he stopped,
then said, "That's it. That was my foxhole." He vividly described the first enemy soldiers
he shot, Steely recalled. "[His son] Robert leaned over to me and said, 'Dad's never told
me that.' So many of these stories, that they could share with us, die with them." AOPA
EMAIL mike.collins@aopa.org

ADT has been based at its World War II-era facility in Frederick, Oklahoma, since 2005. Jump schools are
held each April, July, and October. For more information about the organization, visit the website (https://
wwiiadt.org/).

World War II paratrooper Dan McBride, who served in the 101st Airborne Division,
answers the questions of public school students visiting the Airborne Demonstration
Team's Frederick, Oklahoma, facility during jump school.
www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 75

http://www.wwiiadt.org/ http://www.wwiiadt.org/ http://ddaysquadron.org http://ddaysquadron.org http://www.daksovernormandy.com http://www.daksovernormandy.com http://www.aopa.org/pilot

AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2019

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