Congressman Crow Makes Parachute Jump at Normandy to Honor D-Day US Servicemembers
Crow: “...America is at its best when we put aside self-interest and do great things for the betterment of our country…”
View Footage of Rep. Crow's Normandy Jump Here
NORMANDY — Today, Congressman Jason Crow (D-CO-06), Army combat veteran who served in the 82nd Airborne Division and 75th Ranger Regiment, parachuted out of a WWII-era C-47 propeller plane in honor of servicemembers who made that same jump behind enemy lines 80 years ago on D-Day. Both of Crow’s units were instrumental during the D-Day invasion.
Congressman Crow was joined by a bipartisan delegation of veterans in Congress including Representatives Mike Waltz (R-FL-06), Derrick Van Orden (R-WI-03), Mark Green (R-TN-07), Keith Self (R-TX-03), Rich McCormick (R-GA-06), Ronny Jackson (R-TX-13), Cory Mills (R-FL-07), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX-02), and Darrell Issa (R-CA-48) to honor US and Allied forces who defended our freedoms at home and abroad.
“In the Army, I served in the 82nd Airborne Division and 75th Ranger Regiment, both of which were instrumental in the Normandy invasion 80 years ago,” said Congressman Crow. “I made the jump to honor those veterans. America is at its best when we put aside self-interest and do great things for the betterment of our country, just like those units and the Greatest Generation did decades ago.”
Rep. Crow prepares to re-enact the D-Day parachute jump over Normandy
Photo courtesy of the Office of Congressman Jason Crow
Rep. Crow lands safely at Normandy
Photo courtesy of the Office of Congressman Jason Crow
In Normandy, Crow attended remembrance ceremonies alongside President Joe Biden, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08), Majority Leader Steve Scalise, 41 WWII veterans and their families, active duty servicemembers, government and military officials and foreign dignitaries.
Crow also visited the Normandy American Cemetery at Coleville-sur-Mer to pay tribute to US troops at their final resting place in France. The site contains the graves of 9,387 American War Dead, most of whom died during the landings on D-Day and ensuing operations.
Rep. Crow at the Normandy American Cemetery
Photo courtesy of the Office of Congressman Jason Crow
On June 6, 1944, nearly 160,000 Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France in history’s largest armada ever assembled, ultimately leading to the end of Hitler’s Nazi Germany and occupation in Europe. Of the over 4,400 Allied troops killed on the first day of the invasion, more than 2,500 were American.
Rep. Crow with COL Todd Stansbury and MAJ Michael Frank, Colorado Army National Guard Blackhawk pilots of the 2-135th Aviation Regiment.
Photo courtesy of the Office of Congressman Jason Crow
In 2019, Congressman Crow honored servicemembers for the 75th anniversary of D-Day with a solo jump at Normandy with bipartisan veterans in Congress.
Crow continues fighting with the For Country Caucus, a bipartisan group of veterans, to honor those who fought for us, including helping establish the Global War on Terrorism Memorial on the National Mall to erect a permanent tribute to GWOT veterans’ courage and sacrifice.