U.S. Ambassador marks D-Day with parachute jump
U.S. Ambassador to France Charles H. Rivkin - Photo US Army
U.S. Ambassador to France Charles H. Rivkin with a member of the Golden Knights - Photo U.S. Army
U.S. Ambassador to France Charles H. Rivkin took part in a mass parachute jump over the coast of Normandy on Sunday to mark the 68th anniversary of the Allied invasion of mainland Europe in World War Two.
Thousands of U.S. and other Allied paratroopers began the assault on German coastal defenses with a dangerous night jump behind enemy lines early on June 6, 1944.
Following in the footsteps of Allied paratroopers who parachuted into German-occupied Normandy hours before the seaborne assault on the beaches, U.S. Ambassador to France Charles H. Rivkin made the leap despite strong winds.
France has been our ally from the start and the evidence is here in this field," Rivkin told French television after landing. Some 100 U.S., French and German paratroopers took part in the jump.