By Josh Christenson
Geronimo!
Nine members of the House of Representatives, all military veterans, did their best impression of the Screaming Eagles Friday, recreating the daring parachute jump by US troops into Normandy, France to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.
Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), a Bronze Star-decorated Green Beret, organize the effort and was joined by Reps. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), Keith Self (R-Texas), Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Rich McCormick (R-Ga.), Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), Mark Green (R-Tenn.), Cory Mills (R-Fla.) and Jason Crow (D-Colo.).
All nine are former members of the Army, Navy or Marine Corps.
The House members looked the part, too, dressing up in khaki World War II uniforms, bearing patches of the 101st and 82nd Airborne divisions, standard-issue paratrooper helmets and boots of the same period before lining up to board a vintage C-47 transport plane for the drop.
“Speaker Johnson saying extra prayers for our parachute riggers as 8 GOP House members jump for Normandy 80th!” Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) posted on X before the lawmakers went airborne.
An aide to Waltz later shared GoPro footage of the jump, with the Florida Republican shouting “Airborne!” as he plunged out of the plane.
The congressional delegation took in the view — including a sighting of the island of Mont Saint-Michel — as they floated down.
“Hell of a jump,” Waltz said after touching down. “Honoring our forefathers. Heroes. The Greatest Generation. My honor as a member of Congress and veteran Green Beret to be able to do this. Just incredible.”
The last surviving vets of the D-Day invasion visited the beaches in northern France with the lawmakers this week and gathered at Omaha and Utah Beaches to honor their fellow soldiers who were fell on the morning of June 6, 1944.
The lawmakers’ re-enactment was an important point of solidarity for the 118th Congress — especially in the narrowly divided House which saw the first-ever ouster of a speaker and has been marked by infighting in both parties.
Those disagreements have often centered on the role of the US in foreign affairs — including a $95 billion military aid package that passed despite bipartisan opposition to fund the ongoing war efforts of Ukraine against Russia and Israel against Hamas.
Issa, one of the lawmaker-veterans who voted for that package, told ABC News before the jump that he hopes the anniversary will remind US lawmakers not to “delay in pushing back tyranny” — echoing remarks by President Biden on Thursday.
“Making the same jump those units did 80 years ago is an important way to honor those veterans and remember that America is at its best when we put aside self-interest,” Crow, who served in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and 75th Ranger Regiment, also told the outlet, “and do great things for the betterment of our country, just like the Greatest Generation did decades ago.”
GOP leadership has expressed concern about daredevil members of the conference putting their 218-213 majority in jeopardy with risky antics out of session, the Wall Street Journal reported in April.
Waltz told ABC he had assured House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) that while their military garb was “vintage” all of “the parachutes are new.”
“Don’t worry,” the Floridian said he told Johnson, “We’ll be fine.”