WW II PARATROOPERS READY TO GO AGAIN Veterans anxiously await French okay for anniversary D-Day jump

San Diego, CA June 3, 2004--To mark the 60th anniversary of D-Day on June 6, 2004, eight American World War II paratroopers, now in their 80s, are impatiently waiting for French officials to approve their planned commemorative parachute jump from 5,000 feet over Sainte-Mere-l'Eglise, Normandy.

The veterans, who range in age from 80 to 84, are members of the Return to Normandy Association (RTN), founded in 1993 to re-enact the historic landing behind German lines on the 50th anniversary of D-day in 1994. This month, eight of the 44 men who made headlines when they jumped ten years ago, are ready to go again.

In April, American and French authorities denied the paratroopers' request to jump during the official D-Day celebration in Normandy on June 6th because of concerns for their safety. Undeterred, the men secured a verbal approval from the Mayor of Sainte-Mere-l'Eglise to parachute on June 7th. The veterans, who have trained for the past two years, made a series of successful U.S. practice jumps in May. All have received medical clearances.

On May 28th, just days before their scheduled arrival in Normandy, the men learned that French officials now want written authorization from all the individual property owners in Sainte-Mere-l' Eglise, to land where 600 active paratroopers will be parachuting on June 5 to kick off the official D-Day celebration. "We planned this re-enactment of our D-Day jump for younger generations to remember our fallen friends, and in the spirit of the French-American friendship", says Rich Mandich, President of RTN. "We would be heartbroken if the French authorities deny us this last commemorative jump".

All but one of the veteran paratroopers served with the 101st Airborne Division. Their jump master, Tom Morrison, 80, a Pennsylvania advertising executive, who has made more than 9,400 jumps, was part of the 1999 team that bailed out at College Station, Texas, with former President Bush on his 75th birthday. Also among the eight: Carl Beck, 81, a retired transportation engineer from Atlanta; Bill Priest, 80, of St. Petersburg, a retired mechanical engineer and father of six; Richard Mandich, 80, a father of four and grandfather of two, who remains an active sky-diver and surfer in San Diego; Richard Falvey, 82, a retired New York railroad conductor; Richard Case, 83, a Berkeley graduate, who retired from the Army in 1962 and now lives in Las Vegas, where he is a glider pilot; and William Coleman, 80, a Florida real estate developer. RTN's Howard Greenberg, 80, a retired New York optometrist, served as a paratrooper in the Pacific theater.

On June 5th, French President Jacques Chirac will award Carl Beck and Bill Priest the Legion d'Honneur (Legion of Honor) in Paris as two of one hundred American WW II veterans the French want to pay tribute to in remembrance of D-Day. On June 11th, Prince Rainier of Monaco will host the group at his Palace in Monaco.

"These wonderful men touched the hearts of millions who saw their 50th Anniversary jump in Normandy on television ten years ago," says Dr. Bettina Experton, a French-born American doctor, founder and CEO of Humetrix, who is sponsoring the group. "These veterans send a powerful message about honor, courage and respect for their fellow men. They have met all the technical and medical requirements for their scheduled jump," adds Experton, the RTN's volunteer physician, who accompanied the veterans in 1994 and will do so again this month. "I sincerely hope that my French compatriots will have the courage and wisdom to let the men jump under the leadership of their world-class jump master Tom Morrison".

The Return to Normandy Association welcomes donations to cover the cost of its members' second commemorative D-Day jump. Expenses include travel to and from France, hotel accommodations, airplane and parachute rentals. Donations to help support these heroic Americans can be made directly to the not-for-profit RTN Association.

For more information, visit http://www.returntonormandy.org




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