GROESBEEK, Netherlands — A 98-year-old World War II veteran is closing in on a longtime dream of jumping from a plane at 100 years old.
Tom Rice, a D-Day vet, jumped in tandem with another parachutist with the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division Thursday near Groesbeek, Netherlands, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Operation Market Garden, according to news reports.
Operation Market Garden in 1944 involved both Allied air and ground troops in a nine-day offensive trying to clear the way into Nazi Germany, but after ground troops were delayed, those parachuting in were slaughtered by the Nazis. Some 11,500 lost their lives in the operation, The Associated Press reported.
The right stuff: At 98, D-Day veteran Tom Rice is edging, one jump at a time, closer to his goal of parachuting at 100. He made his latest landing in the Netherlands. https://t.co/SIaKMEHOKQ pic.twitter.com/bRGEgYXpKc
— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) September 19, 2019
Rice told the AP his jump on Thursday was "perfect."
“I’m going to do it until I’m 100,” he said.
Rice was part of the 101st Airborne Division when he first jumped during Market Garden in WWII and he was also part of the commemorative celebration last year.
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