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Charly Triballeau / AFP - Getty Images
U.S. Ambassador to France, Charles Rivkin (C) stands after jumping over Sainte-Mere-Eglise, Normandy, western France, on Sunday, during the ceremonies of the the D-Day's 66th anniversary.
U.S. Ambassador to France Charles 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.
Rivkin, 60, posted a picture of himself in flight on Twitter, along with the comment: "Proud to be the first US Ambassador to France to jump out of an airplane in honor of our troops."
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.
US Army photo via Twitter feed @AmbRivkin
US Ambassador to France, Charles Rivkin, making his parachute jump over Normandy on Sunday, according to his official Twitter feed.
Following in the footsteps of Allied paratroopers who parachuted into German-occupied Normandy hours before the seaborne assault on the beaches, Rivkin made the leap despite strong winds which resulted in light injuries to six fellow jumpers, France 3 television reported. Two of the jumpers ended up in trees, France's English-language newspaper The Connexion reported.
U.S., French and German paratroopers took part in the jump, Reuters reported.
"France has been our ally from the start and the evidence is here in this field," Rivkin told TF1 television after landing.
It was Rivkin's first jump, The Connexion reported. The event had been planned for 450 parachutists to take part but high-winds meant that number was cut to 150, the newspaper added.
Rivkin, the son of an ambassador himself, is the former president of The Jim Henson Company, makers of The Muppets, according to the U.S. Embassy in France.
Msnbc.com staff and Reuters contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
"...makers of the Muppets."
That's why he jumped with a muppeteer.
Now can he do that with an 80lb pack and a BAR under fire at night like my uncle John did?
The "Muppet Master" rehearses for the live remake of "The Great Muppet Caper". When Muppets jump from planes where does the Puppeteer put his hand? (Yes, I know it's all done with sticks)
TY for the brave move Ambassador, hopefully the rest of the tributes go off as smoothly. The troops that landed there deserve your praise for all they did. Coming this close on the tail of Memorial Day; Yes, WE STILL REMEMBER.
Americans saved the world from invaders......now who will save Americans from the same fate?
Americans need someone to save us from our Politicians.....
"We have met the enemy, and they are us." ---Pogo
Americans need to save ourselves from a government that wants to control our every move.
Is this the paratroopers landing in arrogant Germany?
I was wondering where the swine are??
Oh... Jonjojon... It is Germ'ny...
What a special place to hold such wonderful jokes.
Maybe something good could ever, ever, ever, come from this..............
Or maybe not.......
No dum dum. Another child left behind. These are the Americans who jumped into Normandy ( that is in France). They later jumped into Holland where my uncle was wounded. Then they fought the battle of the bulge. They jumped across the Rhine to get behind the enemy into Germany. And then they liberated Auschwicz the Nazi death camp.
The muppets were harmless though.... Not to worry.
let us not forget the sacrifices of the true heroes of that day.
Thank you Michael.. Somebody who remembers, not to forget..
Swine will always be the swine we never forget..
Shame!
So this State Department suit goes out of the aircraft as somebody else's cargo bundle. (See photo.)
Big deal.
Like I said he should try it with the 80lb pack and BAR like my uncle did D-Day.
It would have been a lot cooler if he would have been in a M-41 paratroop uniform. WWII magazine has adds where they do this on a regular tour schedule. Bucket list #3. GERONIMOooooooooo!
Why did German paratroopers participate in the jump? They should have been home hanging their heads in shame for allowing and helping Hitler start WWII.
My sentiments exactly. Shouldn't the German reenactors have been on the ground picking off the guys stuck in trees with paint balls? I know we're all "friends" now, but this is BS. Allies only; Germans back off.
Otter-549674 and I Love My Cats: How long does the German people have to live in shame over what there ancestors did? Most Germans now days were not alive when this happened and the ones who were are meeting there maker and god will judge them for what they have done.
As Americans we don't hold our heads in shame over what we did the the Native Americans.
Me being part Native American, I don't feel anything for what people of the past did to others. That's why its called the past. You cant change it, but you can try not to make the same mistakes.
Leatherneck -- we can't ignore the past either. I do get your point, and I agree with it mostly. I feel a special tinge about WWII, however, that makes me unable to see the other guy's side...I'll try to get over it.
"ignore the past either." I never said that. I said "You cant change it, but you can try not to make the same mistakes."
If we use history to discover who the REAL enemies of the United States are it would be the people "south of the border" who have never apologized for any wrongdoings committed against Americans.
Leatherneck - I was trying to offer an olive branch but apparently you didn't get that, plus I was paraphrasing or approximating sentiments and not quoting. Sorry I didn't dot every i and cross every t. Your wife must have a hell of a time with you.
Well dont know what else to say, I was responding to your own words in your reply:
Leatherneck -- we can't ignore the past either.
So it sound as if you miss understood what I said. So I said it again:
"ignore the past either." I never said that. I said "You cant change it, but you can try not to make the same mistakes."
Dum dum any German old enough to have helped Hitler would be 80 to 90 years old now. I doubt there were any WWII german parateoopers there.
Good men were killed helping to defend this wonderfull country, just as the French came to our aid!
Was this on our dime? Oh yeah, go France our fair weather "friend".
The last time the French came to our aid was at the battle of Yorktown.
Since he went tandem with the "Golden Knights" he only gets a half a star. The anniversary will always be a big deal, but their are still people in France which would like to forget what the US and allies did to help them out. The feelings are not like that in other countries in Western Europe. After Germany took over France before we entered WWII they were actually our enemy. When we landed in North Africa in 1942 the first troops we faced were French. Maybe that is what they want to forget?
I think this is great way to remind us of the sacrifices of the United States Troops made during WW2. Entering the war,D-Day was a huge turning point in a war that had been going on for 5 years already. The valiant men were dropped into a massive stew of German soldiers that at this point thought they were invincible. France was ruled (without much complaint) by Germany at this point.
Like "Joel" says he jumped a tandem jump which is sort of like an amusement park ride. At least he was with a "golden knight" -one of the best.
Nice gesture, well done.
"....Rivkin made the leap despite strong winds which resulted in light injuries to six fellow jumpers, France 3 television reported. Two of the jumpers ended up in trees..." Lots of our guys wound up in the trees - some with broken bones. They had to cut their way out/down or be shot while hanging there - many of them did and many of them were.
My fine countrymen....let's keep this in perspective as to the conditions, the times, the events, the tools and equipment we had back then. The rest of you arm-chair quarterbacks can shut your yaps.
Good for you Ambassador to France Charles Rivkin - you get my atta boy for giving it your best.
To our boys who were there - God. Bless. You. AND A DAMN BIG THANK YOU XOXO
Our paratroopers on D-Day were so scattered by the jump some of them were off the maps they were issued.They just started the war from wherever they were. Want an idea of what it was like read the book Four Stars in Hell.
My father landed on Omaha Beach in the first wave as a platoon commander in the 29th division. He was shot twice and continued on up to the top of the hills at Veirville Sur Mer despite this. Any gesture, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, is a welcome THANK YOU to all of them. We went to Normandy to retrace his footsteps 10 years ago and EVERY Frenchman we met thanked me for my father's service and sacrifices to save them. All of you naysayers sitting behind your key boards with no ties to this whatsoever should just nod your heads and say a silent thank you.
@Jim - a hearty thank you to your Father - wow! Grand and again - my sincerest heartfelt thanks!
@Jim -- Your dad helped save the world. I don't just nod my head; I bow it to the ground.
The rest of you arm-chair quarterbacks can shut your yaps.
Nice comment...on a day celebrated because we threw off a yoke of tyranny who didn't like the idea of free speech...you are telling people to shut their yaps because you don't like what they are saying...kind of ironic don't ya think?
Rockyfortune...nope, not at all - it was a nice comment - key is to quit bitchin and just appreciate what the men did then and what this man did now. Bottomline - you know exactly what I meant so don't attempt to twist my words or meaning.
As a Blue Star Mother and DAR - alway love that so many posts have just gotta jab i.e. German Swine, tandem jump yuk-yuk. Let's just do/write what Michael and Jim wrote - let's appreciate what the men of WWII did that day and appreciate what the Ambassador did. Wouldn't that be novel...even for Newsvine.
and another one telling everyone else to shut up...i think your dad would not be proud of your comment jimbo---he fought for everyone's rights to say what they feel..not just yours.
He was lucky the Germans were not reenacting their part of the D-Day
Not luck. It was part of the plan.
I think this guy needs a history lesson....D-Day was June 6, 1944....The dude is a couple days early....The gesture is fantastic as we can never repay those guys for what they did for us that day but they could have at least made the jump on the right day....Once again...D-Day was June 6, 1944....first troops hit the beach about 6:15 am
well airborne troops jumped around 4am i think. but thank you all d-day vets for saving the world and protecting our freedom.
I also want to note that the idiot that wrote the caption on the photo got it wrong too...Once again...June 6, 1944 which was 68 years ago not 66....it is frightening that these idiots can't get the most important day of the 20th century correct...I can tell these morons flunked history...
Perhaps a night jump would have added to the realism. Several hours before 6:15 am.
AmbASSador makes parachute jump!!!!####!!! So what?