MORGANTOWN, W.Va.-West Virginia All Airborne chapter secretary Don Jennings brought seven fellow members to Skydive Mountaineer in Morgantown to jump from a plane alongside him for a special milestone. Four of those members have military history in common as they were all part of the 82nd Airborne.
“Some of these old buzzards like myself, this is their last go-around. Now I’m 82 years old and I was in the 82nd Airborne. I’m trying to put the two together,” said Jennings, who also said it was surprisingly easy to get his fellow members to participate.
Jennings was the first to jump, followed by his son. He says he was excited to be able to bring the group to do one of his favorite activities.
“I’m in heaven’s heaven. I always did like to jump. I made several jumps while I was in the military. I was a parachute rigger, and parachute rigging is when you pack a ‘chute, you have a man’s life in your hands,” said Jennings.
Jennings was one of the first to jump at night during his time in the military and said that the feeling never gets old.
“It’s the thrill of it, I guess you would say. Just the sensation of leaving the plane. People think we’re crazy, but it’s something we like to do,” said Jennings with a laugh.
Jennings dedicated his jump to all Airborne veterans from the West Virginia chapter who have passed away.
