Watch Miss Montana Drop Smokejumpers Over Normandy
Yesterday marked the 77th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy. The largest land invasion in human history. A day when American soldiers showed the world what America was all about. Strength, determination and that "can do spirit."
According to Wikipedia
German casualties on D-Day have been estimated at 4,000 to 9,000 men. Allied casualties were documented for at least 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead.
Some of those brave soldiers survived and returned home after the war. During the 75th anniversary of D-Day back in 2019, Greg Gianforte honored Montanans that fought on the historic day.
According to MTN News, the soldiers honored were
Corky Apple of Lewistown went on to earn five Bronze Stars and the French Legion of Honor for fighting to liberate France from Nazi occupation.
John Nelson of Lolo and Bud Olsen of Choteau helped liberate concentration camps.
And as a jumper for the 101st Airborne, Ed Siefert of Polson jumped into Nazi-occupied Holland during the Battle of the Bulge.
Another Montana veteran was honored during the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy. And Missoula was part of the presentation. The Miss Montana C-47 made the flight from western Montana to Normandy, France. Even Montana smokejumpers were part of the whole experience. The Miss Montana was also part of the invasion, and was recently renovated to it's original glory. The renovation was finished just in time for the trip to from Missoula to Europe. Watch as the Miss Montana drops soldiers over France.