Courtesy Photo | John Hinnant, an executive officer to the Deputy to the Commander of the Joint...... read more read more
Many of the parachute jumps John Hinnant has taken have been under the cover of darkness while he was a member of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne). The unit’s nickname is “Night Stalkers.”
Hinnant is now an executive officer to the Deputy to the Commander of the Joint Munitions Command.
After dedicating 29.5 years to serving our country and being unable to discuss the specifics of most of his jumps, Hinnant can share stories about jumps he made outside of his Army duties.
Hinnant’s 115th jump took place June 2, and he landed in Normandy, France, as part of commemorative events surrounding the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
“I planned to jump on June 1 in England and June 2, a cross-channel flight from England and jump into Normandy. The June 1 jump was cancelled because of weather - the winds were too high,” said Hinnant, who slept on a cardboard box inside a hangar at North Weald Airfield in Essex, England, before strapping on his parachute in Europe. “There are usually small commemorative jumps occurring every year, but this year was really the biggest year because it’s basically the last year we’re going to have World War II veterans participating in a major milestone.
“Being in that hanger and sleeping on that floor is exactly what troops were doing back then. We flew the exact same routes they flew and, in a C-47 aircraft that flew during that timeframe,” Hinnant added. “The only difference was it was daytime, we weren’t getting shot at, and we had newer parachutes.”
D-Day occurred on June 6, 1944, and was a crucial World War II operation. It was the largest seaborne invasion in history, and involved more than 156,000 troops from the U.S., U.K., Canada, and other Allied nations. The assault on the German-occupied French coastline initiated the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control and led to the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany.
“My wife’s maternal grandfather jumped into Sicily and Holland in 1944, so the family history played into why I wanted to jump,” said Hinnant, who has been an Army Civilian for six years. “I found out about the jump into Normandy from a friend who I’ve known for 35 years, and he told me about it last May during a reunion for the 160th. I was semi-interested, but my wife was more interested than me, as I was kind of reluctant as I didn’t want to get injured.
“The emotional part was once I landed in Normandy. I landed on the same drop zone as the Soldiers did in 1944, so there’s not a lot of words to describe the feeling of being in the same place where so many men died and fought for their lives” Hinnant added. “We were a part of history. It was just awesome, and I’d love to be able to go back and jump during the 100th anniversary. I’ll be a young 74-year-old continuing doing what I enjoy most.”
‘All about the fun’
Hinnant participated in the Normandy jump as part of the Round Canopy Parachuting Team-USA, which “performs round canopy commemorative airborne demonstrations to increase awareness and educate the public about the sacrifices and heroism of Allied Paratroopers from WWII onward,” according to the organization’s website.
RCPT-USA takes part in events — such as the D-Day festivities — across the country and internationally in partnership with its European chapters.
“It’s an international organization but we have a U.S. portion of it,” Hinnant said. “The French, English, and the Dutch chapters of the organization coordinated everything for this event.
“The way RCPT runs the jump process is very safe,” Hinnant added. “They use the SF-10 Alpha parachutes. They are military surplus chutes that have been inspected to make sure they’re still serviceable, and the chutes that they use are the same exact ones I had when I was in the Army. Nothing was new to me besides the fact I wasn’t wearing a uniform, and I had a beard. Other than that, it was like I was back in the military.”
In preparation for his trip to Europe, Hinnant went to Palatka, Florida, which is where RCPT-USA’s headquarters are located, and he refreshed his jumping abilities. In March, Hinnant went back to get jump-master certified.
“It’s all about the fun,” Hinnant said. “RCPT has the motto ‘it’s more than just a jump,’ so it’s not just the function of jumping but also bringing people together – former military members – and back into the fold. It’s about the teamwork and camaraderie.
“They actually save lives by doing this,” Hinnant added. “There are some Veterans in some cases who are on the verge of committing suicide, and RCPT is a way for a lot of Veterans to connect back into something that they enjoyed while they were in uniform.”
| Date Taken: | 07.09.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.09.2024 08:21 |
| Story ID: | 475739 |
| Location: | ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 31 |
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