Sondra Hernandez Staff writer June 2, 2024

Conroe native Austin Smith could think of no better tribute on the 80th anniversary of D-Day June 6 than to take the same leap of faith those soldiers took on that historic day. 

A thrill seeker and World War II history enthusiast Smith, 38, will make three jumps out of a vintage plane at Normandy with the WWII Airborne Demonstration Team as a part of D-Day 80th anniversary observations in France in early June. 

The D-Day operation of June 6, 1944, brought together the land, air and sea forces of the allied armies in what became known as the largest amphibious invasion in military history. The operation delivered five naval assault divisions to the beaches of Normandy, France. Almost 133,000 troops from the United States, the British Commonwealth, and their allies, landed on D-Day, according to information from the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library. 

MARKER PLANNED: Montgomery County cemetery to receive historical marker as part of Juneteenth events

Honoring WWII veterans

“This is an apex moment for me and I take a lot of pride in it,” he said. “World War II veterans are diminishing by the day and I look at this as the pinnacle way for me to honor them especially being able to jump in Normandy for the 80th anniversary of D-Day. I don’t do it for myself though, I’m doing this for them (World War II veterans) because I don’t want their way of life and what they fought for to be lost.” 

Smith will travel with a team of roughly 70 and jump from a vintage plane like an airborne paratrooper would have on June 3, June 4 and June 6 at actual “drop zones” that were used in the war.

“Austin has been an avid student of World War II. He and his father, Gene Smith, have toured several of the Pacific Ocean Islands where battles occurred. They also have traveled to some of the D-Day landing beaches,” said longtime family friend Leland Dushkin. “Upon his return, I look forward to Austin sharing his D-Day anniversary jump with our community as a reminder of our greatest generation’s dedication to preserve the freedoms we so cherish.”

Early interest in history

Smith’s grandfather, R.C. also was a Conroe native and Depression-era child who served in the U.S. Army stateside during World War II. He did however have a family member who served overseas and brought R.C. back a German Luger gun. 

“I thought it was really cool and that was kind of a war trophy for a lot of people who served in the European theater of operations,” Smith said. “Having seen that got me more involved with history. Then when I was younger every Saturday morning my folks would drop me off at my grandfather’s house and we’d go to the Security flea market. My grandfather would buy tools and I’d buy helmets, bags, knives, etc.” 

He said in the 1990s, World War II veterans were in their mid-to-late 70s and some of their war-era items were beginning to show up in sales and flea markets just prior to the era of eBay and the dot com boom. 

The Conroe High 2004 graduate bought up as much memorabilia as he could and now has an extensive World War II collection including a 1940s-era jeep. He also spent time with veterans when he was in high school which his classmates thought was strange. 

‘Band of Brothers Tour’

In 2016, he and his father participated in a “Band of Brothers Tour” where they began in Georgia where the unit trained then flew to London and Normandy and followed their footsteps through Holland, Luxembourg, Bayonne, France and Germany and over a two-week period ended at Adolf Hitler’s Eagles Nest headquarters.

They had such a good time they wanted to do it again but explore the Pacific theater of World War II. 

In 2019, the pair did a Pacific tour but included Smith’s wife, Mandy. As a part of this trip they climbed Mount Suribachi a mountain on the southwest end of Iwo Jima island. 

During the pandemic he was working from home and looking for the next World War II thrill. 

SUMMER FUN: Margaritaville on Lake Conroe draws 1K people a day in the summer. Here’s what to do there.

Preparing for parachuting

He discovered the nonprofit WWII Airborne Demonstration Team at Frederick Army Air Field in Oklahoma.

“I started doing some research and I was like wait a minute, ‘I can pay someone to jump out of a functioning C-47. I’m doing it,” he said. “I never thought it would lead to where it is today.”

His first jump was in July 2021 and he has now logged 28 jumps. 

As he developed friends with other members of the team, he learned about their experiences of jumping for the 75th anniversary of D-Day in 2019.

He was all in for the 80th-anniversary experience and has spent four years preparing.

Their gear, boots, helmets and dress are as accurate as possible following what an airborne team would have worn in World War II down to painting their faces to blend into vegetation on the ground. 

“Everything is down to the last nut and bolt as far as what we need to look like,” he said. 

Its his eventual goal to become a part of the group’s performance team after obtaining 35 jumps. This group participates in exhibitions across the US and in historical events overseas. 

If the full content does not display, visit the article originally published on this site