World War II D-Day survivor Polito “Paul” Olivas is going back to his 101st Airborne Division roots for his 100th birthday by jumping out of an airplane.
The retired master sergeant is heading to Dillingham Airfield in Hawaii on Sunday to get at least one more parachute drop during his lifetime.
“Before I die, I want another jump,” Mr. Olivas said in an interview with The Honolulu Star-Advertiser published Monday. “I haven’t jumped for a long time. They said, ’What do you want for your birthday?’ I said, ’A parachute jump.’”
He likened the experience to eating candy: “You like it.”
Mr. Olivas, who fought in Normandy on D-Day in 1944 and went on to become a member of the 10th Special Forces Group in the early 50s, also joked about the secret to his endurance: “Bud Light!”
Maj. Kevin Boyd, a public affairs officer for Special Operations Command Pacific at Camp H.M. Smith, said he didn’t realize just how old Mr. Olivas was when they first met.
“He certainly didn’t appear to be in his 90s,” Maj. Boyd said. “I thought he was in his 70s.”
The World War II hero’s free-fall tandem jump will be witnessed by 100 well-wishers at 3 p.m. local time.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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