93-Year-Old D-Day Paratrooper Jumps for the 70th Anniversary of D-Day

Doesn’t matter what you do in life, you will never be as badass as Jim “Pee Wee” Martin. Martin, a 93-years-old WWII vet, is planning on jumping on the 70th anniversary of D-Day. The veteran from Ohio is the last living member of the 101st Airborne who jumped during the invasion at Normandy on June 6th, 1944.

His quote on jumping is one for the ages. Via MSN:

“They are making me do a tandem,” Martin said in a telephone interview. “They are worried about me getting hurt. I said, ‘Don’t worry about it. If I get hurt or I get killed, what is the difference? I’ve lived 93 years. I’ve had a good life.'”

His service record is insane:

Martin, who was a private in the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, was among the first Americans in combat in Europe. After Normandy, where his unit fought to capture key bridges, he parachuted into Holland in “Operation Market Garden” and fought at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge.

What a badass motherfucker. That attitude right there is the dream all of us have if we make it to 93. Live like you’re dying, Bro.

Martin said he was jumping now because he may be the last man from his unit of the 101st Airborne Division to ever do it again.

Martin, who lives near Dayton, said he will use a round canopy parachute like those in World War Two, which drop more quickly than modern parachutes. He is also taking one of his jump jackets from the war to France to display.

A U.S. Veterans Affairs doctor cleared him to make the jump physically and pronounced him mentally fit, he said.

I have more respect for Jim “Pee Wee” Martin and members of The Greatest Generation, my grandparents generation, than I’ll ever have for whiny, brunch-loving millennials addicted to social media and smart phones. Jim “Pee Wee” Martin has bigger balls than anyone I think I know. Even more admirable is his

As a defense industry worker, he had a deferment from military service, but Martin said he saw that France and Britain could not win the war in Europe on their own and that men with families were joining the service and being drafted. He enlisted at age 21 and was later awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.

“The one thing I want to emphasize is that we were not heroes. A hero is someone not expected to do something,” he said.

“When you volunteer, and you get trained for it and get paid for it, you may be brave as hell but you are not a hero.”

We can all start to learn a thing or two from Jim. As much as you don’t want us to say it, you’re a hero to us, Jim.

UPDATE: Here’s the video. It’s so badass:

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Pics via Jim’s Facebook page.

[H/T: Mark]

Brandon Wenerd is BroBible's publisher, writing on this site since 2009. He writes about sports, music, men's fashion, outdoor gear, traveling, skiing, and epic adventures. Based in Los Angeles, he also enjoys interviewing athletes and entertainers. Proud Penn State alum, former New Yorker. Email: brandon@brobible.com