...does some pretty cool stuff. He's a reenactor, he does reenactments for the Civil War, the Napoleonic War and now WW II.
He's recently went through paratrooper training:
'I just finished ADT Jump School and received my wings, one of 9 graduates out of the class of 27 we started with. It was a tough program, involving 5 days of ground training and 3 days of jump training out of the C-47. After the ground phase, we were tested on parachute landing falls (which we practiced for about 4 hours a day), emergency procedures and had to pass a written test. Only 18 students went on to the jump training, the others quit or did not pass the testing. Others dropped out after their first jump. One jumper on the first drop dislocated his knee and fractured his leg - that caused a lot of people to quit right there. This was serious stuff. Some people decided at that point that this was not for them. To graduate, we had to complete 5 jumps, the last with weapons and equipment. All jumps were graded on door exits, canopy control and landings.
This was not "City Slickers" parachute scool, it was serious stuff - probably the hardest thing that I have done since the bar exam (maybe even harder than that). Only Gene will understand that experience of getting together that mental resolve in order to go out that door and do that first jump. I could talk about last week for hours and could write you pages about it. Being alone up in the air in a parachute and watching the plane fly away from you with the other jumpers coming out the door is truly an extraordinary sight.
At graduation, my wings were pinned on me by Thomas Young, a 101st WWII vet. (I then got them hammered into my chest by our Capt.)'
I wouldn't have the courage to do this, not even for "fun"...
Way to go, Paul!