7 Responses to “Silver Wings Jump Canceled”

1. Response from Why Not? on October 31st, 2009 4:47 pm

   To Everyone – I was not blaming anyone, go back and read what I wrote again. I am also very glad they were there anyway, as far as I know they didnt have to be but they were, and were the delight of many there, including my family and I …God Bless them

   To Al – who said anyone was “Avoiding” anything? you used quotations so I assume you heard or read that word somewhere. Did you hear someone at the field say that? I never said or implied that the in the words I wrote…and you are right, if they wanted to avoid coming they could have but my family and I are sure glad they came.

   To Nicole – I’m with you, I hope they come back again…maybe we could see if they would make it an annual event…maybe make it an all-around veterans night at the football game…All veterans should be recognized frequently.

   To Chief Fan – Tell your husband thank you for his sacrifices and service for our country. And he is right, a football field is not a battlefield (though some Alabama and Auburn fans might disagree). The point I was trying to make is that there is always some element of danger for any jump, even with crystal clear skies and no wind…So, where is the cut-off point? If there no clouds and a crystal clear sky…or maybe some clouds if they are low or high enough…or how hard does it have to be raining…I dont know the answer to these questions but if there is some cut off point at which a jump is to be cancelled I think it would be interesting to know what factors go into making that decision (I am not being sarcastic, I really would like to know).

   To Casey – Thanks for your service to our country, and I daily pray for all our our soldiers and sailors and encourage others to do so as well.
   As to last night, the wind was not 30 miles per hour and nor was there a thunderstorm, there a a little (and I do mean little) rain off and on, but no thunder and no lightning.
   Concerning your history, you may want to do a little more research concerning the Landing at Normandy…true the weather did delay for a time but the weather was still bad (though not as bad) when the invasion began, they did not wait for a perfectly clear day…during the invasion itself the waves were so bad that some of the landing craft that did not take direct fire still never even made it to the beaches.

2. chief fan on October 31st, 2009 2:50 pm

   Glad they did not jump at the game. It was to dangers with the wind and power lines. It was nice to see them stick around.and meet the fans, To why not my husband was in during the 1968-1972. He said that it was not a battle field and they did not to put their lives in danger.

3. AL on October 31st, 2009 1:15 pm

   Very cool that they were there anyway to meet folks. If they were just ‘avoiding’ they could have stayed home.

4. Nicole on October 31st, 2009 11:28 am

   Although I was disappointed, I think they made the right decision. In battle they might have jumped… this was just a football game…. not important enough to put lives in danger!! I would like to THANK them for coming out and participating in our SR night… and I hope that they will look into doing it again in the future.

5. Century Woman on October 31st, 2009 9:13 am

   Even though it was disappointing that the show did not go on, I believe that is was bedt that the show did not go on if the weather was as bad as it was in the area that the aricraft was coming from. There is no point in blaming anyone for this.

6. Casey Burkett, Former U.S. Army Sergeant on October 31st, 2009 12:36 am

   Obviously, I don’t you think you’ve ever jumped from a high-performance aircraft 1,250 ft. above sea-level in your lifetime. As a former paratrooper who was stationed in an Special Operations Airborne Unit at Fort Bragg, NC for over four years, I can tell you for a fact that if the weather was bad, we didn’t jump. There was no sense in risking life, limb, or injury to anyone simply so some jumpmaster could get his or her star or a few civilians sitting in the bleachers wouldn’t walk away from the drop-zone disappointed. I know it’s disappointing to you, but the fact is you can’t change the weather and the Army’s not going to risk hurting any good soldiers simply so a few people could watch a parachute demonstration show. I can also tell you that I am suffering from numerous knee, ankle, and joint problems just from my short time in the Army jumping from fixed-wing aircraft in good-to-fair weather. Imagine how much worse I’d be if I had been jumping out of airplanes when the winds were 30 mph or there was a thunderstorm occurring right above my parachute. As a disabled veteran who graduated from Northview High School in 2000, I’m glad these guys made the effort to try to put on a show for everyone at my old high school and even when the jump didn’t work out, they still stuck around to meet-and-greet everyone. And besides, we couldn’t even launch D-Day until June 6th because the weather was bad the day before.

7. Why Not? on October 30th, 2009 11:44 pm

   I was disappointed that the silver wings did not jump tonight…I dont know what kind of plane they were going to jump from but as a veteran (disabled at that) I know that parachute jumps are made in ALL weather… in battle, what we call partly cloudy with a little rain can be advantagous and help with concealment.(tonight was very little…and no lightning),
   Our military had a chance tonight to jump in less than favorable conditions but didnt…It would have been quite a show…I was sitting there dreaming about what a sight it would have been to see those chutes coming through the clouds, with Old Glory trailing, what a patriotic moving experience that would have been for my whole family…
   I dont know who made the decision not to move forward but I hope it really was about the plane because In my heart I hope the soldiers and sailors of today have the same “Can Do” attitude that existed when I served…Pray daily for all our soldiers and sailors, both home and abroad.