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howardwhite

Whose foot is this?

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That would be my foot on June 17, 1978 (my 173rd jump) . This was the first ever demo jump at the Washington Monument. I was still in the Air Force and jumping with the Marine club out of Quantico. The DC Recreation Dept was having an event for inner city youth and the mayor's office contacted us about doing a demo. We took off in a Huey from Quantico and flew low up the Potomac river (What a hell of a sightseeing ride!) at around a thousand feet and then climbed to altitude for the jump. Unfortunately, the ceiling was only about 3000 feet, so our plan to do a long freefall and build a star went by the wayside. I was jumping camera and REALLY wanted to get a shot of the monument in the center of the formation. As it was, we did hop and pops and landed right by the monument amidst hundreds of kids who had probably never seen a parachute before. I was able to do a spiral around the monument on approach to the landing area. I had to settle for a picture of the monument with my boot to prove I was there. This picture is one someone took of me just before landing.

As an aside, this was when the USPA headquarters was in downtown DC and they had been trying to get permission to make a demo jump on the Mall forever. They couldn't believe we got INVITED to do one.

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Gawd, it was almost impossible then, long before 9-11 and today's security. When they first approached us about the demo, we didn't think there would be any way in hell we'd be able to get permission. All it took was a few phone calls from the DC Mayor's office to clear things. We were even told we could exit over the White House if necessary (unfortunately, it wasn't.) since the President wasn't in town that day.

Bill

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Some more pictures from the Oct. '78 Parachutist, which ran the story under the hed "Yes, it Really is Pointed."
"Rumor has it that there is somewhat of a question concerning whether or not the Washington Monument is really pointed. On June 17, 1978, eleven members of the Quantico Skydivers Sport Parachute Club were given a unique opportunity to find out by participating in an historic event -- a freefall parachute demonstration jump onto the grounds of the Washington Monument."
(Camera on your 173rd jump? Don't let the Photography and Video forum people see this; they'll say you weren't experienced enough.>:(

HW

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