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On the 68th anniversary of the first Airborne jump, families, paratroopers and veterans celebrated National Airborne Day.

On hand for the celebration Aug. 15 was 91-year-old Benjamin Reese, a member of the original test platoon.

Reese had been in the Army for less than a year when he volunteered “to try that foolish thing of jumping out of planes,” he said.

“I jumped into Normandy; I jumped into Holland. I am proud that I was able to be in the group that started it. I wasn’t anything special,” he said. “I was just there, and I did it.”

Reese was assigned to the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment and later the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He served in the Army for more than 30 years, mostly as a paratrooper.

“There were some sprained ankles,” Reese said of those first few jumps over Lawson

Field. “I happened to land pretty nicely.”

Staff Sgt. Adrian Hill, the first to jump onto Eubanks Field Friday, honored Reese and his fellow paratroopers by carrying the test platoon flag. Members from the 82nd Airborne Division, the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division, the Golden Knights, the Black Daggers and the Silver Wings jumped in formation before the graduation of 448 paratroopers in C Company, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

Reese said he is glad to see the paratrooper spirit alive on National Airborne Day.

“It’s just great to see them,” he said. “I think it’s great that I can come out here and see what these troops are doing with the little thing that I started.”