A rainy Memorial Day afternoon did little to stop Mike Elliot, president of the All Veteran Group, and his team of veterans from parachuting over the Arlington Entertainment District for “Operation Airdrop” in remembrance of fallen Armed Forces personnel.
At exactly 4 PM, Mike Elliot and his team began Operation Airdrop and parachuted from over 10,000 feet to form a giant, 2-mile wide heart with pink smoke and landed safely in a large parking lot between Globe Life Park and the newly completed Globe Life Field. Elliot himself carried a 1,400 square foot American flag on his way down.
In attendance of the event was Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams, who met with and personally thanked each of the veterans. Operation Airdrop was a very significant event since, according to Mayor Williams, “This is just about the only event that will be happening during this Memorial Day weekend”, presumably due to the unprecedented effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The organization behind the demonstration, the All Veteran Group, is a team of active and retired military personnel led by Army veteran Mike Elliot. Elliot served for over 10 years as a Team Leader for the United States Army Parachute Team, nicknamed the Golden Knights. As the president of the All Veteran Group, his mission for the organization is “to honor, remember and serve in support of veteran’s related interests; to showcase skill-sets acquired through military experience.”
Other attendees of the event included Sid Eppes, Chairman of the Airpower Foundation, as well as two Medal of Honor recipients: Donald “Doc” Ballard and Mike Thornton.
The point of the event was to remind the citizens of Arlington of the sacrifices that are made by the Armed Forces in order for them to live normal lives. Put simply by Mike Thornton, Medal of Honor recipient, “It is so important to remember what the whole purpose of Memorial Day is. Remembering those who paid the price.”
