I was recently invited to the 36th Reunion of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division.  This history-making unit jumped into Normandy during Operation Overlord  and into Holland as part of Operation Market Garden.

A former Screaming Eagle, I found myself readily accepted into the fold. Shortly after being introduced one paratrooper took charge and started escorting soldiers to the table where I was conducting interviews.  Stories ranged from jump training in England to POW experiences at the hands of the Nazis.  Many of them still displayed the steely resolve they mustered decades before. In fact one of them was still jumping at 87!

As I finished the evening and the old soldiers started retiring to their quarters I couldn’t help but recall the famous words originally uttered by General William Lee. They eventually became the introduction for the 101st Airborne Division’s song, “We have a rendezvous with destiny…”

Not only did these men have a rendezvous with destiny, they shaped it.