Parachutists are jumping over Normandy again, just as soldiers did 75 years ago for D-Day � but this time without being shot at.

With the throb of their engines rumbling through cloudy skies, C-47 transport planes in World War II colors dropped jumpers with round canopies reminiscent of those used by airborne forces in 1944.

Their landing zone for Wednesday�s operation was fields of wildflowers outside Carentan, one of the objectives of the thousands dropped over Normandy as a prelude to the seaborne invasions on June 6, 1944 .

Thousands watched as the jumpers softly floated through the bright skies. Many spectators are wearing WWII era uniforms and music of the time plays over loudspeakers, giving the display a 1940s air.

Among the jumpers Wednesday is D-Day veteran Tom Rice, 97, of San Diego. He jumped into Normandy with thousands of other parachutists in 1944, and recalls it as �the worst jump I ever had.�

�I got my left armpit caught in the lower left hand corner of the door so I swung out came back and hit the side of the aircraft swung out again and came back and I just tried to straighten my arm out and I got free,� he told The Associated Press in an interview.

Rice is jumping in tandem with another parachutist. He has been preparing for the last six months for his jump, working with a physical trainer.

Like many other veterans, Rice said he remains troubled by the war.

�All the GIs suffer from same blame and shame. It bothers us all the time for what we did. We did a lot of destruction, damage. And we chased the Germans out and coming back here is a matter of closure. You can close the issue now,� he said.

Other jumps are planned later Wednesday involving British veterans at Sannerville as part of events marking the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.

(AP)