US Army Veteran Realizes a Dream by Skydiving on His 90th Birthday

After waiting for several years to achieve his dream of jumping out of an airplane, a 90-year-old Utah army veteran and Purple Heart recipient finally got his wish. Here is how Joseph Jaramillo got to soar above in the sky!

Everyone has dreams in their lives that they hope to achieve at some point. For some people, they dream of traveling the world, and for others, they dream of meeting their role models.

In Utah, a veteran of the US Army named Joseph Dale Jaramillo, recently proved it is never too late to achieve a dream and that age is only a number.

The veteran received a Purple Heart after serving in the Korean War and sustaining several injuries. Recalling his experience in the war, he narrated how he still saved a man despite being unable to move his arm.

While serving in the army, Jaramillo often dreamt of jumping out of airplanes for the army. Determine to get in, he signed up for the 101st Airborne and fell short of the weight requirement. He weighed 128 pounds, 12 pounds shy of the required number.

Years after years of waiting, Jaramillo still never got the chance to achieve his dream. That was until his 90th birthday when the wait finally came to an end.

The veteran finally got the opportunity to get his long-awaited skydiving experience when he suited up and leaped into the welcoming arms of the sky with a Skydive Utah professional behind him.

In April 2021, a 74-year-old man named Ed Harney died after a skydiving accident in Monroe County, Pa.

Jaramillo was filled with unmeasurable joy when his feet finally touched the ground. After experiencing his time in the skies, the 90-year-old has vowed to get a second leap sometime before his 95th birthday.

Skydive Utah professionals revealed they had seen an increase in senior citizens who have signed up for skydiving. In July 2020, another senior citizen turned heads when he broke a world record.

Al Blaschke, 103, a man who survived the Great Depression, the Spanish flu, and coronavirus, surprised and inspired many when he became the oldest person in the world to do a 14,000-foot tandem jump out of an airplane.

Blaschke, a retired craftsman who built aircraft during World War II, was in great shape for the jump and did it with his grandson by his side. His first jump ever was in 2017 on his 100th birthday.

While senior citizens’ skydiving might make for great and inspiring stories, there have been quite a few that remind others to be careful about it.

In April 2021, a 74-year-old man named Ed Harney died after a skydiving accident in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. According to reports, Harney was an experienced skydiver who had several jumps in his record.

Surely, stories like Harney’s call for a little bit more caution when doing dangerous activities like skydiving. Still, it is the stories like Jaramillo and Blaschke’s that inspire people to go after their dreams no matter what.