Parachute Drop

Sergeant Kenneth E. Neu was stationed in the U.S. Airborne unit in Germany, where the parachute drop zone was located next to a Mercedes-Benz test track. One windy day, a gust of wind blew his parachute over the track. Knowing how hard a landing on asphalt can be, he braced himself, landed and checked for broken bones. Amazingly, he was fine.

Suddenly the wind inflated Neu's parachute and started dragging him down the track. He hit the chute's canopy release and looked up just in time to see a car speeding toward him. Acting quickly, he grabbed his chute and ran to the edge of the track. Out of breath but uninjured, he thought, "How lucky can I be?"

Relieved, he turned, stepped into a gopher hole and twisted his ankle.