CELEBRATE 75 WITH A SKYDIVE.

Byline: Ben Fuchs The Register-Guard

CRESWELL - Cheered on by about 30 of his friends and family, Jess Wise angled his parachute steeply toward the dry grass next to the airport runway, pulling up at the last minute and sliding along the ground on his rear end until he came to a stop. It was a near-perfect, if unflattering, skydiving landing.

"Evidently we were coming in a little fast," said Wise, brushing grass from his pants.

Wise, a retired Marine who dived from a plane more than 140 times during his 30-year career with the service, made his first civilian jump with Eugene Skydivers at the Creswell Airport on Saturday in honor of his 75th birthday last Wednesday. Despite the fact that he hadn't jumped since 1969, Wise was worry-free prior to takeoff.

"I'm a little excited," said Wise, a Springfield resident. "It's something different."

Wise, who joined the service toward the end of World War II and fought in the Korean and Vietnam wars, jumped from a Cessna Caravan at about 12,000 feet. He pulled the parachute cord after about a 45-second free fall and floated slowly toward the tarmac, landing safely to the applause of onlookers.

One of Jess Wise's three children, 38-year-old Shannon Wise, said his father was looking forward to the jump for quite a while.

"This is awesome," said Shannon Wise of San Diego, who used to live in Springfield. "He's been talking about this for a long time."

The elder Wise had surgery in 2000 when his knee was replaced by a titanium joint. In addition to a desire to test his new machinery, Wise said he wanted to try out the improved technology used by today's skydivers.

Whitney Harder, a cameraman for Eugene Skydivers who videotaped Wise's descent, said modern-day parachutes are much more maneuverable and sophisticated than those Wise used in the military. And the circumstances were different, too.

"It's nice to sky dive just for pleasure rather than defending your country," said Harder, who's logged about 3,300 jumps.

The Spokane native, who earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star in the Marine Corps, said the actions of a fellow veteran helped motivate him to make the jump.

"I thought, if George Bush could do it, why not me?" Wise said. The former president and WWII veteran celebrated his 75th birthday in June 1999 by skydiving in Texas.

Wise said he couldn't think of a more fitting occasion to get back under a parachute.

"What better time than my 75th birthday?" he said.

CAPTION(S):

Jess Wise, shown here in 1973, was a highly decorated Marine.