Jenna Bush Hager leaped out of an airplane from 10,000 feet live on the Today show Thursday to pay tribute to her late grandfather, former President George H.W. Bush, who completed eight skydives in his life.
The Today host did a tandem jump with Sgt. 1st class Joseph Abeln of the U.S. Army’s Golden Knights — the same parachute team her ‘Gampy’ jumped with on his milestone birthdays. The late president, who died at 94 in 2018, would have turned 97 on June 12.
Jenna was visibly shaking after the plane took off at Davison Army Airfield at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. She nervously fumbled with her goggles right before the plane reached the jump zone, asking herself: ‘Why did I say yes to this?’
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Tribute: Jenna Bush Hager went skydiving live on the Today show on Thursday in honor of her late grandfather, former President George H.W. Bush
Free falling: The 39-year-old completed a tandem jump with Sgt. 1st class Joseph Abeln of the U.S. Army’s Golden Knights, the same parachute team her grandfather jumped with
Adrenaline rush: Jenna spent roughly 45 seconds free-falling as she plunged toward the ground at 120 miles per hour before her parachute opened
After plummeting into the sky, she started screaming for her Today co-host Hoda Kotb, yelling, ‘Hoda!’ over and over.
‘Is she screaming your name?’ Al Roker asked Hoda as they watched Jenna’s skydive from inside Studio 1A in New York City.
Jenna spent roughly 45 seconds free-falling as she plunged toward the ground at 120 miles per hour before her parachute opened.
‘I did it! I can’t believe it,’ the former first daughter excitedly exclaimed.
She described the descent to her co-stars, saying: ‘It feels like floating, but it’s one of the most exhilarating, terrifying moments of your life.
Family tradition: Late President Bush (pictured in 2007) completed eight skydives in his life. He died at 94 in 2018
Memories: The military veteran’s first jump was involuntary. His plane was shot down in 1944 while he was fighting in World War II (L). His last jump was on his 90th birthday in 2014 (R)
Looking back: Jenna was in Kennebunkport, Maine, with her wheelchair-bound grandfather when he completed his last skydive
‘But I have to say it’s peaceful and beautiful right now and I feel close to all the people I’ve been missing.’
‘It’s beautiful up there!’ she added. ‘The view from up here is spectacular.’
Jenna’s skydive was also a tribute to the Army, which celebrated its 246th birthday on June 14.
She landed on the grounds at the National Museum of the United States Army after falling for around two miles.
The museum first opened in March 2020 but closed just a few weeks later due to the coronavirus pandemic. It celebrated its reopening this week, just in time for Jenna’s skydive.
Homage: The former first daughter was all smiles as she posed in front of the plane bearing her grandfather’s name
Can’t miss her! The Today host was decked out in a bright yellow jumpsuit for the jump
Going for it: This was Jenna’s second time skydiving; she executed her first jump over two decades ago when she was 18
‘I would do it again a thousand times,’ she said after she landed.
While on the ground, she received a congratulatory phone call from her mother, former First Lady Laura Bush.
‘I was really nervous, I have to admit,’ Mrs. Bush told Jenna. ‘It was great, you did great, and it was a great honor to your Gampy.’
Jenna’s grandfather celebrated his 75th, 80th, 85, and 90th birthdays skydiving with the Golden Knights.
President Bush’s first of eight skydives wasn’t by choice, however. He was just 19 and serving as a fighter pilot for the U.S. Navy in World War II when his plane was shot down over the Pacific Ocean in September 1944.
Scary: Jenna was visibly shaking after the plane took off at Davison Army Airfield at Fort Belvoir in Virginia
Moment of truth: Jenna asked herself, ‘Why did I say yes to this?’ right before leaping out of the plane
That’s high! Jenna was 10,000 feet in the air when she and partner hurtled themselves out of the plane into the blue sky
Candid: She described the descent to her co-stars, saying: ‘It feels like floating, but it’s one of the most exhilarating, terrifying moments of your life’
He was forced to parachute into the water, hitting his head on the plane, before he was rescued by an American submarine. Two members of his crew died.
‘He told me once that he jumps for them,’ Jenna wrote in an essay for Today about her jump. ‘He jumped because he lived.’
The military veteran was in a wheelchair and unable to walk when he went skydiving on his 90th birthday in Kennebunkport, Maine, in June 2014.
‘One night at dinner that summer my Gampy, at the head of our robin’s-egg blue table, leaned over to me and whispered, “Don’t forget to enjoy the game,”‘ Jenna recalled.
‘His voice was weak but he continued, “Jenna, don’t be scared to be in the ring, and don’t forget to enjoy every moment — to live every moment. I miss being an active part of the game.”‘
Paying tribute: In an essay about the jump, Jenna said she did it for her Gampy, to feel ‘closer to him in the heavens’
Proud: ‘I did it! I can’t believe it,’ the former first daughter exclaimed after her parachute opened
Fitting: Jenna’s skydive was also a tribute to the Army’s 246th birthday on June 14. She landed on the grounds at the National Museum of the United States Army
Celebration: While on the ground, she received a congratulatory phone call from her mother, former First Lady Laura Bush, who admitted she was ‘really nervous’
This was Jenna’s second time skydiving; she executed her first jump over two decades ago when she was 18. In her essay, the mom of three wrote that she was jumping for her Gampy.
‘And so today, seven years after the last time he jumped, I jump for him,’ she said. ‘And I will jump because I’m in the game, enjoying every moment, and feeling closer to him in the heavens.’
Later on Thursday, Jenna shared footage from her skydive on Instagram, joking: ‘Hoda was obviously my safe word.’
She also posted photos from the day, writing: ‘Today seven years after my grandfather’s last jump — I jumped for HIM with the team he admired so — The US Army Golden Knights.
‘My Gampy’s motto was ceiling and visibility unlimited — and in the heavens, close to him I felt all that optimism.’