Medal of Honor recipient Kyle Carpenter has plans to make a spectacular entrance to this year's Marine Corps Marathon.
Despite saving another Marine by throwing himself on an enemy grenade in Afghanistan in 2010, Carpenter was able to complete the marathon last year. This year, he will make his entrance to the race by skydiving in with a humongous American flag, according to Marine Corps Times.
According to the release from the Marine Corps Marathon, Carpenter will help to deliver the largest American flag carried on a performance jump to the starting line of the race. At 7,800 square feet, the flag will be visible from a distance of 20 miles, according to the release. He will accomplish the task with the professional team FASTRAX, which is composed of Army and Marine veterans, according to the announcement. Carpenter’s jump will be a tandem one, with a Marine veteran of seven years, Paul Stanford, as his parachute partner.
The flag is set to be delivered as the playing of the National Anthem signals the start of the race. Minutes later, Marine Corps aircraft will conduct a flyover. The jump will be filmed via helmet camera by retired Marine Col. John Bates, a Purple Heart recipient, according to the release. That footage will later be delivered to Comcast SportsNet to air during its live broadcast of the race.
Carpenter has overcome an incredible amount of pain to break this record.
Carpenter, who lost his right eye in the grenade blast and endured more than 30 surgeries during a lengthy recovery period, completed last year’s race in a respectable four hours, 28 minutes. There’s no word yet on if he’s planning to beat that record after he hits the ground.