Dr. Mary Kate Soliva describes the preparation behind the jump.

“And sorta jokingly saying that gravity is still there, it's going to work we just got to get out that door, but also more than that is knowing that, if you delay that you can end up messing up those who are come after you and it can mess things up when you’re in the air as well. And there’s of course always a risk when you jump out the door, but as I mentioned just trusting the team and trusting the equipment, and so the preparation all of it is mental but it's such an incredible honor, I never thought I would be back up in the air again,” said Soliva.

While some questioned the lack of women in past jumps, she says this moment goes beyond that.

“Some folks might say but why is it special to recognize women and its that the stories. I recently visited a U.S. cemetery in Manila, Philippines and many often negate that when you go overseas, if the service member was killed in action overseas, sometimes their families decided to let them be buried in the country they died in, they weren't brought home. And so when I go to these other countries, I have been to the American cemetery in England as well, as I mentioned the one in Manila and its really this surreal calming feeling to just think for a moment and just pause and reflect about the sacrifice that these men and women gave to this their service for this country,” she added.

I asked Soliva about her routine before her jump.

“They did have an army chaplain come out and conduct a prayer and that is something that no matter what your religious background is when you're in what they call the shoot shed or when you're there all kidded up and ready to go that's when everybody is pausing for a moment of silence and I definitely reflect on that and just trust that today is not my last day that the Lord's got more for me to do,” said Soliva.

And in a more emotional moment, I asked soliva what she would say to her grandmother Librada “Lee” Angoco Sablan Borja

“I would definitely let my grandmother know, that I love her, that I hope I,m making her proud, and that I am doing this for her, that I can't even begin to imagine what it was like to hear the bombings and to know that those who were taking over the Japanese occupation whether they were going to see the next day, whether they were going to see liberation,” she said.

To wrap up, I asked Soliva what message she hopes people take away.

“And I know we just recently had WWII veterans, not just survivors, but veterans who part of liberation who are still alive, but every year we're losing more and more and where it is getting to a point where there is none left to ask questions, to hear their stories, they just need a listening ear seems and it like more than ever they are ready to share those stories that they previously were not ready to share. So I really encourage everybody to reach out to their manamko to their elderly, not just WWI survivors and veterans but if you can engage them and you can't find one to ask your aunties, your uncles , your parents for those stories while they are still fresh so we can keep their legacy alive,” said Soliva.

A powerful reminder that history lives on through who continue to honor it.