A paratrooper who was preparing to leave the US army decided that he would make his last parachute jump more memorable by taking along a fish.
The day before his final jump on April 11, Spc. Matthew Tattersall went out and purchased a Siamese fighter, which he called 'Willy Makeit'. He placed the fish in a water bottle and poked a few holes into it to allow air to get in. Then he hid the bottle in his pocket as he knew he wouldn't be allowed to jump from the plane with the fish.
"That's my pet fish named Willy MakeIt... It was born a Japanese Fighter Fish but today it has become an American Paratrooper Fish"Airborne!82nd Airborne Division#82nd #Airborne #Fishborne #NemoWasaLeg
Posted by U.S Army W.T.F! moments on Sunday, April 12, 2015
The selfie he took of himself in the air with the fish was posted onto a Facebook community called U.S Army W.T.F! Moments, where it received more than 15,000 likes. But it hasn't gone down too well with his chain of command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
23-year-old Tattersall, who described himself as '23 years stupid' is assigned to 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. He says he's still waiting for the final outcome of his actions, but he has no regrets, although he's sorry for upsetting his chain of command.
He told Military Times: "I wanted to make it awesome, and I did just that.
The fish has been re-named 'Willy Did Makeit'.
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