WATCH: American Skydivers Claim World Record by Parachuting Old Glory Down From Nearly Two Miles High

A team of elite skydivers set a new world record, previously held by Libya, by flying a 3,200-square-foot American flag in a 10,000-foot drop over Arizona on Pearl Harbor Day.

The certified jump is now headed for the Guinness Book of World Records and smashes the October record set over Benghazi in “what was then the largest flag ever deployed during a free fall.”

After seeing that jump, retired U.S. Army Ranger Jariko Denman contacted Jared Isaacman, e-commerce entrepreneur and President Donald Trump’s nominee to head NASA, about bringing the record back to the United States, Fox Digital reported.

Denman told the outlet he first saw the Libyan effort on social media he reposted it with the caption, “Who’s down to break this record?” which ultimately set the project in motion.

They put together a team that included professionals from Skydive Arizona and Skydive Chicago, among them Hall of Fame skydiver Rook Nelson, veterans Steve Curtis, Nick Kush, and Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT), according to the news outlet.

The record-breaking dive took place on December 7, 2025, in Eloy, Arizona, considered a skydiving mecca.

The skydivers jumped from a Vietnam-era Huey helicopter at about 10,000 feet to deploy the 170-pound American flag, which was double the size of the Libyans’.

Denman said a jump with a flag of this size had never been attempted before, creating “a lot of unknowns” and making the record-setting jump “a pretty scary one.”

For that reason, only the most experienced members of the dive team physically handled the flag. Denman, Isaacman, and Sheehy took part in the jump but did not control the flag itself.

Sheehy said he viewed the effort as auspicious considering the country’s 250th birthday in 2026.

“I was honored to be part of the incredible team of veterans, SEALs, Army Rangers, and some of the best skydivers in the world who returned the world record for the largest flag ever parachuted out of an aircraft back to the United States,” the Montana senator said.

Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.