On his 88th birthday, ex-Sen. George McGovern celebrates by making skydive in Florida

Ex-Sen. McGovern celebrates birthday with skydive

TITUSVILLE, Fla. — In his 88 years, George McGovern has served as a U.S. Senator and made a run for the presidency. And now he can say he’s jumped out of an airplane, too.

McGovern, a Democrat who represented South Dakota in the Senate from 1963 to 1981, celebrated his 88th birthday Monday morning by going skydiving in Florida.

He said his tandem jump was dedicated to increasing awareness of people who are starving around the world, particularly children.

He told the Florida Today newspaper that he hoped people would contact their congressional representatives to encourage them to increase funding to fight hunger.

McGovern lost the 1972 presidential election to Richard Nixon.

Information from: Florida Today, www.floridatoday.com