Richard
06-07-2012, 07:48
This is a good article from the Columbus, GA, newspaper on some 1-507th PIR NCOs who got to attend the 2012 D-Day commemorative events at Sainte Mere Eglise, Normandy...but the pic they posted with it PISSES ME OFF! I cannot believe it! :mad: :mad: :mad:
Richard :munchin
D-Day Anniversary: Normandy Visit Turns Emotional For Fort Benning Soldiers
ColumbusLE, 6 June 2012
Staff Sgt. John N. Hedgepeth of Fort Benning didn't have any relatives in Normandy, France, during the D-Day invasion of Europe in World War II, but emotions got the best of him during a visit to Omaha Beach.
"It was just being in that location, knowing the history and how many men never got to see their wives and families," said Hedgepeth, 30, a member of 1st Battalion, 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
Hedgepeth, nine other soldiers from the Airborne School and some members of the Ranger Training Brigade at Fort Benning took part in Operation Normandy 2012 this week. A series of ceremonies and events, which included an air drop over St. Mere-Eglise, marked the June 6, 1944, Allied invasion of northwest Europe against Nazi Germany.
Led by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, 12 Allied nations provided 160,000 troops for the battle along a 50-mile stretch of heavily fortified coastline to fight on the beaches of Juno, Gold, Omaha, Utah, and Sword. More than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the invasion that left 9,000 Allied soldiers killed or wounded. By the end of the first day of fighting, Allied forces gained a foothold in Normandy and 100,000 soldiers began a march across Europe to defeat Adolf Hitler.
While at Omaha, soldiers recalled how it was the most defended of all beaches during the invasion and included bluffs and cliffs. The 2nd Ranger Battalion scaled Pointe Du Hoc to take out enemy positions before the invasion.
Sgt. 1st Class Justin S. Ogden, 39, picked up some sand from the different beaches to remember his visit.
"I'm going to bring it back with me," he said. "I'm going to get one of those D-Day pictures with that sand placed in there. The experience itself, being able to go back and experience it, is just something that you will never forget."
Ogden and other Airborne School soldiers' plane arrived too late to take part in the air drop but he still feels blessed to experience Normandy 68 years later.
"Working at the Airborne School at Fort Benning has given me the opportunity to experience this," he said Wednesday during a telephone interview from France. "To be out there on Omaha Beach, Utah Beach and Pointe du Hoc where the Rangers scaled the cliffs, it's just really powerful to see all that."
With 14 years in the military, Ogden said it was really powerful to experience one of the main historical events of World War II. He talked to aging veterans of the war and heard their stories about the invasion.
Sgt. 1st Class Matthew P. Hill, 35, was left in awe after a visit to St. Mere-Eglise where many paratroopers were killed after dropping directly into the town. The sky was illuminated by burning buildings making the paratroopers easy targets for German defenders.
Paratrooper John Steele, a member of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, was snared on the spire of the town church where he hung for two hours. He pretended to be dead but was captured later. A statue at the church recognizes the night of the invasion.
"St. Mere-Eglise was the first town liberated by the allies and 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment," Hill said.
Hill plans to take much of what he observed back to Airborne students on post. "They don't know much about history," Hill said. "Coming here, you see all the graves and all the battle fields. It puts it more in perspective."
Benning soldiers leave today to start their trip home. Hill already wants to return for another trip to France.
"I think every American ought to come over and see the hospitality of the French," Hill said. "Here at Normandy, there are more American flags flying than on main street USA."
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2012/06/06/2075122/d-day-anniversary-normandy-visit.html
Richard :munchin
D-Day Anniversary: Normandy Visit Turns Emotional For Fort Benning Soldiers
ColumbusLE, 6 June 2012
Staff Sgt. John N. Hedgepeth of Fort Benning didn't have any relatives in Normandy, France, during the D-Day invasion of Europe in World War II, but emotions got the best of him during a visit to Omaha Beach.
"It was just being in that location, knowing the history and how many men never got to see their wives and families," said Hedgepeth, 30, a member of 1st Battalion, 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
Hedgepeth, nine other soldiers from the Airborne School and some members of the Ranger Training Brigade at Fort Benning took part in Operation Normandy 2012 this week. A series of ceremonies and events, which included an air drop over St. Mere-Eglise, marked the June 6, 1944, Allied invasion of northwest Europe against Nazi Germany.
Led by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, 12 Allied nations provided 160,000 troops for the battle along a 50-mile stretch of heavily fortified coastline to fight on the beaches of Juno, Gold, Omaha, Utah, and Sword. More than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the invasion that left 9,000 Allied soldiers killed or wounded. By the end of the first day of fighting, Allied forces gained a foothold in Normandy and 100,000 soldiers began a march across Europe to defeat Adolf Hitler.
While at Omaha, soldiers recalled how it was the most defended of all beaches during the invasion and included bluffs and cliffs. The 2nd Ranger Battalion scaled Pointe Du Hoc to take out enemy positions before the invasion.
Sgt. 1st Class Justin S. Ogden, 39, picked up some sand from the different beaches to remember his visit.
"I'm going to bring it back with me," he said. "I'm going to get one of those D-Day pictures with that sand placed in there. The experience itself, being able to go back and experience it, is just something that you will never forget."
Ogden and other Airborne School soldiers' plane arrived too late to take part in the air drop but he still feels blessed to experience Normandy 68 years later.
"Working at the Airborne School at Fort Benning has given me the opportunity to experience this," he said Wednesday during a telephone interview from France. "To be out there on Omaha Beach, Utah Beach and Pointe du Hoc where the Rangers scaled the cliffs, it's just really powerful to see all that."
With 14 years in the military, Ogden said it was really powerful to experience one of the main historical events of World War II. He talked to aging veterans of the war and heard their stories about the invasion.
Sgt. 1st Class Matthew P. Hill, 35, was left in awe after a visit to St. Mere-Eglise where many paratroopers were killed after dropping directly into the town. The sky was illuminated by burning buildings making the paratroopers easy targets for German defenders.
Paratrooper John Steele, a member of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, was snared on the spire of the town church where he hung for two hours. He pretended to be dead but was captured later. A statue at the church recognizes the night of the invasion.
"St. Mere-Eglise was the first town liberated by the allies and 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment," Hill said.
Hill plans to take much of what he observed back to Airborne students on post. "They don't know much about history," Hill said. "Coming here, you see all the graves and all the battle fields. It puts it more in perspective."
Benning soldiers leave today to start their trip home. Hill already wants to return for another trip to France.
"I think every American ought to come over and see the hospitality of the French," Hill said. "Here at Normandy, there are more American flags flying than on main street USA."
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2012/06/06/2075122/d-day-anniversary-normandy-visit.html