Cavalry Soldiers visit Kaunas Fortress

Photo By David Overson | Lithuanian Army Lt. Col. Viktoras Bagdonas, chief of staff for the Lithuanian Army "Griffin" Brigade, stands outside of the Lithuanian Tactical Operation Center during Allied Spirit VII, which took place at the U.S. Army's Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, Nov. 18, 2017. Approximately 4,050 service members from 13 nations are participating in exercise Allied Spirit VII at 7th Army Training Command’s Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, Oct. 30 to Nov. 22, 2017. Allied Spirit is a U.S. Army Europe-directed, 7ATC-conducted multinational exercise series designed to develop and enhance NATO and key partner’s interoperability and readiness. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. David Overson)  

KAUNAS, LITHUANIA

10.11.2014

Story by Staff Sgt. Keith Anderson 

1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division

KAUNAS, Lithuania - U.S. Soldiers got the opportunity to learn a little about the history of Lithuania Oct. 11 during a cultural exchange tour of the Kaunas Fortress, a site used as a Russian military fortress in WWI, a Nazi extermination camp in WWII and a Russian prison and deportation center after WWII.

Soldiers from 1st Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, and 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, visited the site as part of cultural exchanges set up by the Lithuanian Land Forces.

“It was a good opportunity for Soldiers to experience some Lithuanian history and to see why we are here and the importance of our participation within NATO before we begin major exercises as part of Atlantic Resolve,” said Sgt. 1st Class Robby Burns, first sergeant, C Troop, 1st Sqdn., 2nd Cav. Reg.

U.S. Cavalry Soldiers are in Lithuania as part of the U.S. Army Europe-led Atlantic Resolve, a multinational combined arms exercise involving the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, and host nations, taking place across Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

The Kaunas Fortress is composed of nine forts, begun in 1882, in addition to later additions of a prison yard a large monument in remembrance of the 50,000 people executed at the site during WWII, including 30,000 Jewish people.

“To walk down the tunnels that Soldiers have fought through, to see the ‘punishment’ rooms prisoners were in and the monument at the execution site – it definitely made a lot of us think,” said Sgt. Michael Schoonover, team leader and armorer, C Troop, 1st Sqdn., 2nd Cav. Reg.

• Date Taken: 10.11.2014
• Date Posted: 10.17.2014 09:23
• Story ID: 145316
• Location: KAUNAS, LT