Photo By Sgt. Lisa Vines | The 30th Infantry Division’s Colors and Mortain streamer are displayed during an...... read more read more
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RALEIGH, N.C. - Leaders and veterans of the "Old Hickory" Division finally had the opportunity to pin the Presidential Unit Citation on to veterans of the 30th Infantry Division, more than 75 years after the close of their European campaign, at Joint Force Headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina, July 25th, 2020.
In March, President Trump announced that the Army was to award to 30th Infantry Division with the Presidential Unit Citation for their extraordinary heroism at the Battle of Mortain, France, in 1944. Many subordinate units of the 30th earned Presidential Unit Citations (PUC), but not for the division level until now.
"We will continue to tell these veterans stories day in and day out, and make sure they understand what legacy they are carrying by wearing the patch," said U.S. Army Col. Wes Morrison, the North Carolina Army National Guard Chief of Staff and veteran of the 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team.
Morrison was a history major in college and worked for the North Carolina Division of Archives and History. His experience and devotion to these World War II veterans helped progress the award recommendation through to final approval.
"I organized their arguments historically, pieced the evidence together to say here is a solid argument that can be made for this award," Morrison said.
The 30th Infantry Division landed at Omaha Beach on June 10th, 1944. On August 6th, multiple Nazi tank divisions attacked the soldiers of Old Hickory at Mortain for six days. The National Guard Soldiers, including its cooks, clerks, and drivers, fought back and defeated the Nazis, saving Mortain and its residents.
One of those heroes, Tony Jaber, a Raleigh native who was a mortar gunner assigned to Company E of the 120th Infantry Regiment, remembers his time in Europe and the battle at Mortain in great detail.
"I wondered if we'd ever get rescued, but I didn't think that I'd ever get killed up there," said Jaber. "We had a company commander who wouldn't surrender, so we were lucky...but those people who weren't on that hill, but were still fighting to get us off that hill, they won't ever know that they were ever honored."
The Brigade's receipt of the award coincided with their 74th Annual Reunion, where the remaining veterans of the 30th ID meet and reminisce. Although the attended veterans are all at least 90 years old, their bonds remain familiar and strong.
"This is the first time that I've been out in a really long time," said Jaber, speaking on how he was fortunate to attend the reunion, despite the pandemic. "I wouldn't miss it, and I'm not going to miss the rest of it either."
| Date Taken: | 07.27.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 07.27.2020 15:37 |
| Story ID: | 374678 |
| Location: | RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Hometown: | RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 864 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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