Photo By Brady Gross | Veterans of Operation Varsity stand next to Soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division....... read more read more
Subscribe
By C/PFC Nathaniel Griffis
2D Brigade Warrior Battalion
Wiesbaden High School Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps
WIESBADEN, GERMANY -- On March 24th, 2022, veterans of World War II unveiled a monument near Wesel, Germany, honoring the men who sacrificed their lives during Operation Varsity. More than 140 guests attended the event. Forty Wiesbaden Warrior Battalion Cadets, who assisted in planning and provided the color guard for the ceremony, were also present.
On March 24th, 77 years ago, more than 16,000 paratroopers dropped in and around Wesel, Germany. The mission, known as Operation Varsity, was the first and most significant Allied paratroop operation in Nazi Germany. Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery devised a plan, code-named Operation Plunder. This plan would allow the Allied forces to cross the Rhine, which separated Allied-controlled Germany from Nazi-occupied Germany at the time.
Operation Varsity was developed as a support operation to avoid a massive death toll. The objective was to capture the Rhine River and the surrounding area to allow ground troops to cross safely. It would include the combined forces of the British 6th and the American 17th Airborne Divisions and involve over 1,700 transport craft and 1,000 fighter planes.
As the aircraft neared their targets, the green light came on, and the troopers exited the plane. When asked about his thoughts before the jump, Oliver W. Harris of the Headquarters Company, 17th Airborne Division said, “I wasn’t exactly thinking. I just wanted to survive.”
While parachute groups descended from the sky, fighter planes and bombers whizzed overhead. P-47 Thunderbolt pilot Edwin Cottrell of the 493rd Fighter Squadron said that while flying his plane during Operation Varsity, “I was alone in my plane. Our primary mission was to drop bombs on tanks and railroads and relay information on troop movements.”
Despite the 17th having never experienced a combat jump before, each echelon of airborne Soldiers was able to quickly and systematically clear their designated zone within only a few hours of their landing. Although more than 2,500 Allied soldiers and over 70 planes were lost, the combined forces of the American 17th and the British 6th Airborne Divisions were able to pave a landing path for the thousands of Allied troops that would later cross the Rhine.
The ceremony to unveil the new monument began as Wiesbaden Warrior Battalion Cadets stood in formation behind the speakers. The event, organized by Lt. Col. (Ret.) Jon Ring, Mr. Michael Johnson, Mr. Andrew Biggio, Mr. Jeff Schumacher, and several other participants, began with JROTC Cadets Kayla Pham and Theresa Carballo singing the American and German national anthems.
Lt. Col. Pinkie Fischer continued the ceremony with a prayer in which she stated, “They did not jump thinking they would make history in the airborne community, but rather their courageous actions forever made an imprint on the pages of time.” Johnson, the property manager of the site the monument was placed upon, said in his speech, “I would like to make a personal thank you, to the respect and the courage of the 17th, because without them, I don’t know if I would be standing here today.”
The president of the 17th Airborne Division’s Descendant Association, Scions of the 17th Airborne Division, Schumacher, remarked, “Where would the world be today without you? We will honor you forever and ever.”
Lt. Col. (Ret.)Ring of the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment made the final speech. Throughout his remarks, Ring thanked the members of the 17th for their service, stating, “Thank God for the men of the 17th Airborne Division and their hand in liberating this area from the Third Reich.”
As the four veterans of the 17th Airborne Division pulled off the WWII-era parachute covering the monument, the project was revealed. Standing at over six and a half feet tall and weighing nearly five tons, the Belgian bluestone memorial, which took over five months to complete, bears the insignia of the 17th. The column stands as a mark of the sacrifices made by the Soldiers of Operation Varsity.
In the final moments of Johnson’s speech, he captured the thoughts and feelings of all present, “Seventy seven years ago, a war was raging. These veterans were descending from heaven, to fight for everlasting peace. For that, we can all be grateful.”
| Date Taken: | 03.29.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 03.29.2022 03:02 |
| Story ID: | 417365 |
| Location: | WIESBADEN, HESSEN, DE |
| Web Views: | 303 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Veterans unveil monument to memorialize Operation Varsity, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
