Photo By Maj. Cain Claxton | U.S. Army Col. Timothy Shaffer, director of operations for U.S. Army Southern European...... read more read more
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CARENTAN, France – The people of Normandy have deep appreciation for Soldiers, especially those wearing the patches of units that supported the airborne operations and D-Day landings on June 5-6, 1944. But for the last two weeks, they’ve shown gratitude to the Soldiers of the Vicenza Military Community, tasked with organizing the Army’s support to D-Day 78 remembrances here.
“From the moment we arrived all the way to the very end, the people of Saint Mere Eglise and Carentan and dozens of other communities along the Calvados Coast have absolutely rolled out the red carpet for us,” said Col. Mark Denton, commander of 207th Military Intelligence Brigade (Theater), based out of Vicenza, Italy.
Denton’s brigade was tasked to establish a base of operations and billeting for hundreds of Servicemembers arriving Normandy to commemorate the 78th anniversary of the D-Day landing. In addition, 207th MI Soldiers maintained command and control of support for more than 50 ceremonies across the region.
Meanwhile, Vicenza-based 173rd Airborne Brigade organized 450 paratroopers from its own ranks and 82nd Airborne Division, 25th Infantry Division, U.S. Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR), 75th Ranger Regiment, U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command, and paratroopers from the Netherlands, Germany and France. Weather caused the cancellation of the static line jump, but SOCEUR and civilian parachutists impressed nearly 10,000 onlookers gathered around the site of the 101st and 82nd division World War II jumps 78 years ago.
U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa Soldiers also supported a number of ceremonies throughout the week. Commanding General Maj. Gen. Andrew Rohling and Director of Operations Col. Timothy Shaffer spoke to hundreds of attendees at four remembrances.
“It’s an honor to be here and pay tribute to the amazing service and sacrifices made here,” said Rohling. “It’s been our privilege to play a supporting role to the units who have such a rich and heralded history in winning the liberation Normandy, France, and eventually the rest of Europe. But even in doing that, we found that the people here have the deepest respect for American Soldiers, regardless of the patch on their sleeves.”
| Date Taken: | 06.08.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 06.15.2022 13:48 |
| Story ID: | 423011 |
| Location: | FR |
| Web Views: | 80 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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