Courtesy Photo | Soldiers from the 28th Division march down the Champs-Elysées in Paris during a...... read more read more
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By Sgt. 1st Class Aaron Heft
While crowds of Parisians waved banners and called out with joy, the thump of hundreds of pairs of boots marching in unison sounded down the Champs-Elysées, Paris’ most famous avenue on Aug. 29, 1944.
The columns of 28th Division troops marching through the French capital marked not only the end of the German occupation of Paris, but the beginning of the end of Nazi control of the rest of the country.
Following the Allied landings at Normandy in June 1944, fighting stalled into a brutal fight from field to field across the French countryside. "Hedgerow Hell" consisted of fighting through hard-packed root-filled walls 4 to 6 feet in height overgrown with thick hedges and trees where German troops concealed in foxholes and opened up with deadly crossfire from automatic weapons.
Pennsylvania's 28th Division joined other Allied troops in forcing their way through this terrain, liberating towns like Percy and Gathemo. As the Normandy Hedgerows disappeared behind them, they encountered cheering crowds jamming the roadside who welcomed them with showers of fruit, wine and shouts of "Vive les Americains.”
Now commanded by Brig. Gen. Norman Cota, the decorated veteran of North Africa and D-Day, the Keystone Division received word that they would be shuttled to Versailles, the historic palace of French Kings, and would take part in yet another landmark moment for the French people. They would march down the Champs-Elysées the following day, marking the liberation of Paris and the coming liberation of the entire French nation.
Despite the festivities, elements of the division were still working through the realities of war.
In his memoir, “I Was Baker 2,” platoon sergeant J.J. Kuhn of the 110th Infantry recalled, "We were in one hell of a skirmish when a runner came up to me. 'Get your platoon back to the park,' he said, ‘We’re going to parade through Paris.’”
Kuhn pulled his men back from the contact to find trucks ready to ship them to a staging area, complete with bedrolls and chow for the men.
Harry Kemp, a company commander in the 109th Infantry, recalled in his book “The Regiment: Let the Citizens Bear Arms” that the parade was not just a show but also "a tactical movement to regain contact with enemy forces still fleeing for Germany."
Despite the tactical importance, the parade was meant to inspire pride and fighting spirit in the Allied cause.
The men were assembled in a cold rain the night before the parade, issued clean uniforms, and ordered to prep their equipment. The men knew that the following morning they would represent the entire Allied cause in the eyes of the French people.
On Aug. 29, the rain stopped, and the emerging sun inspired the men of the Keystone Division as they formed up 24 men abreast along the side streets of Paris.
A division directive outlined the order of march: The division's 28th Recon Troop would lead the way, with the unit broken down into two columns of men. Behind them followed the 112th, 110th, and 109th Infantry Regiments in dual columns.
After a 15-minute pause, the Division's Artillery and Tank Destroyer units would thunder by, with Anti-Aircraft Artillery, the 103rd Medical Battalion, 103rd Engineer Battalion, and 81st Chemical Mortar Battalion bringing up the rear of the column.
The details were spelled out to a "t." Unit colors would be flown, arms slung, and personnel would execute an eyes-right when passing the reviewing stand. The Division directive included a note that “all personnel will be impressed with the honor conferred on the Division and with the importance of putting on the parade in the exceptional 28th Division manner.”
The division did not disappoint its new commander. The march was flawlessly executed. Parisians mobbed the men, throwing bouquets, cheering "Vive les Americains!” and passing the occasional swig of wine or cognac to the troops as they marched by.
The Division's route down the Champs-Elysees took them around the Arc de Triomphe, a memorial to French soldiers who fell in prior wars. They split their columns around the monument, combining them again in review for Generals Omar Bradley, Courtney Hodges, and the division's own Norman Cota.
French dignitaries, including General Charles de Gaulle and Le Clerc, also watched the columns of Pennsylvania Guardsmen file past in perfect stride as crowds waved French and American banners.
The 28th Division newspaper, The Invader, commemorated the event with a special edition on Aug. 30, 1944. A bold headline topped the center column exclaiming “WE MARCH IN PARIS.” The lines echoed to the division's men the importance of their march, the value beyond the steps taken, and the routes driven. “History was made in Paris this bleak rainy Tuesday - August 29th, 1944 - for with the entry of our Division the French capital, symbol of French liberty and the center of European civilization became free once more.”
For many in the division, the parade would stand out in their memories beyond the months of heavy fighting.
Pfc. Robert Smith, a medic assigned to the 112th Infantry who would later fight in the Hurtgen Forest and the frozen hell of the Ardennes, stated after the war that Paris marked one of the proudest moments in his military career.
Years later, in his memoir of the war titled “Medic!,” he recalled the emotion felt by many other Keystone soldiers who marched in step down the Paris streets that hot August morning: “I still feel the pride and excitement I experienced that day.”
(Editor’s note: Sgt. 1st Class Aaron Heft is a former platoon sergeant with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry Regiment, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania Army National Guard. He is currently the non-commissioned officer in charge of the Army National Guard Leader Development Program in Arlington, Va.)
| Date Taken: | 08.26.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 08.26.2022 15:08 |
| Story ID: | 428144 |
| Location: | FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 1,129 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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