Photo By John Quinn | From left, Chief Warrant Officer 5 Jerimiah Brown, Col. Justin Hufnagel and Command...... read more read more
DEVENS, Mass. – Members of the Special Forces community renewed their connection in a place teeming with history and significance to the unit, region and nation.
Veterans, families and members of the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), which is now stationed in Fort Carson, Co., shared stories and gave depth to current operations by remembering the past during the Return to Devens II reunion Oct. 16 to 19.
Participants shared stories as they visited historical sites, watched Special Forces Soldiers conduct a high-altitude parachute jump, visited the Fort Devens Museum and held a ceremony to unveil the commemorative plaque dedicated to the unit’s service.
During the Oct. 18 ceremony, Col. Justin Hufnagel, commander of 10th Group, said this was the first time members of the unit have visited Devens, which served as home for the 10th Group until 1995.
“This is a big deal for us as a (Special Forces) group,” Hufnagel said, adding this allows those currently serving to learn about the history of the unit.
The unit was originally formed in 1952 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina – now named Fort Moore. The following year, members of 10th Group deployed to Bad Tolz, Germany, according to U.S. Army Special Operations Command’s website: www.soc.mil.
While members of 1st Battalion remained in Germany, most of 10th Group moved to Devens in 1968 and were stationed there until the unit relocated to Colorado in 1994 and 1995, according to www.specialforceshistory.info.
Hufnagel, who was also grateful to visit Bad Totz recently, praised the veterans of the 10th Group who invited them to share in the reunion.
“Thanks for what you’re doing to reconnect us with our legacy,” Hufnagel said, adding he was grateful for the opportunity to return to Devens while he served in the unit.
Duane Barber, retired lieutenant colonel and former commander of 1st Battalion, 10th Group, said the reunion and the emplacement of a commemorative plaque at Rogers Field is an “enduring legacy” of the 10th Group.
“They were here for 27 years,” Barber said, adding it’s been about three decades since 10th Group left Devens.
Fort Devens was closed, but was redesignated as Devens Reserve Forces Training Area in 1996.
Participants had a variety of options to learn more about the history of the installation or the region during the reunion, which was organized by members of the Special Forces Group Association from Chapters 72 New Hampshire, 54 in Massachusetts, 48 in Rhode Island and 19 in New Jersey.
After visiting U.S.S. Constitution in Boston Harbor or the American Heritage Museum in Hudson Oct. 17, veterans and their families drove out to Turner Drop Zone on South Post on Devens RFTA. Veterans of the 10th Group conducted numerous air operations on the drop zone when the unit was stationed at Fort Devens.
The event drew the attention of area residents and units from across the region, especially since the drop zone was re-certified for air drops – for personnel and equipment – this year.
The drop zone was named after Sgt. Robert Tayor Turner, a Massachusetts native who died during a plane crash in the 1960s in North Carolina while documenting the U.S. Army’s Golden Knights Parachute Team.
Members of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 104th Aviation Regiment, Connecticut Army National Guard, picked up the paratroopers on the Drop Zone and brought them to a jumping height of about 12,500 feet in their CH-47 Chinook helicopter.
About 20 Active Duty Soldiers from the 10th Group from Fort Carson and members of Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion., 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Rhode Island Army National Guard, executed two high-altitude, low opening (HALO) jumps onto the drop zone as a crowd of veterans and family members watched of the 10th Group watched from below.
Members of Mass Development maintain about half of the footprint of Fort Devens, which is part of three communities in two counties, as a commercial and residential opportunity for the state and region.
Rogers Field was named after Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers, of Lowell, who was one of the driving forces to help establish Fort Devens as a permanent U.S. Army installation in1931, according to Fort Devens Museum’s website.
The Fort Devens Historic District, which is centered around Rogers Field, includes about 300 acres and more than 100 properties – built between 1929 and 1940 - at the main entrance at Verbeck Gate. The structures were added to the National Register of Historic Districts in 1991, according to http://fortdevensmuseum.org.
The historic district, which was added to the National Register in 1993, includes numerous Georgian Revival-style buildings, and preserves an important part of military history for New England and the northeast, according to the National Park Service’s website: https://home.nps.gov.
| Date Taken: | 10.25.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.25.2024 14:27 |
| Story ID: | 483946 |
| Location: | DEVENS, MASSACHUSETTS, US |
| Web Views: | 739 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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