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Southern France 70th Anniversary Commemorations Continue – Part 5 : CR de Monika et Tim Stoy dans le midi de la France : Original format docx <<retour Pour SAUZET cliquez ici ou ici 26 August was an incredible day for us
– we participated in 8 ceremonies and dedicated six plaques honoring
the 3rd Infantry Division. Our first stop was in the village of La Motte du Rhone,
with 400 inhabitants. Mayor Maurice Sabatier was eight years old when
vehicles and soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division arrived and then
continued on through his village. The ceremony was small and simple,
but heartwarming in its sincerity, and the plaque is beautiful. The
village put the plaque on its church! Without a PA system, we sang the
US national anthem and the Dogface Soldier while the villagers sang the
Marseilles. It was wonderful.
On a very tight
schedule, we next traveled to neighboring village Lapalud.
We mounted two jeeps at the outskirts of the village and drove in to
the village center, where the village dedicated another beautiful
plaque in a very nice and warm ceremony. The plaque is mounted on the
wall of the town hall, and the ceremony was well-attended. Mayor Guy
Soulavie hosted a wonderful ceremony.
Our next stop was in the
village of Mondragon,
where the plaque is mounted on the wall at the traffic circle entering
the village where the first 3rd ID soldiers entered 26 August 1944. The
street is named the Route de Liberation, and it was another wonderful
little ceremony. Mayor Christian Peyron hosted another warm and sincere
ceremony as we unveiled another
beautiful plaque honoring the great 3rd
Infantry Division.
Our final stop of the morning was in the
village of Mornas,
and the stone plaque with gold lettering is mounted on the 14th century
gate entering the village at the site of the old village wall. The
village is dominated by the ruins of an 11th century fortress. What a
wonderful location! Mayor Denis Dussargues also delivered very warm
comments and the ceremony was well attended. Five young students
delivered their tributes honoring the soldiers of the 3rd ID. All four
mayors attended each ceremony, and each village had its own style for
their ceremonies, each perfectly fitting the character of the village.
We met many villagers who remember the arrival of the Americans in
their village from their youth.
The afternoon continued with a ceremony in Chateauneuf du Pape
which rededicated its plaque correcting an incorrect liberation date.
We were unable to stay long as our next stop was the town of Bollene,
which had a very nice ceremony at its commemorative
plaques which are
situated near the bridge in the town where the 3rd Recon Company first
entered the town. Madame Mayor Marie-Claire Bompard received us warmly
and the ceremony was well attended.
After Bollene we traveled to Orange,
where the city also rededicated a
plaque in a very nice ceremony
expertly organized by Xavier Marquot. Depute-Maire Jacques Bompard was
an ever gracious host. The next and final stop was a ceremony in
neighboring Piolenc,
which also had a wonderful and fitting
commemoration of the 70th anniversary of its liberation.
On 27 August we participated in
3 ceremonies, in Valreas, Donzere,
and in St Paul Trois Chateaux.
The ceremony in Valreas consisted of 3
components, the first honoring the
3rd ID at the plaque located on the
village square in front of the beautiful town hall. The second
component was at the town’s memorial to the dead, and the final
component honored the citizens of Valreas
who served in the Resistance and were shot by the Germans in June 1944
in the wake of the call for a general uprising after the Normandy
landings. The town’s new mayor, Patrick Adrien, was a gracious host and
expressed his deep gratitude to our veterans for what they did for
France and Valreas
in August 1944. He showed us through his town hall, which was a chateau
for the Simiane family, a powerful local dynasty. There are many
beautiful works of art in the town hall, and the town hopes to open
parts of the building as a museum next year.
The next ceremony on 27 August was in the
afternoon in Donzere,
which is located astride the old National 7. There was a sharp fight in
the southern part of the town with enemy rear guard forces by the 15th
Infantry in 1944. The town had previously dedicated a plaque honoring
its liberators on a water fountain on the Carrefour Souvenir Francais,
and this year added a beautiful
enameled metal plaque honoring the 3rd
Infantry Division. It was a wonderful ceremony, especially as
the
town’s junior council of 12 children participated in the ceremony.
After the plaque dedication we moved to the town’s war memorial where
another ceremony was held to honor the fallen and recognize
contributions of the Resistance and several French aviators who were
killed nearby in August 1944. The first deputy mayor officiated at the
plaque dedication ceremony as Mayor Eric Besson was in Paris for vital
government talks.
Our final ceremony 27 August was in St-Paul-Trois-Chateaux.
Mayor Jean-Michel Catelenois hosted to great ceremonies, one at the war
memorial and one on the Place de Liberation. The town’s band, the La
Lyre, played both anthems, several French patriotic tunes, and
concluded with a rousing first time rendition of the Dog Face Soldier!
There were French and American flags all along the town’s streets – it
was great to see the flags of our two great nations flying together in
the gentle breeze which cooled the late afternoon.
On the 28th of August we participated in
three ceremonies, the first being in the morning in the village of La Begude de Mazenc.
It is a very pretty little village to the east of Montelimar and was in
the 30th Infantry Regiment’s zone. The village held a very nice
ceremony, and the beautiful plaque
which was dedicated is right on the
town hall. The villagers showed great appreciation for what our
veterans did for them 70 years ago. Mayor Marc-André Barbe was very
kind and offered sincere thanks on
behalf of his village to their
liberators.
In the afternoon we participated in two
ceremonies in Montelimar,
the first at the train station honoring the victims of the Phantom
Train, a train load of detainees which was being sent to Germany during
the evacuation of southwest France and which stopped in Montelimar
during the fighting for the city. The second ceremony commemorated the
liberation of the city by the 3rd Infantry Division, along with the
36th Infantry Division fighting to the north of the city, and the FFI
which was very active in the hills of the Drome Department and who
provided critical assistance to both the division’s in their fight to
annihilate the German 19th Army. Depute-Maire Franck Reynier delivered
wonderful remarks honoring the 3rd and 36th Infantry Division soldiers
who fought in and around Montelimar, as well as the Resistance which
played a vital role in the Drome Department.
On 29 August we
represented our brothers in arms of the 36th Infantry Division at a
ceremony in Sauzet,
7 kilometers northwest of Montelimar. Task Force Butler and follow on
units from the 36th ID had a series of vicious fights in and around the
village which is famous for having had a royal castle to which the
Prince of France, (the future Louis XI), was banished by his father.
This was another three stage commemoration – the first stop was
organized by historian and author Thierry Chazalon at the grave of
Pierre Julien, a native son of Sauzet who was a French pilot in WWI,
very active in numerous civic activities in the interwar years, and was
proprietor of the most important hotel in Montelimar at the time WWII
broke out. Pierre Julien hated the Germans, and when the first soldiers
of the 15th Infantry Regiment entered the city, he was present at the
location where the first soldier fell He was so enraged he took that
soldier’s Thompson Sub machinegun and assisted the soldiers of the
regiment until he was killed in the fighting. The little ceremony
included only three distant family members, ourselves, and Thierry, but
it meant a lot to the family and we were honored to be there, and to
learn about this little known chapter of the division’s fight in
Montelimar.
We then moved to the village’s war monument in the cemetery and participated in placing a wreath there, and afterwards marched several hundred yards to the center of the village to a wonderful monument the village dedicated in 2004 honoring the local Resistants and commemorating the community’s liberation. The local choir sang the Chant of the Partisans and the Marseilles, we joined the President of the Society of the Legion of Honor for the Montelimar region, LTG, French Air Force, retired, Alain Roche in placing a wreath at the monument, and Mayor Bernard Deville delivered fitting comments for the occasion. A color guard consisting of re-enactors portraying the 143rd Infantry Regiment presented the US color and Tim sang the US national anthem A Cappella as there was no sound system! After a nice post ceremony reception where Monika and LTG Roche conducted the POW-MIA ceremony, we were given a tour of the beautiful, historical village by the mayor and a subsequent tour of the fighting by a local resident who was 15 at the time of the fighting, accompanied by Thierry and another historian, Roger Bertrand. It was another great day in Southern France representing the United States and the United States Army! Our final commemoration
was the morning of 30 August in Montelimar.
The morning began with a parade of vintage military and civilian
vehicles along the Allees, the beautiful, tree-lined avenue that runs
along the city park. There were many jeeps, a half track, and a tank
destroyer, as well as many old French cars from the late 30s.
Beautiful. After the vehicle parade we marched down to the war
memorial. Montelimar normally only commemorates 11 November at the war
memorial, but this year, as it is the 70th anniversary of the town’s
liberation, they held a liberation commemoration there, which is where
the 3rd ID plaque is located. Monika conducted the POW-MIA ceremony in
honor of the men still missing from the Southern France campaign, and
delivered the final of almost 40 speeches she has delivered the past 16
days! During her speech, she called for children to come forward and
addressed them directly - telling them their mission is not to forget
what happened in WWII and continue to preserve history and peace. LTG
Roche kindly commented on our long term dedication to preserving
history over the 9 years of our Marne Trail II project. The US and
French flags were flying above the memorial with a strong breeze
keeping them stiff, and the cloudless blue sky offered a beautiful
backdrop for the Red, White, and Blue. Depute-Maire Franck Reynier
delivered another wonderful speech, and the crowd was very
enthusiastic. It was a wonderful way to conclude this trip to Southern
France. We can assure all Society members that the French have not
forgotten what our men did for their country 70 years ago. Everyone we
spoke to asked us to let our veterans know they appreciate their
sacrifices and service, and they are welcome to return anytime!
Throughout our over two week stay
in Southern France we have been assisted by innumerable friends in
making last minute coordination, translation assistance, navigation,
historical research, etc. We are deeply indebted to Xavier Marquot,
Mark Tastenoy, Pascal Verrelle, Nico Courtine, Thierry Chazalon, LTG
Alain Roche, Olivier Serre, Gerard Deloche, and BG Pierre Kerlann for
their help, as well as the many project officers in each community we
visited. We were fortunate to find friends in each town who were
willing to carry the Outpost flag for the ceremonies – they always felt
honored to do so. The mayors were gracious hosts and we met so many
wonderful new friends.
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