OP International Southern France 70th Anniversary Commemorations
Continue – Part 5
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.