106th Division Flag of Freedom Ceremony ST VITH

[Carl W.]

On behalf of the 106th Infantry Division Association, a ceremony will take place at the division memorial in St. Vith on December 16th, 2012. The purpose of this event is to remember the sacrifices made by all veterans during the Battle of the Bule and the 106th in particular.

Info sheet:

dl.dropbox.com/u/14185298/St.%20Vith%20Ceremony%20(16%20Dec%202012).pdf


Greetings!
Carl

[connie]

Carl,

Thank you for your part in making this happen-- and for all the meaningful things you do to keep division history alive...

Hope the day went well...

Any photos?

Connie

[Carl W.]

Hi Connie,

It was a very busy day yesterday and after getting home late in the PM, I signed off for the day. Today was a working day so here I am with a write up on the ceremony. I'm very happy to say that this first annual event went very well, which is thanks to all those who participated. My main thanks goes out to my good friend Doug Mitchell, an expat who lives in the Eifel. He was one of the driving force behind the ceremony.

We assembled at the 106th Division memorial in the Kloserstrasse at St. Vith at 10.00 am. The first attendees were arriving at 10.15am at which time two vintage WWII GMC deuce-and-a-half trucks, fully laden with re-enactors dressed in vintage GI kit were rolling into St. Vith. These men, members of a Dutch re-enactment group, had volunteered to provide a backdrop for the ceremony. Their original gear and verhicles really added to the atmosphere of this December 16th. The US Air Force Color Guard and Flag Detail of the Spangdahlem airbase was present as an honor guard for the ceremony and to assist in the actual lowering and raising of the US "Flag of Friendship", donated by the 106th Infantry Division Association. Besides myself and Doug as representatives of the 106th Division Association, also taking part in the ceremony were Mayor Christian Krings of St. Vith as well as several of his council members, a flag detail consisting of Belgian war veterans, Denise Oger and Anne-Marie Noel-Simon of CRIBA. There were about 60-65 people attending in total.
After disembarking their vehicles, the re-enactors marched up the Klosterstrasse and stood at attention in front of the monument. After an order was given, they were repositioned to the back of the monument, where they presented arms.


Doug welcomed everybody and told a few words about the intention of the ceremony in honor of the 106th. The meaning of the 'Flag of Friendship' is the US veterans of the 106th thanking their loyal Belgian friends for their service of commemoration. This year's flag was to be donated to Mrs. Denise Oger, acting president of CRIBA. She has done a great deal for returning veterans and their families and as president of CRIBA she is well liked. CRIBA of course is the organisation behind many of the monuments and commemorations for the Battle here in Belgium.

Doug passed the word to me and I spoke briefly on the events which occured in the St. Vith area 68 years ago and how they affected the lives of the civilians and soldiers in the area. Then , mayor Krings gave a very nice speech about the importance of remembering. This concluded the speaking part of the ceremony. Next was the actual "Flag of Friendship" donation.


Anne-Marie and Denise first laid a wreath at the memorial on behalf of CRIBA. Then the Spangdahlem Flag team moved in and lowered the US Flag of Friendship, which had been raised prior to the ceremony. The flag was carefully folded into the traditional tri-cornered hat and handed to Denise with a word of thanks. Following this, the US flag of the town of St. Vith was then raised by the flag team and saluted.


This concluded the ceremony after which photos were taken and all attendees were invited to the Pip-Margraff hotel in the center of town, where a warm beverage was provided, courtesy of Mayor Krings and the town of St.Vith.

In the afternoon I took a drive along the front and visited the 'unofficial' Lost 500 memorial on Hill 576, Laudesfeld. Later, around 2 pm there was to be a ceremony and wreath laying at Baugnez, the infamous site of the so-called Malmedy Massacre.





Greetings from Belgium,
Carl