Sgt Eagle
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La Fière bridge
La Fière bridge
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Between June 6th and 9th, the bridge at La Fière and the raised causeway across the flooded Merderet valley were the scene of violent clashes between German soldiers and the Americans of the 82nd Airborne Division. The latter initially needed to hold this crossing point in order to prevent their adversaries from marching on Sainte-Mère, though they also wanted to gain a foothold on the other bank in order to join up with comrades who had been dropped west of the river and were stranded behind enemy lines.
In 1997, a memorial to the glory of the American airborne troops was installed on the slope next to the Fière bridge. The centrepiece is “Iron Mike”, an imposing statue of a determined-looking paratroop - a replica of the one at the military training college at Fort Benning in the United States. A plaque added by the veterans of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Division reminds visitors that 336 of their comrades perished during the Battle of Normandy, while a further 825 were either wounded or reported missing.
Sgt Eagle
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From this day till the ending of the world we in it shall be remembered ,we Band Of Brothers Henry V-W.Shakespear
Eendracht maakt Macht !
GO Belgium
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1/30/2005, 7:57 am
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