After a busy week of long days and short nights, Soldiers of the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division color guard returned Sept. 20 to Fort Riley after participating in a series of events to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Belgium from the iron fist of Hitler's Third Reich during World War II.
The province of Liège, one of Belgium's major cities, was occupied by German troops that were largely expelled by the 1st Inf. Div.
That history of service and sacrifice was not taken lightly by the "Dragon" brigade color guard. Sgt. Samantha Tram, one of the team's flag bearers, said the trip was more than just an opportunity to stand in the spotlight.
"To be able to honor our forefathers has been amazing," Tram said. "We were representing the 1st Inf. Div. All of those Soldiers left such a lasting impact."
One of the many highlights of the trip was spending time at the Remember Museum 39-45, located in the town of Thimister-Clermont, a predominantly French community covered with rolling emerald hills teeming with masses of livestock. In June 1944, Marcel Schmetz, a 12-year-old boy found himself with more than 100 1ID Soldiers taking refuge on his family's farmhouse. Once the house guests departed that December for Aachen to continue fighting at the Battle of the Bulge, scores of items were left behind: cooking pans, rations, letters from the Soldiers' families back home, candy boxes and ammunition. A self-professed pack rat, Marcel kept every single artifact that remained. Once he met his wife, Mathilde, they came up with the idea of converting that same farmhouse into a museum, which opened in 1994.
"It's a living museum and it's more personal," Mathilde said. "It's a family-type place. It's not about uniforms or guns. The people that come here want to see the more personal things."
As the color guard ventured back and forth to various ceremonies and the events that followed while in Belgium, the museum served as an unofficial home base.
Fisher believes he will return to this area of Europe to visit his new friends in the future.
"Mathilde and Marcel and everyone made us feel like family," Fisher said. "It's a great feeling knowing that the Belgian people have this kind of love for the U.S. Army."
Ninety-one-year-old retired Command Sgt. Maj. Bill Ryan, Company I, 16th Infantry Regiment, was also on hand for the week's events. Ryan, who landed with the regiment on Omaha Beach, entertained the group with colorful stories about his life. He said he was very happy to see the young descendants of the division continuing its legacy.
"With these ceremonies, we are glorifying the 1st Inf. Div. because this is the area that we liberated," Ryan said. "They will never forget what we did for them in World War I and World War II, and that's why they love us."
Before performing their duties at the Henri-Chapelle and Ardennes American cemeteries, the color guard team helped place long-stemmed red roses on the graves of 1st Inf. Div. Soldiers who lost their lives on Belgian soil. The Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial contains the graves of 7,992 members of the American military who died in World War II, and is one of 14 cemeteries for Americans killed on foreign soil during that time.
Now that he has a clearer picture of his division's role in this portion of history, Pfc. Scott Fisher, one of the team's rifle bearers, said he never thought he would get to experience something like this, and it left an indelible mark.
"I have been very fortunate," Fisher said. "With all the pictures that I got, I hope that I can pass on some of that history to the guys back home as much as I can."
Although there were a lot of laughs throughout the trip, there were tears as well. During dinner one evening at the Schmetz home, Marcel stood up to give an emotional rendition of the National Anthem -- in his native French tongue. The group sat transfixed through the entire song. As a gift to Marcel, the Soldiers leapt from the table and sang the "Big Red One" song at the top their lungs, their voices echoing through the house.
"The fact that he took the time to learn it … that says a lot," Tram said.
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The 4th IBCT color guard -- made of Sgt. Lucas Bass, Sgt. Samantha Tram, Cpl. Jonathan McDown, Spc. Spencer Secord and Pfc. Scott Fisher -- earned the opportunity to represent the division in Belgium after taking top honors at this year's Color Guard Competition during Victory Week.
This was the second time this year Big Red One Solders participated in World War II commemorations in Europe. More than 20 from the division spent four days walking in the footsteps of "Big Red One" Soldiers who helped liberate the people of France in what was the beginning of the end of Hitler's campaign of global domination. The Soldiers participated in ceremonies, met and spoke with French citizens of all ages, toured hallowed battlegrounds and let the history of the area tell itself.
-- J. Parker Roberts
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