German students, US Army chaplain mark 70th anniversary of Rhine River crossing in friendship

By William B. King, 5th Signal Command Public AffairsMarch 25, 2015

German students, US Army chaplain mark 70th anniversary of Rhine River crossing in friendship
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Chap. (Col.) Carleton Birch, 5th Signal Command chaplain, speaks about living as an American in Germany and about the role of Army chaplains to a class of about 150 upper-level high school students March 25, 2015 at the Kant-Gymnasium in Boppard, Ger... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
German students, US Army chaplain mark 70th anniversary of Rhine River crossing in friendship
2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Chap. (Col.) Carleton Birch, 5th Signal Command chaplain, speaks with a student from the Kant-Gymnasium March 25, 2015 in Boppard, Germany near a small marker indicating where the 87th Infantry Division crossed the Rhine River 70 years ago next to th... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
German students, US Army chaplain mark 70th anniversary of Rhine River crossing in friendship
3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Chap. (Col.) Carleton Birch, 5th Signal Command chaplain, and faculty and students of the Kant-Gymnasium in Boppard, Germany release red, white and blue balloons together into the air March 25, 2015 to mark the 70th anniversary of the 87th Infantry D... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

WIESBADEN, Germany -- On the evening of March 24, 1945, Soldiers from the 87th Infantry Division of General George S. Patton's Third U.S. Army began crossing the Rhine River at Boppard, Germany through heavy smoke and enemy fire. Seventy years later, the German school that stands next to the crossing site marked the occasion by inviting a U.S. Army chaplain to be their guest and speak to the students.

Chap. (Col.) Carleton Birch, 5th Signal Command chaplain, spoke about living as an American in Germany and about the role of Army chaplains to a class of about 150 upper-level high school students March 25, 2015 at the Kant-Gymnasium in Boppard, Germany.

"I joined the Army because I thought it would be a good thing to be a chaplain in the Army. Our focus is on assisting Soldiers and their families," Birch said.

He talked about his experiences serving in Germany during the Cold War, helping the physically and mentally disabled at an orphanage in Korea, and in providing clothes to the poor in Afghanistan.

"It's not only for the Soldiers, but also for the families," Birch said of Army life. He noted that his oldest two children were born in Germany, and his youngest two children were born in Korea.

Before Birch spoke, students observed a moment of silence then Dr. Alexander Ritter, a teacher at Kant-Gymnasium, gave a brief history of the area during the war and of the U.S. Army's crossing of the Rhine River near the school.

"It's important to connect the pupils by as many points as possible to the world they are living in. You're not able to understand the present without history," Ritter said.

After Birch's presentation the students and faculty went down to the river and stood next to a small marker indicating where the river crossing had taken place 70 years ago, then released red, white and blue balloons together into the air.

Ritter said he has students with many different political and social views, but reminds them all, "You should never forget that if the Americans didn't do that job in World War II, we never would have had the chance to grow up in freedom and liberty."

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