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U.S. Army Soldiers serving with the 1st Infantry Division pose for a photograph at the 1st Inf. Div. Memorial located at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, June 1, 2024. Soldiers of the Big Red One landed in waves near this location during Operation Overlord of the Normandy Invasion in the Second World War. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Charles Leitner)
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U.S. Army Spc. Yawo Landa, a Soldier assigned to the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, stands at attention during a Dutch military ceremony held at the combat engineer memorial on the bluffs overlooking Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, June 1, 2024. Soldiers of the Big Red One visited the site to gain a better understanding of the unit’s history and the pivotal role it played in the Allied victory during the Second World War. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Charles Leitner)
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U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to 1st Infantry Division walk up a hill at Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, June 2, 2024. Soldiers of the Big Red One visited the site to gain a better understanding of the unit’s history and the pivotal role it played in the Allied victory during the Second World War. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Charles Leitner)
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The Spire of Notre-Dame Carentan in Carentan-Les Marias, May 31, 2024. Carentan-Les Marias hosted 1st Infantry Division Soldiers during the 80th anniversary of D-Day. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Koltyn O’Marah)
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U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John V. Meyer III, commander of the 1st Infantry Division, speaks to his Soldiers on the beaches of Omaha near Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, June 4, 2024. Soldiers of the Big Red One visited the site to gain a better understanding of the unit’s history and the pivotal role it played in the Allied victory during the Second World War. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Charles Leitner)
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U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John V. Meyer III and Command Sgt. Maj. Derek Noyes, command team of the 1st Infantry Division, celebrate the heroism of Charles Shay, a combat medic who landed on the beaches of Omaha, at his memorial in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, June 4, 2024. Soldiers of the Big Red One visited the site to gain a better understanding of the unit’s history and the pivotal role it played in the Allied victory during the Second World War. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Charles Leitner)
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U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to the 1st Infantry Division look out over the Easy Red sector of Omaha Beach on top of a bluff near Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, June 2, 2024. Soldiers of the Big Red One visited the site to gain a better understanding of the unit’s history and the pivotal role it played in the Allied victory during the Second World War. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Charles Leitner)
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U.S. Army Veteran Julia Kelly Meets with 1st Infantry Division Soldiers at Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, June 2, 2024. Soldiers of the Big Red One visited the site to gain a better understanding of the unit’s history and the pivotal role it played in the Allied victory during WWII. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Koltyn O’Marah)
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The 1st Infantry Division Memorial sits on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, June 1, 2024. Soldiers of the Big Red One landed in waves near this location during Operation Overlord of the Normandy Invasion in the Second World War. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Koltyn O’Marah)
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U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John V. Meyer III, commander of the 1st Infantry Division, looks at the names etched into the 1st Inf. Div. memorial on the bluffs overlooking Omaha Beach in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, June 4, 2024. Soldiers of the Big Red One visited the site to gain a better understanding of the unit’s history and the pivotal role it played in the Allied victory during the Second World War. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Charles Leitner)
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U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jarret Bracewell, an explosive ordnance specialist assigned to the 1st Infantry Division looks into a German made bunker at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, June 1, 2024. Soldiers of the Big Red One landed in waves near this location during Operation Overlord of the Normandy Invasion in the Second World War. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Koltyn O’Marah)
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U.S. Army Sgt. Benjamin Holloway, a religious affairs specialist assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, looks at the graves at the Normandy American Cemetery near Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, June 1, 2024. Soldiers of the Big Red One landed in waves near this location during Operation Overlord of the Normandy Invasion in the Second World War. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Charles Leitner)
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A 1st Infantry Division helmet used in World War Two at the 1st Inf. Div. Museum located near Colleyville, France, May 31, 2024. Soldiers of the Big Red One landed in waves near this location during Operation Overlord of the Normandy Invasion in the Second World War. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Koltyn O’Marah)
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A 1st Infantry Division reenactor poses for a photograph at the 1st Inf. Div. Museum located near Colleyville, France, May 31, 2024. Soldiers of the Big Red One landed in waves near this location during Operation Overlord of the Normandy Invasion in the Second World War. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Koltyn O’Marah)
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U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John V. Meyer III, commander of the 1st Infantry Division, speaks at the Charles Shay Memorial in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, June 4, 2024. Soldiers of the Big Red One visited the site to gain a better understanding of the unit’s history and the pivotal role it played in the Allied victory during the Second World War. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Charles Leitner)
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An impact crater from U.S. Naval artillery remains on the ruins of a German bunker situated on Pointe du Hoc in Calvados, Normandy, France, June 2, 2024. U.S. Army Rangers climbed the cliff face and assaulted battery positions here to relieve efforts by the German army to stop the assault on the beaches of Normandy. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Charles Leitner)
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Dr. Paul H. Herbert, a historian, speaks to U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to the 1st Infantry Division on a bluff overlooking the Easy Red sector of Omaha Beach near Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, June 2, 2024. Herbert, a retired colonel who served with the 1st Inf. Div., led Soldiers of the Big Red One on a tour of sites in Normandy to gain a better understanding of the unit’s history and the pivotal role it played in the Allied victory during the Second World War. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Charles Leitner)
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U.S. Army Spc. Yawo Landa, a Soldier assigned to the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, looks at the Charles Shay monument at Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, June 2, 2024. Soldiers of the Big Red One visited the site to gain a better understanding of the unit’s history and the pivotal role it played in the Allied victory during the Second World War. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Charles Leitner)
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Graves at the Normandy American Cemetery rest near Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, June 1, 2024. Soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division landed in waves near this location during Operation Overlord of the Normandy Invasion in the Second World War. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Charles Leitner)
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U.S. Army Pfc. David Heikes, a Soldier assigned to the 1st Squad, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, stands inside a German made bunker located at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, June 1, 2024. Soldiers of the Big Red One landed in waves near this location during Operation Overlord of the Normandy Invasion in the Second World War. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Koltyn O’Marah)
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Waves crash on the beaches below Pointe du Hoc in Calvados, Normandy, France, June 2, 2024. U.S. Army Rangers climbed the cliff face and assaulted battery positions here to relieve efforts by the German army to stop the assault on the beaches of Normandy. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Charles Leitner)
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The view of Omaha Beach from a dilapidated German made bunker in Normandy, France, June 1, 2024. Soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division landed in waves at this location and played a pivotal role in the Allied victory on D-Day, June 6, 1944. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Charles Leitner)
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U.S. Army Sgt. Cheick Ouattara, a Soldier assigned to the Division Sustainment Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, walks through a field on a bluff overlooking the Easy Red sector of Omaha Beach near Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, June 2, 2024. Soldiers of the Big Red One visited the site to gain a better understanding of the unit’s history and the pivotal role it played in the Allied victory during the Second World War. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Charles Leitner)
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The tide rises at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, June 1, 2024. Soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division landed in waves at this location during Operation Overlord of the Normandy Invasion of the Second World War. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Charles Leitner)
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U.S. Army Spc. Douglas Thrower, an infantrymen assigned to the 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, stands on the sands of Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, June 1, 2024. Soldiers of the Big Red One visited the site to gain a better understanding of the unit’s history and the pivotal role it played in the Allied victory during the Second World War. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Charles Leitner)
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COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France - U.S. Army Soldiers serving in the 1st Infantry Division led ceremonies at the 80th Annual D-Day Commemoration in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, June 4, 2024.
The day’s events took place at the 1st Inf. Div. monument on the bluff overlooking the Easy Red sector of Omaha Beach where Soldiers of the Big Red One assaulted German defenses during the opening stages of the Invasion of Normandy and at the Charles Shay Memorial, located nearby in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer. Shay.
“If you’ll allow me, I’d like to read something Gen. Eisenhower was given as his directive,” said Maj. Gen. John V. Meyer III, commander of the 1st Inf. Div. “‘You’ll enter the continent of Europe and in conjunction with other united nations undertake operations aimed at the heart of Germany and the destruction of her armed forces.’ That was the mission of the Allied forces. The mission of the 1st Inf. Div. was to be the vanguard of the invasion up these bluffs.”
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John V. Meyer III, commander of the 1st Infantry Division, speaks next to the 1st Inf. Div. memorial on the bluffs overlooking Omaha Beach in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, June 4, 2024. Soldiers of the Big Red One visited the site to gain a better understanding of the unit’s history and the pivotal role it played in the Allied victory during the Second World War. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Charles Leitner)
(Photo Credit: Sgt. Charles Leitner)VIEW ORIGINAL
Members of the 1st Inf. Div. color guard participated in the ceremonies alongside Porte-drapeau (French flag bearers) and Native American service members to remember all those who lost their lives on the sands of Normandy.
Charles Norman Shay, who served as a combat medic in the 1st Inf. Div. earned the Silver Star for his heroic actions on June 6, 1944. Before the day was done, Shay saved the lives of 20 fellow Soldiers.
U.S. Army Veteran Charles N. Shay Meets with 1st Infantry Division Soldiers at Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, June 2, 2024. Soldiers of the Big Red One visited the site to gain a better understanding of the unit’s history and the pivotal role it played in the Allied victory during WWII. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Koltyn O’Marah)
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“Those Soldiers fulfilled their duty,” said Meyer. “By doing so they brought victory. They liberated a continent and they gave people hope that tomorrow will be better than today.”
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John V. Meyer III and Command Sgt. Maj. Derek Noyes, command team of the 1st Infantry Division, celebrate the heroism of Charles Shay, a combat medic who landed on the beaches of Omaha, at his memorial in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, June 4, 2024. Soldiers of the Big Red One visited the site to gain a better understanding of the unit’s history and the pivotal role it played in the Allied victory during the Second World War. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Charles Leitner)
(Photo Credit: Sgt. Charles Leitner)VIEW ORIGINAL
Of the 4,414 Allied troops killed on D-Day, 2,501 were Americans. Between June 6 and July 24, 1944, the 1st Inf. Div. had lost 657 Soldiers. Their names are etched in the stone on the monument erected on the bluff overlooking the beach taken by the Big Red One in the conjoined effort to liberate France and the rest of Europe. By the end of the Second World War the 1st Inf. Div. had lost 5,516 Soldiers.
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