During the 05th – 08th September, I was honoured to act as the historian for a group of 45 descendants of soldiers from the U.S. 82nd Armoured Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Armoured Division. The group were on a special commemorative trip to retrace the footsteps of each of their relatives during the D-Day Normandy campaign.
The trip concluded with a special memorial service to remember three of the soldiers who were killed during an ambush by a hidden German 88mm artillery piece on the 08th August 1944.
Howard Swonger, the only survivor of the attack, never forgot the friends he left behind that day. Howard would return to Normandy many times to honour their memory. Today, the exact location of the incident is remembered by a plaque with the names of the soldiers, who gave their lives that day for all of our tomorrows.
The trip concluded with a special memorial service to remember three of the soldiers who were killed during an ambush by a hidden German 88mm artillery piece on the 08th August 1944.
Howard Swonger, the only survivor of the attack, never forgot the friends he left behind that day. Howard would return to Normandy many times to honour their memory. Today, the exact location of the incident is remembered by a plaque with the names of the soldiers, who gave their lives that day for all of our tomorrows.
