{"id":33453,"date":"2020-12-15T21:22:48","date_gmt":"2020-12-15T21:22:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/12\/15\/82nd-airbornes-special-relationship-with-d-day-village-endures-virtually-amid-pandemic\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:46:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:46:08","slug":"82nd-airbornes-special-relationship-with-d-day-village-endures-virtually-amid-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2020\/12\/15\/82nd-airbornes-special-relationship-with-d-day-village-endures-virtually-amid-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"82nd Airborne\u2019s special relationship with D-Day village endures virtually amid pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Troops from the 82nd Airborne Division held a virtual unboxing of postcards from the people of Sainte-M\u00e8re-\u00c9glise, France on Tuesday, in a post-COVID continuation of the division\u2019s long-standing relationship with the village that began on the morning of June 6, 1944 \u2014 D-Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before dawn that day, thousands of 82nd paratroopers floated into the village and surrounding countryside as part of the Allied invasion of Normandy. One soldier, John Steele, landed with his parachute caught on the steeple of the local church, a scene immortalized in \u201cThe Longest Day\u201d and in-person at the historic church, where a parachute dummy hangs today in his honor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Steele was wounded and captured by the Germans, Sainte-M\u00e8re-\u00c9glise ultimately was the first French village liberated<\/a> from Nazi occupation that day. An American flag went up in front of the town hall after the paratroopers secured the town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In years before the present pandemic, members of the division have participated in regular commemorative events in the village, including a large airborne operation involving 600 paratroopers that marked the 70th anniversary of D-Day in 2014<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery year paratroopers cross the Atlantic to visit with the people of this small French town; conducting Airborne operations, learning about their shared history and giving\u2026[local children] the patch of the All Americans,\u201d said Lt. Col. Mike Burns, the division public affairs officer. Paratroopers who participate in the festivities usually hand their unit patch to children who gather at the drop zone to watch the commemorative event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe most humbling experience of all is going back and spending time with the people of the respective villages,\u201d said Capt. Darren Cinatl, who participated in a 2019 commemorative event in Normandy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s in-person events were cancelled<\/a> due to coronavirus restrictions imposed by the French government and U.S. military. Some of the traditions endured, however, thanks to video conferencing and ingenuity from U.S. Army Europe-Africa, 82nd Airborne, and French officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soldiers from the division packaged and sent full-color unit patches via mail to the town\u2019s children over the summer, who reciprocated the gift by sending a box full of holiday cards to the unit headquarters. The division\u2019s command team also laid a wreath<\/a> at a memorial on Fort Bragg to mark the battle\u2019s 76th anniversary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
82nd Airborne Division soldiers sent their unit patches and other souvenirs to the children of Sainte-Mere-Eglise by mail earlier this year after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of traditional in-person commemorative events. (Lt. Col. Mike Burns)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

82nd Airborne officials, including Cinatl; the division chaplain, Lt. Col. Brian Koyn; and historian John Aarsen held an unboxing event for the cards at the division\u2019s museum on Tuesday. Other officials, including the village\u2019s new mayor, Alain Holley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of the cards, written in a mixture of English and French, expressed a mixture of enduring gratitude for the division\u2019s actions that day and regret that the traditional commemorative events couldn\u2019t occur. Two linguists from the division \u2013\u2013 Spc. Jared Wilkins and Spc. Clifford Scott \u2014 were on-hand to translate for the virtual audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are very sad to not have been able to see you this year,\u201d read one card from two children, Liam and Emma. \u201cThank you from the bottom of our hearts for all that you have done for the French. Thank you for liberty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am nine years old, and I was born on the sixth of June,\u201d wrote Gabriel, another child, who included a sketch of the historic church with a paratrooper dangling from the steeple. \u201cThank you for the sacrifice you were ready to make to free us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe shared history is so appreciated in Normandy,\u201d said Cinatl after reading several cards. \u201cSuffice to say they have a better understanding than some of our schools here in the United States\u2026You\u2019re blown away when a someone who is 14 or 9 years old is giving you a history lesson.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sainte-M\u00e8re-\u00c9glise mayor, Holley, offered remarks set against a virtual background of the church steeple. \u201cThis year was very special because of the circumstances with COVID,\u201d he explained. \u201cNobody can, and nobody should, forget the sacrifices that American soldiers did for France.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have already started the planning for next year\u2019s events,\u201d Holley added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
On Tuesday, the 82nd Airborne Division held an unboxing event for postcards sent from the residents of Sainte-Mere-Eglise, France in lieu of the in-person commemorative traditions interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic (Master Sgt. Alex Burnett)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One resident of Sainte-M\u00e8re-\u00c9glise, a waiter at a restaurant on the church square, took a different approach in his note of gratitude. \u201cI\u2019m a tall guy with a Yankees cap. If you show me this postcard [next year], there\u2019ll be a free beer in it for you!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

COVID may have stopped the festivities, but not the spirit of the annual D-Day 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