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Return to First Friday Briefing Georgia
Historians Participate in D-Day Anniversary
Members of the Georgia National Guard’s historical
detachment were among the thousands of military veterans and civilians to
celebrate the 60th anniversary of the D-Day invasion It was on that fateful day that American, British, and
Canadian forces landed on a 40 mile stretch of beach at Normandy, France,
during World War II, while U.S. paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st Airborne
and British paratroopers made the jump into its fields. As a part of the official celebration of the momentous day that led to the defeat of Nazi Germany, three U.S. Reserve and the Georgia history sections, collected oral interviews from D-Day veterans who were able to return for the occasion. Staff Sgt. Gail Parnelle one of the Georgia historians said
she and her teammates were humbled as the veterans shared their
memories. Besides Parnelle, Georgia’s team was made up of Capt.
Gerald Pellegrini and Staff Sgt. William Estes. They joined the
Reserve detachments from May 24th to June 12th, while working
under the direction of V Corps in Germany. Pellegrini and
Parnelle also attended two weeks of military history training at
Ft. McPherson prior to leaving for Normandy. Parnelle said Maj.
Jeff Edge was instrumental in the Georgia National Guard being
represented. The Georgia team’s assignment while in Normandy was to
focus on the airborne veterans. In the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, the skies of the
Cotentin Peninsula of Normandy were filled with American
paratroopers who faced many difficulties during and after the
jump. Still those sky-borne warriors managed to hold vital
locations for the troops coming in from Utah Beach as well as
capturing Ste Mere-Eglise, the first French town liberated.
The history team spent several days in Ste Mere-Eglise and the surrounding countryside collecting oral histories from vets of the 82nd, the 101st and troop carrier and glider pilots. They also joined the team at Utah Beach at times to do interviews. Though they worked out of Ste Mere-Eglise and Utah Beach, Pellegrini, Parnelle and Estes traveled to Pointe du Hoc, where U.S. Army rangers scaled the cliffs on D-Day, and to Omaha Beach where American forces struggled onto the beach and up high cliffs against Germans defenses.
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