Remembrance & Gratitude: "Keep the Peace and Never Forget Us."
One of Bear Creek's employees presented us with a folder containing memorabilia from a local U.S. veteran of the Hürtgen Forest, Matthew Wotherspoon, Co. I, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division.
The contents of the folder came home with Mr. Wotherspoon, who attended the June 1976 "Treffen" or reunion of the Society of the First Division U.S.A and its German counterpart for the members of the society of the Greyhound Division (116. Pz Div), in Vossenack-Hürtgenwald, Germany. The West German postal service issued a First Day Cover Postal Stamp with the insignia of the U.S. 1st ID ("Big Red One") and the 116. Pz Div ("Windhund") and an inscription, "For the Freedom in Germany and America." When Northern Light Operations selected Bear Creek for a Hürtgenwald scenario, we had no idea that such a poignant memory would be found and shared. Please take a moment to read the inscription on the card shown below, "...We realize that you as our former opponents, having made the long journey here, have taken another step toward the union of nations....as a reminder to the leaders of this world: Keep the peace and never forget us.." |
Below is a photo gallery of the folder's contents and copies in pdf format that you may download. When you hover your cursor over the photo, a caption describing it will appear. When you click on the photo, it opens the gallery.
NLO will preserve the folder and allow it to speak for itself.
NLO will preserve the folder and allow it to speak for itself.
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Northern Light Operations, LLC also thanks the staff at Bear Creek Camp and all the re-enactors who participated in the first re-enactment event, November 8-10, 2019:
U.S. and Canadian
1st ID 1st ID/BROLHO 2nd AD/82d Recon 6th AD 28th ID 29th ID 44th ID Hq 2-506 PIR "A" Coy 1st Cdn Para Battalion U.S. Cooks |
German
12. SS Pz 2. Gebirgsjäger 3. Germanisch Grossdeutschland Division/7. Ko. GR. 272 GR. 916 Hoch u. Deutschmeister/IR 134 KG Franzky Cafe' Trois German Kantine |