Annual march Saturday to honor 82nd Airborne's role in Battle of Bulge

By Kevin Dougherty
Stars and Stripes



KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — The 82nd Airborne Division in World War II played a central role in the Battle of the Bulge, with paratroops fighting in or near scores of Belgian towns.

On Saturday, some of those towns, such as Thier du Mont, Arbrefontaine and Goronne, will be revisited as part of an annual hike in southeastern Belgium that commemorates the division’s part in that epic battle. The focus this time is on the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

A similar trek occurs every December in Bastogne to honor 101st Airborne Division units.

This week’s walk “in the footsteps of the 82nd Airborne Division,” as the event is advertised, covers a distance of 24 kilometers, or about 15 miles. The 2012 route is one of five courses in a rotation used for the annual tribute, now in its 30th year.

“It doesn’t have the same atmosphere as the Bastogne march,” said Thomas Goode, a Ramstein High School teacher and regular participant. “We really are in the woods. You get the feeling for what it was really like back then.”

The 2012 trek to honor the successes and sacrifices of the 82nd begins at 9 a.m. in the village of Goronne. As always, Emile Lacroix, who founded the event, expects to be on hand, as well as a couple of World War II veterans from the 82nd Airborne Division, Ray Fary and Dirk Field. Both have traveled to Belgium before to participate in the annual walk. Field is a veteran of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, while Fary was assigned to the 80th Anti-Aircraft Battalion, Lacroix said. A third veteran expected to participate is Gene Garren. Garren was severely wounded in Vietnam while serving with a U.S. Special Forces unit. Last year, Garren needed 11 hours to cover the distance, but supporters stayed behind to cheer him on, Lacroix said.

U.S. forces in the area of the battle to be covered in this year’s walk were on the defensive, offensive and going on raids, such as the assault on Noirfontaine farm, a German army stronghold. The old farm is along this year’s route. Also on the itinerary is Their-du-Mont, where a strategic hill changed hands a couple of times during the war.

“It was a very bitter battle,” Lacroix said.

The annual walk regularly draws roughly a thousand people, from families to WWII re-enactors. Hot soup will be served halfway through the hike and hot wine at the finish line. A certificate of participation is also provided. There is a 6-euro registration fee at the start of the walk.