17th Airborne Division, Dead man’s ridge walk:
March 20 2011, Flamierge, Belgium. Today my buddy Frenk and I took part in another commemorative march in the Belgian Ardennes. The third edition of the ‘Dead man’s ridge walk’ organised by the 101st Airborne Division Belgian Friendly. The men of the Belgian Friendly organised a very nice event. Special guest for this year’s walk is a WWII veteran of the 513th Parachute infantry Regiment: Robert ‘Bob’ R. Patterson, who took part in the battles around Flamierge. From the 4th until the 9th of January, the 17th Airborne Division started out in the Ardennes campaign, better known as the battle of the Bulge, with the battle for ‘Dead man’s ridge’. The 17th Airborne Division saw intense fighting close to the village, was pushed back again, but finally took control of the village once more.
The march started with a ceremony at the 17th Airborne Division monument. The organisation of the march held a great ceremony. After the ceremony, we met up with our buddy Reg and started our 10 mile walk. For more information about the march, visit the blog of the 101st Airborne Division Belgian Friendly by clicking here.
