VILLEFRANCHE, France — The Navy guilded missile frigate USS Taylor (FFG 50) departed Villefranche, France July 6, after a four day port visit to the country.
I finally arrived in Northern France to St. Mere Eglise (SME). My hotel is located just to the outskirts of town and was an easy walk into the town square. It is a surreal feeling to walk through such a historic location without the aid of an Xbox game controller while playing the latest Call of Duty video game or through a production that either starred or was directed by Tom Hanks. Here it was in real life and it really feels like history is alive here.This small town was founded in the 11th century but will forever be known as one of the first towns to be liberated from Nazi Germany by the Allied Forces during the Normandy landings to include the 82nd Airborne and U.S. 101st Airborne Divisions on June 6th, 1944.
I was deep in the heart of France yesterday during Memorial Day as I'm on my way to provide support for the events scheduled in commemoration of the 66th anniversary of D-Day. I left out from our U.S. European Command headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany and stopped at the halfway point on the way to the beaches of Normandy.
USS MOUNT WHITNEY, Baltic Sea - A Swedish Navy ship operating in the Baltic Sea June 10 discovered evidence of a mine line while participating in Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) exercise 2009.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Barack Obama on April 23 discussed the role American World War II veterans played in bringing about the end of the Holocaust and preserving its memory.