Brevet 11th Armored Division

Brevet 11th Armored Division

On May 30, 2000, several members of the 11th Armored Division who were in Belgium for the 55th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge gathered in McAuliffe Square in Bastogne for a ceremony that honored the 11th Armored Division and its men who fought in the “Bulge”.

The ceremony began with a welcome address by Guy Lutgen, the Mayor of Bastogne. Roger Marquet and Robert Fergloute then delivered a few remarks on behalf of the Circle of History of Bastogne. Their remarks were followed by the recitation of Isabelle Copine’s famous poem “Little Soldiers”, which is about American GIs who died in the “Bulge”. I then delivered an address on behalf of the 11th Armored Division Association that recalled the role of our Division in the liberation of Belgium, the sacrifices of our fallen “Thunderbolts” and the contributions of all American GIs who fought in the “Bulge”.

Lieutenant Colonel J.L. Rolland, the Chief of Corps of the Belgian Army’s First Regiment of Artillery, then read aloud a brevet signed by Andre Flahaut, the Belgian Minister of Defense, which awarded the Belgian Commemorative Ribbon 1944-1994 to the 11th Armored Division for meritorious service during the liberation of Belgium in 1944-1945. Colonel Rolland then presented the brevet to Colonel Craig Cheney, the U.S. Army Attaché to the American Embassy in Brussels, so that it could be placed in the Division’s official lineage and honors file at the U.S. Army’s Center of Military History.

Colonel Rolland then attached the Belgian Commemorative Ribbon 1944-1994 to the flag of the 11th Armored Division on behalf of the Belgian Government. The ribbon – a yellow streamer with two white stripes bordered in black and a bottom fringe of gold – was affixed below the spearhead of the Division’s flagpole and above its streamers for the Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland and Central Europe campaigns.

The Belgian vocalist Roland Louis then sang the National Anthems of the United States and Belgium, and the ceremony concluded with the laying of wreaths in memory of the men of the 11th Armored Division. A reception in the Hotel de Ville (Town Hall) followed the ceremony, at which the “Thunderbolts” in attendance received the Medal of the City of Bastogne from Mayor Lutgen.

The Commemorative Ribbon 1944-1994 will always stand as a testament to both the role of the 11th Armored Division in the liberation of Belgium, and the thankfulness of the Belgian people to their “Thunderbolt” liberators.

The Commemorative Ribbon 1944 - 1994.

Colonel Craig Cheney (US Army Attaché, American Embassy, Brussels), Patrick J. Kearney (Vice President, 11th Armored Division Association), Staff Sergeant Jeffrey Ball and Airman Jamie Rodriguez (US Air Force Color Guard), and Lieutenant Colonel J. L. Rolland (Chief of Corps, First Regiment of Artillery, Belgian Army) at reception following ceremony awarding Belgian Commemorative Ribbon to 11th Armored Division, Hotel de Ville, Bastogne, May 30, 2000.

Patrick J. KEARNEY

"A" Company

55th Armored Infantry Battalion

11th Armored Division

Campaigns

Battle of the Bulge,

Belgium