German-Italian Memorial Day at Fort Benning
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- LTC Walter Schleef (left) and SGM Bernd Rabenstein lay the wreath at the graves of the German POWs
- (© German Consulate General)
Members of the Fort Benning community gathered at the Fort Benning cemetery on November 18th for the third annual German-Italian Memorial Day ceremony.
This cemetary is the final resting place for 44 German soldiers and seven Italian soldiers captured as prisoners of war during World War II.
Foreign liaisons from Germany and Italy spoke about the importance of friendship and cooperation with the United States and with each other.
To mark the occasion, a wreath was placed at the gravesites of the German soldiers by Constance Heery, Director of Communications at the German Consulate General, and the German Liaison Officers Lieutenant Colonel Walter Schleef and Sergeant Major Bernd Rabenstein.
The Honorary Consul General of Italy, Mrs. Angela Della Costanza Turner, and the Italian liaison officer Lieutenant Colonel Fabrizio Salerno placed a wreath to commemorate the seven Italian soldiers.
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- (© German Consulate General)
The festivities were attended by official representatives of Fort Benning as well as several high-ranking officer and many members of the German and Italian community of Columbus, GA.
At the ceremony’s conclusion, the Maneuver Center Band played the Italian and German national anthems.
The "Volkstrauertag"-Celebration has become a well established tradition, carried out every year with full military honors. It is a continued gesture of friendship and good relations between Fort Benning and the German-Italian community.
The members of "Klub Heimatland" had again decorated the 51 gravesites with German and Italian flags and beautiful bouquets of flowers in fall colors. They also invited the guests for a get-together after the ceremony with German and Italian cake and coffee.
