North Carolina National Guard leaders laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Dec. 17 to mark the 80th anniversary of the day the 30th Infantry Division entered the Battle of the Bulge, one of the most harrowing and pivotal conflicts of World War II.
Maj. Gen. Todd Hunt, the adjutant general of North Carolina, Brig. Gen. Wes Morrison, assistant adjutant general-maneuver, Command Sgt. Maj. Benjamin Garner, North Carolina Army National Guard senior enlisted leader, and Command Sgt. Maj. Sidney Baker, 30th Armor Brigade Combat Team command sergeant major, were joined at the wreath-laying by visitors and members of the 30th Infantry Division Association.
“The wreath-laying is in honor of those of the 30th Infantry Division who were killed in action or missing in action,” said Hunt. “Their ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom will never be forgotten.”
Eighty years earlier, the 30th Infantry Division — known as “Old Hickory” — was called to action. The division was resting in Holland after its victory at Aachen when it was chosen to block the German advance in the Malmedy-Stavelot area. As the soldiers boarded trucks for the front lines, they heard Axis Sally on the radio, naming them “Roosevelt’s SS” — a moniker that reflected the division’s ferocity in battle.