Iron Brigade kicks off centennial of service with ceremony, run

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Ange Desinor | Retired Lt. Col. Nathan Watanabe, left, portrays a Vietnam War-era 4th Infantry Division Soldier and shows weapons of the time to current Soldiers of the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, during a ceremony marking the kickoff of the unit’s centennial year of service, at the Special Event Center on Fort Carson, Colorado, Dec. 9, 2016. The 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team was organized along with the rest of the Ivy Division on Dec. 10, 1917, to fight in Europe in World War I. It continues its longstanding commitment to European allies when the unit deploys in January 2017 to eight countries in eastern and central Europe in support of Atlantic Resolve. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Ange Desinor, 3rd ABCT Public Affairs, 4th Infantry Division)  

FORT CARSON, CO, UNITED STATES

12.12.2016

Story by Staff Sgt. Ange Desinor  

3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division

FORT CARSON, Colorado – The 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, marked the beginning of its centennial year of service Dec. 9 with a brigade run and later a ceremony at the Special Event Center here that featured veterans of the unit hailing back to World War II.
“We talked a lot this morning as we started our run about the importance of connecting ourselves as Soldiers, as citizens serving today, to each other in this great team and to the legacy of this great division,” said Col. Christopher R. Norrie, brigade commander, during his opening remarks at the ceremony. “This is an incredible division – 99 years tomorrow of continuous service to our nation. Today is about connecting ourselves to that great legacy.”
The 3rd Brigade was organized Dec. 10, 1917, as Headquarters, 8th Infantry Brigade, as an element of the 4th Inf. Div. at Camp Greene, N.C. By June 1918, the entire division was in France and fought with distinction during the Aisne-Marne Offensive, St. Mariel and the Muese-Argonne campaigns.
During World War II, the brigade also joined the division in leading the landing at Utah Beach on D-Day on June 6, 1944.
Reflecting on this heritage during the ceremony, Norrie introduced guest speakers to share their legacy with the Iron Brigade; three veterans of World War II, the Vietnam War and the Cold War during the 1980s spoke.
Taking a seat in the middle of a packed auditorium, the first guest speaker was retired World War II veteran Staff Sgt. Bob Burrows, 92, who enlisted in the Army on his 18th birthday and began his service on Feb. 20, 1943.
“It’s an honor to be here. You’re a great looking bunch of kids,” said Burrows, joking as he looked around the room in awe. He reflected on fighting with Gen. George S. Patton’s 3rd Army in the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge.
He also spoke of being in locations of central Europe that the 3rd ABCT will again serve in during its nine-month rotation for Operation Atlantic Resolve beginning in January.
“You fellas have got a big, heavy duty ahead of you. You’re heading to the near east (border) of Europe, and you’re going to be ambassadors as well as a fighting force in their minds. Best wishes, and may God bless you,” Burrows told the 3rd ABCT Soldiers.
Burrows’ great-grandson now, Sgt. James Brendlinger, continues the family’s legacy in the Ivy Division by currently serving with 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team.
Burrows was followed by retired Cpt. Herbert Gagne, who commanded Company C, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, during the Vietnam War; and retired Sgt. Maj. Dick Foxworthy who served in Germany with 68th Armor Regiment during the Cold War.
Each veteran talked about their experiences and offered words of encouragement and appreciation for the roughly 4,200 Soldiers now serving in 3rd ABCT.
Prior to a brigade run earlier in the morning, the unit’s youngest Soldier, Pvt. Anna Zilka, 17, of 588th Brigade Engineer Battalion, read the unit’s history to Soldiers standing in formation. The brigade has been reorganized and redesignated several times over the years, she said, and was activated at Fort Carson as 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, on Dec. 15, 1970.
Along the way, its Soldiers also have fought alongside the rest of the division in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Norrie added: “I am convinced, without a doubt, that this is the greatest division in the U.S. Army. It has the greatest Soldiers and the greatest leaders. It does more than any other division in the U.S. Army.”

• Date Taken: 12.12.2016
• Date Posted: 12.12.2016 16:57
• Story ID: 217422
• Location: FORT CARSON, CO, US