Courtesy Photo | This marker from the French Le voie de la Liberte’ , a route commemorating the...... read more read more
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, New York—Major General Ray Shields, the adjutant general of New York, will mark the end of World War II in Europe as the New York State Military Museum holds a special program marking the 80th anniversary of V-E Day on May 8, 2025.
Shields will be joined by two military historians and Myrian Gil, the deputy counsel for France in New York City during the two-hour program.
A historic marker, which once showed the route of the United States Third Army from Normandy on D-Day to Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, will be formally unveiled during the event.
On May 8, 1945, Nazi Germany signed a surrender agreement with the Russian military in Berlin, officially ending the war which began on Sept. 1, 1939. The day was dubbed V-E Day for Victory in Europe Day. The war against Japan would continue until August 1945.
The program, which begins at 3 p.m., is open to the public.
"It's important to not only remember and commemorate the end of the war in Europe, but also to honor the Soldiers who fought against Nazism and to recognize the alliances and united efforts that defeated Germany, rebuilt Europe, and opposed the Soviet Union throughout the Cold War," said Courtney Burns, the Director of Military History and museum director for the NYS Division of Military and Naval Affairs.
The vast majority of New York National Guardsmen fought in the Pacific as part of the 27th Infantry Division. Those Guardsmen fought invaded Makin, Saipan, and Okinawa. As the war those Guardsmen were on the list to invade the Japanese Island of Honshu in the spring of 1946.
The New York National Guard’s 71st Infantry Regiment and 101st Cavalry Group fought across France and Germany, as did the 156th, 186th, 187th, and 258th Field Artillery Groups.
In the closing days of the war, the National Guardsmen of the 101st Cavalry captured German Field Marshell Kesselring, and the Japanese ambassador to Germany.
The New York National Guard’s 207th and 209th Coast Artillery Regiments converted to anti-aircraft missions and served with distinction in France and Italy, respectively.
Two anti-tank battalions, the 101st and 102nd, became mechanized tank destroyer units. The 134th Medical Group provided health care to the soldiers of First U.S. Army from late June 1944 to the end of the war in Europe.
One of the two historians speaking is Patrick Chaisson, a retired New York Army National Guard major from Schenectady who has been a popular speaker at the Military Museum's annual series of springtime talks.
Chaisson will talk about New York's contributions in winning World War II and about the role the New York National Guard played in winning the war in Europe.
Army Capt. Dana Mendes, a military history instructor at the United States Military Academy will discuss the U.S. relationship with France and the end of the war.
Gil, representing the French government, will officially unveil a marker, or "borne" from the Le voie de la Liberte' which runs 687 miles across France from Normandy into Belgium.
Translated into English as "Liberty Road" or "Liberty Highway" the route follows that of the Third Army from July 1944 to January 1945.
The 1,146-kilometer route, which begins where the 101st Airborne Division landed at St. Mere Eglise, features one of the markers every kilometer. The markers feature 48 stars, for the number of states in Union at the time and the Third Army patch.
The marker now in the New York State Military Museum after being refurbished, was presented to the New York National Guard's Camp Smith Training Site at some point, according to Burns. It was turned over to the museum in 2016.
The marker appears to have been located at the village of Pleugueneuc before it made its way to the United States. It was restored earlier this year by Dawn D'Aluisio and John Lippert of Foreground Conservation and Decorative Arts in Hudson, New York.
The New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center, administered by the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs tells the story of New Yorkers involvement in American Wars from the Revolutionary War to the present day. The museum is located at 61 Lake Avenue in Saratoga Springs and is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
| Date Taken: | 05.05.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.05.2025 14:33 |
| Story ID: | 497038 |
| Location: | SARATOGA SPRINGS , NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 25 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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