Retired Lt. Col. Nathan Watanabe, left, portrays a Vietnam War-era 4th Infantry Division Soldier and shows vintage weapons to 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, Dec. 9, 2016, at the William “Bill” Reed Special Event Center. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Ange Desinor)
Retired Staff Sgt. Bob Burrows, World War II veteran who served alongside 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, speaks to the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Soldiers during a ceremony marking the kickoff of the unit’s centennial year of service, at the William “Bill” Reed Special Events Center Dec. 9, 2016. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Ange Desinor)
By Staff Sgt. Ange Desinor
3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office, 4th Infantry Division
The 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, marked the beginning of its centennial year of service Dec. 9, 2016, with a brigade run followed by a ceremony at the William “Bill” Reed Special Events Center that featured veterans of the division from as far back as 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, commander, 3rd ABCT, during his opening remarks at the ceremony. “This is an incredible division — 99 years (Saturday) — 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 Division at Camp Greene, North Carolina. By June 1918, the entire division was in France and fought with distinction during the Aisne-Marne Offensive, St. Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne campaigns.
During World War II, the brigade also joined the division in leading the landing at Utah Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
Reflecting on the heritage, 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.
Taking a seat in the middle of a packed auditorium, the first guest speaker was retired World War II veteran Staff Sgt. Bob Burrows, who enlisted in the U.S. Army on his 18th birthday and began his service on Feb. 20, 1943.
“It’s an honor to be here,” said Burrows, joking as he looked around the room. “You’re a great looking bunch of kids.”
He reflected on fighting with Gen. George S. Patton’s 3rd Army in the Ardennes region in southeast Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge.
He then spoke of being in locations of central Europe that the 3rd ABCT will again serve in during its nine-month rotation for 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, Sgt. James Brendlinger, continues the family’s legacy in the Ivy Division by serving with the 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team.
Burrows was followed by Retired Capt. 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 the 68th Armor Regiment during the Cold War.
Each veteran talked about his experiences and offered words of encouragement and appreciation for the roughly 4,200 Soldiers now serving in 3rd ABCT.
Prior to the 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 and was activated at Fort Carson as 3rd Brigade, 4th Inf. Div., on Dec. 15, 1970, according to Zilka.
Along the way, the 3rd Brigade Soldiers have also fought alongside the rest of the division in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I am convinced, without a doubt, that this is the greatest division in the U.S. Army,” Norrie added. “It has the greatest Soldiers and the greatest leaders. It does more than any other division in the U.S. Army.”
Col. Christopher R. Norrie, left, commander of 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, shakes the hands of his Soldiers after completing their brigade run marking the kickoff of the unit’s centennial year of service Dec. 9, 2016. The 3rd Brigade was organized along with the rest of the “Ivy” Division Dec. 10, 1917, to fight in Europe in World War I. (Photo by
Staff Sgt. Ange Desinor)