116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division

116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division. “The Stonewall Brigade”. Raised in 1741, the militia that became the 116th Infantry Regiment campaigned from Virginia's Shenandoah Valley against the Indians, the French, and the British. In 1861, that antecedent force grew into the first Virginia Brigade, Army of the Shenandoah, Confederate States Army, Brigadier General Thomas J. Jackson commanding. The brigade's performance in the first Battle of Manassas, 21 July 1861, inspired its illustrious nickname. During World War I, the Stonewall Brigade's 1st, 2nd, and 4th Regiments combined to form the 116th Infantry Regiment of the new 29th Infantry Division. Still resolute in battle, the new generation of Stonewallers earned the "Ever Forward" motto for their tenacity on French soil before returning to Virginia for service in the Commonwealth's National Guard. , , Mobilized on 3 February 1941, under the command of Colonel E. W. Opie, the Stonewallers trained at Fort Meade, Maryland, and Camp A. P. Hill, Virginia, At Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, Colonel Charles D. Canham took command, and the regiment embarked for England in October 1942. Col. Canham, a Regular Army West Pointer, had served in the Philippines with 29th Division Commander, Leonard T. Gerow. Gen. Gerow handpicked Col. Canham to prepare the Stonewallers for the D-Day assault. And prepare them he did, determined to dispel the notion that National Guard troops could not perform on par with Regular Army soldiers. Col. Canham directed the regimental training officer (S-3), Major Thomas D. Howie, to institute a grueling, seven-days-a-week training regimen to perfect the procedures and techniques of amphibious assaults. Activities at "Colonel Canham's Concentration Camp" included forced marches through southwestern England, countless hours on firing ranges, and multiple live-fire exercises at the new U.S. Assault Training center on the northwest coast of Devonshire. , , On D-Day, the 116th Regimental Combat Team (RCI) would spearhead the assault on Omaha Beach from the western cliffs of Charlie sector eastward to Easy Green sector, landing two battalions abreast: 2nd Battalion on the left with three companies abreast; 1st Battalion on the right, with companies in column. After reducing beach defenses and securing the beach exits in its area of operations, 1st Battalion would capture Vierville then join the Rangers along the parallel coastal highway to the Vire estuary. The 2nd Battalion would secure St. Laurent and establish defensive positions on the high ground southwest of the town. The 3rd Battalion, RCT reserve, would advance south of Vierville through Longueville until reaching the high ground west of that town. , , In the event, foul weather, rough seas, defensive obstacles, enemy resistance, and clogged beach exits mooted the D-Day OPPLAN, leaving the men on the ground to improvise on it as best they could. It was in anticipation of that eventuality that Col. Canham and others of his ilk had pushed their commands to the breaking point. When the unfolding chaos on Omaha beach pushed the infantry companies of the 116th Infantry beyond breaking, the officers and men of the Stonewall Brigade discovered, whether at the toe of Col. Canham's boot or within themselves, the valor, fidelity, and sacrifice necessary to carry the advance "ever forward." , , In tribute to the 116th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Infantry Division, then and now given in grateful appreciation by Mr. And Mrs. Lawrence E. Ptaschek and members of the Rotary Club of Roanoke, Roanoke, Virginia.Memorial Day 2006.