$12.50 CAD
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Soldiers on front of entrance to the Hotel Royal, Lake Geneva France. Sign over door says ‘508 PARACHUTE INFANTRY Lake Geneva Rest Center’. The American 508th participated in many of the major battles in the liberation of Europe, and were nicknamed the 'Red Devils'.
Written on back “HOTEL ROYAL – this is since the army took over”.
In 1945 after the was over the regiment inherited a rest center on Lake Geneva from the 13th Airborne Division. The center was the Hotel Royal located in Evian, France, known for its fresh, pure, clear water. mainly located in Switzerland but 19 miles on the south side is owned by France.
Postcard sized photo and paper, but no markings on back.
Glue remnants on back
(Red text is an electronic watermark that is not physically part of the photo for sale)
The 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment was activated during World War II on 20 October 1942 at Camp Blanding, Florida.
The 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment participated in Operation Overlord, jumping into Normandy at 2:15 a.m. on 6 June 1944. Their immediate objectives were to capture Sainte-Mère-Église, secure crossings at the Merderet River near La Fiere and Chef-du-Pont, and establish a defensive line north from Neuville-au-Plain to Breuzeville-au-Plain…Like most paratroop units involved in Overlord, the 508th were dropped in the wrong locations and had extraordinary difficulty linking up with each other. During the assault on June 6, a platoon leader of the 508th, First Lieutenant Robert Mathias, of Company E of the 2nd Battalion, was the first American officer killed by German fire on D-Day.
The 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment had, by this time, suffered 1,061 casualties, out of an initial strength on D-Day of 2,056. 307 had paid the ultimate price…
After their success in Normandy, the 508th PIR returned to its billet at Wollaton Park and prepared for its part in Operation Market Garden, jumping on 17 September 1944… The 508th later played a major part in the Battle of the Bulge in late December 1944, during which they screened the withdrawal of some 20,000 troops from St. Vith and defended their positions against the German Panzer divisions…
WIKIPEDIA
