# Menton Week



## tomahawk6 (3 Dec 2007)

Green Berets to commemorate WWII brigade
Staff report
Posted : Monday Dec 3, 2007 5:36:05 EST

A wreath-laying ceremony hosted by 1st Special Forces Group will open a three-day event beginning Tuesday at Fort Lewis, Wash., to celebrate the 63rd annual commemoration of Menton Week.

Static displays, a combined U.S./Canadian airborne operation at Rogers Drop Zone, and a joint rifle and pistol shooting competition are among the activities planned for the Dec. 4-6 event.

Menton Week commemorates the Dec. 5, 1944, inactivation in Menton, France, of the combined U.S. and Canadian First Special Service Force, an elite unit that is credited with a distinguished record of unconventional operations behind enemy lines during World War II.

The unit was commonly referred to as the “Devil’s Brigade,” and was one of the first Special Forces units activated.

The wreath-laying ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. at the 1st Special Forces Group Memorial Grove located at Chapman Circle, on the group’s compound.

Names of 1st Special Forces Group soldiers who have died since the 1957 are inscribed on the Memorial Wall.


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## PPCLI Guy (3 Dec 2007)

I am fairly certain that elements of 3 PPCLI will be attending


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## tomahawk6 (7 Dec 2007)

A Canadian jump master inspects a parachute worn by Maj. Che Arosemena of the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Rogers Drop Zone on Fort Lewis, Wash. Dec. 5. The combined airborne operation was part of the 63rd Annual Menton Week, a celebration of the inactivation of the combined Canadian-American 1st Special Service Force. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Andrew Kosterman/1st SFG (A) Public Affairs Office)





A 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) Soldier prepares to land following a High Altitude Low Opening jump at Rogers Drop Zone on Fort Lewis, Wash. Dec. 5. The jump was part of the 63rd Annual Menton Week, a celebration which commemorates the inactivation of the combined Canadian-American 1st Special Service Force. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Alicia Sanders-Pelayo)


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## tomahawk6 (7 Dec 2007)

Canadian paratroopers wait for an American CH-47 Chinook helicopter to land at Rogers Drop Zone on Fort Lewis, Wash. Dec. 5. The paratroopers were participating in a combined airborne operation with the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) as part of the 63rd Annual Menton Week, a celebration which commemorates the inactivation of the combined Canadian-American 1st Special Service Force. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Andrew Kosterman/1st SFG (A) Public Affairs Office)





Maj. Michael Blackburn (tan beret) of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, Col. Eric P. Wendt, (center) commander of 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) and Maj. Glen Zilkalns of 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry salute during a wreath-laying ceremony at the 1st SFG (A) Memorial Wall at Fort Lewis, Wash. Dec. 4 as part of Menton Week. The Canadians and Americans formally began the 63rd Annual Menton Week celebration at the ceremony. Menton Week commemorates the inactivation of the 1st Special Service Force, a combined Canadian-American special operations unit, during World War II. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Andrew Kosterman/1st SFG (A) Public Affairs Office)


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## tomahawk6 (7 Dec 2007)

Maj. Glen Zilkalns of 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, Col. Eric P. Wendt, (center) commander of 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) and Maj. Michael Blackburn (tan beret) of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, shortly after placing memorial wreaths during a ceremony at the 1st SFG (A) Memorial Wall at Fort Lewis, Wash. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Andrew Kosterman/1st SFG (A) Public Affairs Office)





A loving father politely asks to keep this rifle as a Christmas present for his youngest son at Fort Lewis, Wash. Dec. 5. The display was part of the 63rd Annual Menton Week. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Andrew Kosterman/1st SFG (A) Public Affairs Office)


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## Roy Harding (9 Dec 2007)

Your photos are much appreciated.

If any of you are in touch with Maj Zilkalns - let him know that the CC wants to discuss The Great Escape with him.

He'll know what I mean.


Roy


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