NORMANDY, France - In the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, members of the 101st Airborne Division parachuted into Contenin Peninsula as the first Allied Soldiers to enter occupied France during World War II.

75 years later, 85 soldiers assigned to the same Air Assault Division are in Normandy, France to commemorate D-Day, the World War II Allied “Operation Overlord” invasion of Normandy. Many hail from the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment made famous by the book and TV series “Band of Brothers.”

Activated in August 1942 in Louisiana, the 101st Airborne Division began their European theater tour in September 1943. The Division’s Operation Overlord at Omaha Beach on D-Day along with the 4th Infantry Division’s landing on Utah Beach liberated the French city of Carentan in the midst of World-War II. The 101st Airborne was also involved in other WWII battles including Operation Market Garden, Battle of the Bulge, and the liberation of the Landsberg concentration camp and Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s mountaintop retreat in Bertchtesgaden.

The 101st Airborne continues to stand with their European allies and is currently working to advise and assist Ukranian Armed Forces. The 101st Airborne division is headquartered at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

The nicknamed “Screaming Eagle” Soldiers join more than 1,300 US service members and 950 troops from across Europe and Canada to participate in various parades, ceremonies, and military and government events around France throughout the week. The 123rd Airlift Wing of the Kentucky National Guard even sent 30 airmen and two C-130 Hercules aircraft to participate in the Commemorative Airborne Operation in Normandy.

“I think we take for granted a lot of things. The sacrifice that was made. On one hand, 75 years ago seems ancient times or past history, but it wasn’t that long ago that the world, especially the world in Europe as we know it, was a totally different place,” explained US Army Sgt. Anthony Prosceno in an interview at the 1st Infantry Division Monument on Omaha Beach. “So much has changed. Our part as Americans and the alliances that were created shortly after and during the war. It’s really changed history in a way that hasn’t happened in hundreds of years before.”

The official list of the week’s commemorative events are detailed below.

JUNE 3

  • Remembrance Bowl, hosted by Helen Patton, an initiative to commemorate the Champagne Bowl, a football game organized by 101st Abn. Div. “Screaming Eagles” on December 25, 1944. However, the game was cancelled prior to the event to respond to adversary advances, which led to 101st participation in the Battle of the Bulge

  • Historic March of Picauville – Honoring pilots of the D-Day landings and commemorating one of the first towns liberated by Allied forces.

JUNE 4

  • Carentan Battlefield Tour in Carentan. Soldiers from the 101st Abn. Div. will meet at the Carentan Theater to take part in a tour of the city and battle sites of Carentan.

  • Airfield dedication to Brig. Gen. Don Pratt, assistant commander, 101st. Abn. Div. The life support area of Joint Task Force 75, supporting D-Day commemorations in Normandy, is named for Pratt, the highest-ranking Allied Soldier killed on D-Day.

  • Magnesville Ceremony in Magnesville. Service members will commemorate 18 paratroopers of the 506th PIR of the 101st Abn. Div. and four C-47 transport crewmembers who were shot down on June 6, 1944. A memorial was established by residents of Magnesville in 1948.

  • Carentan Family Dinners. Soldiers hosted for dinner by French families in their homes.

JUNE 5

  • Pathfinder Ceremony in Saint Germain de Vauville. To commemorate the arrival of the first Pathfinders to the village. Capt. Frank Lillyman of the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Abn. Div., is recognized by many as the first American scout to set foot on French soil on D-Day at 12:16. a.m.

  • “Cabbage Patch” Ceremony and parade in Carentan. The "Cabbage Patch" WWII parachute drop, commemoration ceremony and parade honors the 101st Abn. Div. paratroopers who fought the Germans in the cabbage patches surrounding Carentan.

JUNE 6

  • MAJ Winters’ Monument in Saint Marie du Mont. To honor Maj. Richard D. Winters, who led paratroopers from Company E, 2nd Battalion, 506th PIR, 101st Abn. Div. during the D-Day landings. This event was recounted in television mini-series “Band of Brothers”

  • Normandy American Cemetery Ceremony in Carentan. To honor those who died during the D-Day landings and recognize the Veterans who lived on. On June 8, 1944, the U.S. First Army established a site here as the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II. It contains the graves of 9,380 Soldiers, most of whom lost their lives during the D-Day landings and ensuing operations

JUNE 7

  • Mass Reenlistment Ceremony in Carentan. Twenty-two Screaming Eagle Soldiers will conduct a U.S. Army reenlistment ceremony, led by 101st Abn. Div. Commander Maj. Gen. Brian Winski. The ceremony will be arranged in the same manner as a June 20, 1944 ceremony in which then Div. Commander Maj. Gen. Maxwell Taylor presented awards to Screaming Eagle Soldiers in the Carentan Town Square, after the city’s liberation.

  • Cole Monument in Carentan. The section of the Old National Road 13 between Carentan and Saint-Come-du-Mont is named “Purple Heart Lane” to recognize the 101st Abn. Div. for their valiant efforts in June 1944

  • E-506 Airborne Monument in Buezeville au Plain. To honor the Soldiers of the 506th PIR whose plane crashed near Beuzeville-au-Plain after being hit by a German anti-aircraft fire, there were no survivors.

JUNE 8

  • Liberation Ceremony in Angoville au Plain. To commemorate the medic post that was settled in Angoville-au-Plain where entrenched Germans kept American forces in check. American Soldiers overcame the German defenses and Col. Robert F. Sink, commander, 506th PIR, 101st Abn. Div., transferred his headquarters to the town.

  • Return of Liberty Marchers Ceremony in Carentan. In honor of the paratroopers of the 101st Abn. Div., the Legion of Honor Award will be presented to U.S. Veterans. Following the ceremony, troops, vintage vehicles, Veterans and distinguished visitors will parade to city hall.

JUNE 9

  • Carentan Swamp Ceremony in Carentan. To honor the 101st Abn. Div. Soldiers who battled through marshy areas of Carentan and captured a vital position between Omaha and Utah beaches.