80th Anniversary Liberation Celebrations, 2024-2025

The 103rd Infantry Division was featured in three major 80th Anniversary Celebrations commemorating the Division’s role in the liberation of France in 1944 and 1945. There were three major celebrations hosted in three French regions:

November 23-24 2024, the towns of Saulcy sur Meurthe and St Dié celebrated their liberation. For more information about the events in St Dié, you can access the program (in French) here.

February 9, 2025, the city of Selsat unveiled a monument honoring the 103rd soldiers who were killed during the city’s liberation.

March 14-16 2025, northern Alsace (the towns of Engwiller, Gumbrechtshoffen, and Gundershoffen) celebrated their liberation by the 103rd Infantry Division. They hosted a ceremony in each village and unveiled a commemorative plaque. For more information, please visit the Facebook Group 80E Anniversaire de la Liberation Engwiller - Gumbrechtshoffen- Gundershoffen.

UPCOMING EVENT: On June 21, 2025 in Butler, Pennsylvania, families and friends of the 103rd Infantry Division will gather to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of Liberation with a reunion near Pittsburgh, where they will visit with the only 103d surviving soldier, Sgt. Bob Leslie of the 409th Regiment.

Thanks to the efforts of member Rob Clark, grandson of the late 409th soldier, Lt. George Hoaglin who fought alongside Bob, they will meet at the Field House Restaurant at  911 N Pike Rd, Cabot, PA 16023  724-352-9603, at 12:00 noon for lunch.  

If you are interested in attending, please email Former Treasurer of the 103d Infantry Division of WWII Association, Patricia Lofthouse (loftypat@aol.com), if you think you will be attending and how many will be in your party. There will be a motel/hotel with a meeting room in the nearby town of Cranberry Township selected where family members can gather on Friday evening (or you can choose your own accommodations if you prefer.) More information about the housing will follow once more information is known about the number of attendees.

If you are planning on attending, please email your address and phone number, as well as the name and affiliation of your soldier, to Patricia Lofthouse so that she can update the mailing list and records. If you know of an interested party who does not have email, please give them this information and ask them to let Pat know at 773-573-2231 or by mail at 611 Cedar St., Park Ridge, IL 60068.