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Welcome to our photo album! The photographs listed here are intended to illustrate the narrative entitled "Return to Glory," which relates Sergeant Arnold's return to Europe in 1999. The cross references in the narrative refer to these photographs. |
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Photo #1 Parade at Sainteny. Dad and the mayor lead the parade. |
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Photo #2 Dad and the mayor of Sainteny, after the ceremony in which Dad represented the 83rd and presented the city with this beautiful plaque. June 18, 1999. |
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Photos #3 and 4
The church at Saint Lo, as photographed by the American forces in 1944 (top), and as we discovered it in its restored condition. June 19, 1999. |
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Photo #5 Dad and Monsieur Christian Delmotte at the mayoral reception in St. Malo.
June 19, 1999. |
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Photo #6 The bunkers near St Malo that Dad's unit liberated in August, 1944. See his memoirs for details. The citizens of St. Malo have turned the bunkers into an impressive museum. |
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Photo #7
The venerated hero with the museum guide at St. Malo. The case contains the kind of shell Dad's 57-mm gun used.
June 19, 1999. |
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Photos 8 and 9
At left, members of the 83rd celebrate their capture of the citadel of St. Malo shortly after the battle. This is the photograph that appeared in Stars and Stripes during the war (many thanks to Mr. Lou Sandini for helping me locate a copy). The anti-aircraft gun used to hold Ole' Glory was still in place on top of the citadel as seen in the photo above, taken by Arnie Edwards on June 19, 1999. It now stands as a monument to the courage and sacrifices of the US 83rd Infantry Division. |
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Photo #10 Returning to the Citadel of Saint Malo after 55 years. Instead of a stronghold against the forces of freedom, the bastion now stands as a museum honoring the young men who liberated it. This is the entrance to the museum, which proudly displays the shoulder patch of the 83rd Infantry Division in its name. |
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Photos 11 and 12 The bunkers of the Citadel at Saint Malo. The top photo was taken shortly after the battle and after members of Dad's regiment raised the Stars & Stripes in the gun barrel (photo taken from Louis Pottier and Philippe Petout, Saint-Malo 1940-1948: L'occupation, la liberation, la reconstruction [Rennes: Editions Ouest-France, 1994], page 52). The next photograph below was taken by Bill Arnold on June 19, 1999. Rev. Arnold is standing in foreground. The museum entrance is to the left, the German anti-aircraft gun is still visible to the extreme right on the horizon. |
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Photo # 13
The Henri-Chapelle Cemetery in Belgium.
PFC Delfonte is in Plot F Row 16 Grave 3.
On June 25, 1999, Sergeant Arnold was reunited with his buddy 55 years after his death in the Battle of the Bulge. |
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Photo # 14
Dad visited the grave of his fallen friend on June 25, 1999. This photo was taken at the Henri-Chapelle Cemetery in Belgium (see above).
Dad was with Delfonte when he was killed near Rochefort during the Battle of the Bulge, December 29, 1944. |
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Midday Delfonte, PFC 329 Inf 83 Div, West Virginia, Dec 29, 1944 |
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