The 4th Infantry Division soldiers kick off Ivy Week and commemorate D-Day
FORT CARSON, Colo. (KRDO) -- Monday morning, 6,000 soldiers from 25 battalions gathered to take on a secret obstacle course.
"Ready to go. A little excited. A little nervous. All and all gonna crush it," said Corporal John Gravius with the U.S. Army.
The two-mile obstacle course they faced was a simulated battlefield that the 4th Infantry Division experienced when they landed on Utah Beach in Normandy on June 6, 1944, commonly known as D-Day.
"The artillery that defended Utah Beach was two miles inland, so this course is just beyond that," said Major General David Hodne with the 4th Infantry Division.
This year's Ivy Week intends to recognize and honor the 4th Inf. Div.'s legacy, test Soldier and unit readiness and build Ivy Spirit.
On June 6, 1944, the 4th Inf. Div. was the spearhead seaborne division that stormed the beaches in Normandy, France.
The division later went on to liberate Cherbourg, along with the 9th Infantry Division. Soldiers from the 4th Inf. Div. also led the St. Lo breakout, were the first Allied troops into Paris and were the first to penetrate the Siegfried line during the first four months of the eleven-month fight across Europe.
The course the soldier went through on Monday included 11 natural and manmade obstacles, ditches, wires, containers, and hilly terrain.
"These soldiers are going to carry a bunch of equipment through it and it’s going to be a good time," said Jason Meier a 4th Infantry Division engineer.
The first ten teams crossing the finish line earned points for Ivy Week. This year, 141 infantry won for the second year in a row.
"We spent a lot of time being separated with COVID and only being able to gather in small groups, so when the divisions are able to come together and we’re able to compete the real win is being out here with all those that if we go and fight would be on our right and our left," said Lt. Colonel Aaron Parks,
Battalion Commander for 141 Infantry.
While winning is the fun part, there's an important reminder of who they're doing this for.
"It's an absolute honor. It’s absolutely humbling to think that we are part of something that is so much bigger," said Parks.
