Liberation Bridge Plaque
Details:
On the bridge over the small river which is the border to France and Belgium; 400 meters from the Motorcycle Memorial in Belgium.
Two engraved plaques attached to a small bridge. The bridge sits on the border of France and Belgium.
The plaques remember the US army entry into Belgium on September 2, 1944 at 0930 hours. This is considered the first large entry of Allied forces into Belgium during the World War 2.
A recon soldier of the 2nd “Hell on Wheels” Armored Division (82nd Reconnaissance Battalion) on motorcycle is considered among the first to enter Belgium.
The 30th Infantry Division also crossed the border nearby.
The Motorcycle Monument is located 400 meters from the bridge in Belgium. This monument remembers the first recon soldier who entered Belgium.
Monument Text:
The text on the plaque attached to the base of the bridge side is written in French and reads:
LA GLANERIE
PONT De la LIBERATION
LE 2 SEPTEMBER 1944 A 9 HEURES 30
Les PREMIERS AMERICAINS
ENTRENT EN
BELGIQUE
The translation in English:
LA GLANERIE
Liberation Bridge
On September 2, 1944 at 0930
The First Americans
Entered Into
Belgium
The second plaque near the bridge is written in French and English. The English reads:
Pont de la Libération
On September 2, 1944, the sky was abuzz with the sounds
of planes as of yet unseen, and all around was the muted roar
of engines and tanks. A scared population held its breat and no-one
dared bring forth and wave those flags so quietly sewed in secrercy.
The American 2nd Armored Division called “Hell on Wheels”
One of the very first to enter Belgium headed to La Glanerie
Bridge. Earlier a single motorcyclist had approached this Bas-Préau
Border bridge, but had turned back because it lacker permission
To cross over. Nearby at the Maulde village, the first troops of the
30th Infantry Division were also arriving. On the very next day,
the maneuvers of the Resistance helped the English tanks
reach Tornai. The Belgian Piron Brigade crossed the border
at Rongy. Throughout the area, be it Wodecq, Enghien, Ath or Tornai
there was a lot of shooting, explosions and many dead.
The Allies reached Brussels in the evening and were in Antwerp
by September 4, 1944.
