1Lt Hanford A. Files Monument -504th Parachute Infantry Regiment
Details:
At the traffic circle.
MonumentThe memorial comprises a four-meter-high statue in wrought iron. A stylized eagle, flying northeast toward Grave city center, forms the cupola of a parachute joined by suspension lines down to a four-sided pyramid-form base.
Monument honors 1st Lieutenant Hanford A. Files, who was killed at the site on September 17, 1944, during Operation Market Garden. Designed by Dutch artist Joshua Pennings, the statue stands as a lasting tribute to the paratroopers who fought for the freedom of Europe during World War II. U.S. and Allied officials unveiled the monument on September 16, 2025.
Source of information: www.dvidshub.net
Source of photos: www.facebook.com/beleefhistorischgrave, www.dvidshub.net/SGT Aiden OMarra
Monument Text:
Monument base includes mounted placards:
On north side:
82 - for 82d Airborne Division
On east side:
Double A - from 82d Airborne Division ("All American") soldier patch
On south side:
504 - for 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment
On west side:
405th Parachute Infantry Regiment shoulder patch -- so-called "Devils in Baggy Pants" based on a journal entry by a German officer killed in Anzio, about the hard-charging, hard-fighting spirit of the U.S. paratroopers he encountered from this Regiment during combat operations in Italy.
