A tribute to the liberators of Pilsen was paid at the monument to the 97th Infantry Division

Yesterday afternoon, a memorial service was held at the 97th Infantry Division monument on Křimická Street, where representatives of the city and the third city district paid tribute to the liberators of Pilsen. This memorial site in the Na Okraji area commemorates the heroism of the soldiers of the so-called “Trident” division, which arrived in Pilsen from Křimice in May 1945, paving the way for the subsequent entry of the 16th Armored Division into the heart of the city. The modern monument made of patinated steel, which was ceremonially unveiled last year, is the work of architect David Foud and carries a strong symbolism of human loss and the victorious journey through Europe. Its height of 2.15 meters is not accidental - each centimeter of the monument symbolizes one of the 215 fallen soldiers that the division lost during its European campaign. The body of the monument is engraved with the unit's route from the French port of Le Havre to Pilsen itself, supplemented by the dates of the advance and the number of casualties in individual sections. The story of the 97th Infantry Division is exceptional in the history of World War II not only because it was one of the few American units to participate in battles in both Europe and the Pacific, but also because it fired the very last shot of the conflict on the European battlefield, which fell near Klenovica in Czechoslovakia.