“A journey not yet finished:
Filled with old military friendships
and memories of days in the distant past.”
On September 12, the Veterans of the 52nd and 6th Infantry Regiments, stationed in Bamberg, Germany from 1972 to 1990 celebrated their 2023 reunion in Arlington, VA.
Dennis Barletta, the group’s president and ROA member, eloquently stated that from its humble beginnings in 2008 to the 2023 Washington, D.C. reunion, the Veterans of the 52nd and 6th Infantry Regiments, stationed in Bamberg, Germany from 1972 to 1990 owes its appreciation to two soldiers — Robert Pruitt and Bill Burt — who longed for the comradery and sense of belonging they experienced while serving in this unit during the 1980s at the height of the Cold War.
They served in times of great uncertainty when a nation needed them most. They were ready to defend Europe, America and their families and give all if needed. Their unit was the D Co. 1st Battalion, 52nd Infantry, Bamberg Germany.
Pruitt and Burt ended their enlistment in the Army, but as the years went by, they yearned for something that was missing in their civilian lives. Their desire to find those days gone by brought a flood of memories of the times when they served together in Germany.
They decided to see if former soldiers in D Co. would like to get together in Las Vegas in 2008. This sparked the beginning of a journey that has led to eight successful reunions and the formation of a 501(c)3 charitable corporation.
The organization has planted memorial trees for those who have passed, made charitable contributions, dedicated a memorial brick at the Infantry Museum, Fort Moore, Georgia, and placed a Unit Tribute Plaque of the National Museum of the U.S. Army, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
Today our time in Bamberg is only a memory, days of old when we wore the uniforms of soldiers.
Thankfully, two enlisted soldiers had a desire to bring back a part of something that they remember as some of the best years of their lives and awakened a family that is forever linked to one another — and will be — until the last man is standing.
“Ready Rifles”