<img src="https://www.rawstory.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=68650708&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C834%2C0%2C835"/><br/><br/><p>The U.S. Army raised eyebrows Tuesday after it touted the restoration of a memorial to a Nazi-era German tank regiment, without once mentioning World War II.</p><p>In a <a href="https://www.army.mil/article/296631/honoring_history_and_host_nation_friendships_life_scout_alana_kaley_restores_8th_panzer_regiment_memorial" target="_blank"><u>report</u></a> published Monday, U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart — the Army command that runs U.S. military bases in and around Stuttgart, Germany — praised a local Scouting America project that restored the <a href="https://www.usarmygermany.com/Communities/Stuttgart/Unofficial%20History%20of%20Panzer%20Kaserne%20B%C3%B6blingen%20-%20David%20S%20Jones.PDF" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>8th Panzer Regiment</u></a> Memorial on <a href="https://home.army.mil/stuttgart/my-fort/panzer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>Panzer Kaserne</u></a> — a U.S. military installation — in Böblingen, Germany.</p><p>The report’s author, U.S. Army Public Affairs Specialist <a href="https://www.dvidshub.net/portfolio/1770822/balmina-sehra" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>Balmina Sehra</u></a>, called the weathered monument “a piece of local history” and framed the restoration as a symbol of German-American friendship. As flagged by independent journalist <a href="https://www.kenklippenstein.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>Ken Klippenstein</u></a>, however, Sehra left out a critical detail regarding the memorial.</p><p>“Uh, why is the U.S. Army celebrating the restoration of a memorial to a panzer regiment from Hitler’s Wehrmacht??” Klippenstein asked in a <a href="https://x.com/kenklippenstein/status/2120200523609518263" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>social media post</u></a> on X to his more than 560,000 followers.</p><p>“Army says the ceremony ‘recognizes the soldiers of 8th Panzer Regiment in anticipation of Veteran’s Day.’ That regiment <a href="https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/kasserine-pass-german-offensive-american-victory" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>fought Americans</u></a> at Kasserine Pass in 1943. But the Army’s announcement makes no mention of World War II!”</p><p>The regiment served in the 15th Panzer Division, part of the Deutsches Afrikakorps, and the division took part in the battle of Kasserine Pass against inexperienced U.S. forces in February 1943.</p><p>Journalist and podcast host <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/jane-coaston" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>Jane Coaston</u></a> also weighed in, <a href="https://x.com/janecoaston/status/2120201077228470518?a=77Vj0KetkAcDrUp82fI&s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>writing</u></a> that the episode had “real ‘Bonzo Goes to Bitburg’ energy.” The line refers to the Ramones’ <a href="https://medialoper.com/certain-songs-1812-ramones-bonzo-goes-to-bitburg/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>1985 song</u></a> mocking President Ronald Reagan’s visit that year to a West German military cemetery in Bitburg that held the graves of Waffen-SS soldiers.</p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">uh, why is the U.S. Army celebrating the restoration of a memorial to a panzer regiment from Hitler’s Wehrmacht??Army says the ceremony “recognizes the soldiers of 8th Panzer Regiment in anticipation of Veteran’s Day." That regiment fought Americans at Kasserine Pass in 1943. But the Army’s announcement makes no mention of World War II !<br/>— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) <a href="https://x.com/kenklippenstein/status/2120200523609518263?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2026</a></blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js"></script></div> via Raw Story https://ift.tt/PbGJuvw
