ROCKINGHAM — Richmond County Schools and the Richmond Senior High JROTC Raider Battalion will be represented during the historic 75th anniversary of the Allied D-Day landings.
Senior Army Instructor retired Lt. Col. Jon Ring will participate in several commemoration events and ceremonies over the next week and a half.
Ring is a former commander of the 1st battalion, 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment and will concentrate that majority of his activities around their actions. Interestingly, the 507th PIR was the most miss-dropped unit of Operation Neptune (airborne component of the campaign) and had paratroopers involved in virtually every inland battle around the Normandy battlefield. Ring will be all over the area and will give daily updates to local media outlets.
Ceremonies are only a portion of what Ring will do. He is also part of the Liberty Jump Team — a team of current and former paratroopers and civilians who endeavor to honor the great heroes who led the way as paratroopers in history. The team is scheduled to conduct five commemorative jumps from World War II 47 Skytrain (Dakota) aircraft and Ring will be involved in all of them.
“It is a privilege to represent the greater Raider community while honoring those who sacrificed so much for freedom,” Ring said. “I really appreciate the support I receive from everyone in Richmond Schools as I head across the Atlantic. I wish I could take the entire Raider Battalion over to interact with the people who lived through Nazi occupation and were liberated by the allies.
“As I experience this auspicious occasion, I will keep one phrase in mind that sums up the emotional wellspring within me” ‘Vive la Liberte!'”