Stephens Co. Marks Currahee Military Weekend

Stephens County celebrates the men of Camp Toccoa at another Currahee Military Weekend.

The annual weekend took place Thursday night through Sunday in Toccoa and Stephens County.

It honors the World War II paratroopers who trained at Camp Toccoa before going to fight in the war.

On Saturday, the veterans were honored with the annual parade through downtown Toccoa, which led to the opening ceremonies at the historic train depot in downtown Toccoa.

The veterans, their families, and those attending the festivities were welcomed by both Toccoa Mayor Gail Fry and Stephens County Commissioner Dennis Bell.

Those in attendance also heard from Lieutenant Colonel David Waters, who is the current commander of the 1st Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

Lieutenant Colonel Waters said the “Currahees” are alive and well.

He went on to say that those who serve in the unit today are inspired by its tradition, which started with the men who trained at Camp Toccoa.

“Look at what they did,” said Lt. Col. Waters of the men of Camp Toccoa. “They jumped in over night skies behind enemy lines and allowed the troops coming ashore to get ashore and make it to their objectives beyond the beachhead. They jumped against in ‘Operation Market Garden.’ They fought at Bastogne, held the line, and made it all the way up to the ‘Eagle’s Nest’.”

Among the other activities during Currahee Military Weekend were the annual Saturday night banquet at the Camp Toccoa property at Currahee Mountain and the annual remembrance service on Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, some of the men who trained at Camp Toccoa take time during Currahee Military Weekend to speak to students at Stephens County High School at an assembly Friday morning.

Among the speakers were Al Mampre and Ed Pepping, who were both in Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. That is the unit that has become known as the “Band of Brothers” thanks to the book and mini-series.

Mampre said the “Band of Brothers” started out in a way that was not necessarily positive.

“(The unit) was not confident in the company commander,” said Mampre. “He was a very tough company commander. The idea was the regiment must be a tough regiment and he wanted to be the toughest company in the regiment, so he trained beyond what we were expected to do. But he could not read a map worth a darn or anything like that, so (the unit) did not want go to combat with him. They banded sort of negatively.”

However, Mampre said the nature of that bond changed over time.

“They put in an officer, Dick Winters, who became a major and (the unit) had a lot of confidence in him and his ability to handle a combat situation,” said Mampre. “That negative aspect of their banding became a positive because. It was the same bunch of fellows but they became truly bonded. Everybody knew who everybody was and what they could expect of them in a combat situation.”

Both Mampre and Pepping said that bond brought together people of all walks of life for a common purpose.

Pepping said those wartime bonds still exist, decades later.

“One thing I would like to impress on all of you is bonding and friendship lasts for all your life,” said Pepping. “We still have friends in the village we were billeted (in England) that we talk to every week. To build friendships is one of the most important things you will ever do.”

Joining Mampre and Pepping on Friday was John H. Beaufort, who started with the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment at Camp Toccoa before being transferred to a tank unit.

While paratroopers landed in France in advance of D-Day, Beaufort says he was among those to land at Utah Beach in Normandy on D-Day.

He said that is a sight that remains with him to this day.

“Once you got started, you could not stop, you just had to keep going,” said Beaufort of landing at Utah Beach. “Blood was everywhere on that beach.”

All three also took questions from the students.

Stephens County High School teacher Derek Demmler said this was a great opportunity for the students to hear about history first hand.

“Students need to learn their history from the people who fought it, who lived it, in order to have the connection,” said Demmler. “You can learn so much more from a story than a textbook.”

The three veterans were also presented with a patch and unit crest worn by the Stephens County High School JROTC program.