MONTEBOURG, France--Citizens of Montebourg, France, compatriots and veterans joined U.S. Army Soldiers deployed and stationed in Europe to commemorate the 73rd anniversary of D-Day and the liberation of Montebourg, June 3, 2017. "June 6th was not only the longest day--It is the memory of the dead for the living," said Montebourg Mayor Jean-Pierre Mauquest. "The Soldiers who have the same audacity and tenacity of the brave who ended tyranny in 1944. It is our duty to keep the promise written by their blood by holding a fair and human world." This year's commemoration also marked the 100th anniversary of the 4th Inf. Div., which served as the Assault Division on the Utah Beachhead, June 6, 1944. Led by Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt Jr., deputy commanding general of the 4th Infantry Division in 1944, the Soldiers of 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division assaulted the northern coast of Normandy's Utah Beach, pushing through to Ste. Maire-Eglise, Montebourg and Cherbourg within 23 days. U.S. Army Soldiers of the 4th Inf. Div. liberated Montebourg June 19, 1944, after 15 days of fighting. (U.S. Army photo by Master Sgt. Brent M. Williams, MCE Public Affairs, 4th Inf. Div.)