Northern Ireland

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16 May 2009
Consul General Susan Elliott attends Eisenhower Visit Commemoration in County Fermanagh

On May 16th re-enactors from the Wartime Living History Association (WLHA) hosted U.S. Consul General Susan Elliott in a field in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The event re-enacted an inspection on the very same site conducted by General Eisenhower shortly before the departure of thousands of American troops for Normandy and beyond.

Information about the 1944 inspection is sparse due to the proximity of the D-Day landings and Eisenhower's vital role in them. However, one picture survives of the inspection which took place and the WLHA aimed to capture that photo's very essence for the honorary inspector, Consul General Susan Elliott. 

After re-enactors took their positions on the historic field, the American flag was presented to the Consul General and a troop inspection took place. She then traveled with the troops on a jeep convoy on the next leg of the event to Enniskillen Castle.

More than 300,000 American troops were stationed in various parts of Northern Ireland, including County Fermanagh, during the Second World War. Private Milburn Henke from Minnesota was the first American GI to set foot in Europe when he stepped onto the jetty of Belfast port in January 1942. His arrival marked the first phase of Operation Magnet when it was agreed that U.S. troops would take over the defense of Northern Ireland. Ties bonding the United States and Northern Ireland were immeasurably strengthened during that period.

   BBC Newsline coverage of the WLHA's re-enactment of Eisenhower's review of US troops at Potora Royal School is available on this YouTube clip.

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