(photo by Adam Skoczylas)

The division was activated during World War I and first saw action in the Aisne-Marne Offensive as a member of American Expeditionary Force in July 1918. The division stood its ground on the banks of the Marne River as surrounding units retreated. The proud men earned their nickname protecting Paris.

The 3rd Infantry Division saw action in every front against the Axis in World War II. The division fought in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France and Germany.

Stoy, a retired officer, and her husband and fellow officer Tim Stoy, now a lieutenant colonel, were stationed with the 3rd ID at Wurzburg, Germany from 1993 to 1996. The two were part of a group sent to an area of France, which was the site of the Colmar Pocket in World War II to commemorate the 50th anniversary of liberation of that area.

Free French forces and the 3rd ID combined to cut off the escape of German troops across the Rhine at Colmar in 1944 and 1945. Stoy attended a banquet, where a French colonel handed out souvenir maps depicting the liberation of France.

‘‘The maps only had French units at Normandy and the south of France,” Stoy said.

The Stoys identified some 250 small villages liberated by the 3rd ID during the war and sent letters to the mayors in 2004 urging them to erect a plague in French and English describing how the division liberated the town. Some of the officials would claim the Resistance liberated them.

The town of Holtzwihr, France erected one of the historical markers with the 3rd ID patch on it. Holtzwihr is the site where a 3rd ID Soldier by the name of Audie Murphy earned a Medal of Honor.

So far 13 villages in France have erected the markers. The Stoys dream of creating a Marne Trail. They would like to see the entire route the 3rd ID took during World War II from the beaches of France to Berchtesgaden (Hitler’s Bavarian compound) illustrated with historical markers.

The Stoys feel there are three strong reasons for such a trail. The first is to recognize the role of the brave Soldiers who fought in the campaign, so people do not forget.

Secondly they would like to educate the youth of both America and France on the unit’s accomplishments. Lastly the couple would like the active duty Soldiers fighting today to realize that some day their accomplishments too would be recognized.

The 3rd ID’s march from Morocco to Germany affected a host of people. Monika Stoy heard from a retired French businessman, Henri Galea, who was born in Tunisia (French territory at that time) in 1943.

His mother was starving and having trouble producing milk for her infant. The 3rd ID rolled through and gave her powdered milk. He survived the war and later became a French Marine. His mother always told him about the 3rd ID patch.

Galea once saw the Audie Murphy movie ‘‘To Hell and Back” and recognized the blue and white division patch of the 3rd ID. He plans on visiting Murphy’s grave at Arlington National Cemetery next year to pay his respects.

The Stoys eventually would like to create a Marne Trail that documents the 3rd’s entire World War II record. She can be reached at monika.stoy@us.army.mil.