SOLID AS A ROCK
The 3d ID adds to it's collection.

Hinesville Mayor Tom Ratcliff recounted the biblical story of Joshua traversing the Jordan River with the ark of the covenant, and how the sea parted to allow his army to cross on dry land. Joshua picked 12 men from 12 tribes to pick stones from the bed of the river, markers of their triumphant crossing.

“So, in modern time, we repeat the ancient ritual … and these stones represent your acts and deeds,” Ratcliff said. “These stones cause those who come after us … to ask the same ancient question, ‘What does the stone mean?’

“They’ll tell of a war you fought to protect and free other human beings,” Ratcliff said, and remind visitors of a “the greatest of [Army] divisions, with extreme valor and extreme benevolence.”

The Marne Garden at Fort Stewart is peppered with boulders honoring the “Marne Division’s” soldiers, beginning with World War I. Thursday, they added the Iraq war. In five wars and many more battles, the Marne Division has lost 35,000 warriors, Blount said.

The Division earned its famed title “Rock of the Marne” during WWI, when soldiers stood their ground, like a rock, to defend the Marne River in France against the Germans.