After U.S. Army Europe inactivated the 7th Army Parachute Team, the members of the Coleman Barracks Sport Parachute Club in Mannheim served the USAREUR public affairs program as the Command Parachute Demonstration Team. Bob Cassella was one of 14 members of the troop chosen to participated in a joint French and American commemoration of the Normandy invasion at Sainte Mere L’Eglise in 1975. In recognition of the six jumps conducted with the French airborne soldiers, the troopers of the Section de Saut en Vol planned to submit the names for award of the coveted French parachutist badge. After waiting a few years, Cassella thought that he would never receive his French wings — that is, until yesterday — Monday, June 6 — when he was awarded the prestigious award by Col. Nicolas Auboin, French liaison officer for the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center in a small ceremony.
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