Part 1: 2004 Graduates Support Classmate at Change of Command Ceremony on Historic Pointe du Hoc

By Erika Norton, WPAOG Senior Multimedia Journalist 

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a two-part series sharing West Point graduates’ personal experiences of the D-Day 80th anniversary events in Normandy, France.

To support a classmate and lifelong friend, a group of West Point graduates traveled to the site of the historic World War II invasion of Normandy during the 80th anniversary of D-Day, embarking on a deeply moving and unforgettable experience.

On June 5, 2024, COL Adam W. Armstrong, West Point Class of 2004, relinquished command of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at the storied Pointe du Hoc, France. The 2nd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment has a storied history with D-Day. Several of his West Point classmates, including Timothy Lawrence and Dennis James, made the trip overseas to support Armstrong. 

While in France, this group of grads joined other members of the Long Gray Line, along with veterans from around the globe in honoring the fallen during the 80th Anniversary of D-Day. This anniversary is likely the last major anniversary that World War II veterans will be able to attend. In honor of this momentous occasion and those that lost their lives on the beaches of Normandy, several West Point graduates did a static-line parachute jump out of a World War II-era C-47. 

WPAOG asked these Old Grads to share their story so the Long Gray Line could feel connected and share in their experience.

Here are their stories:

COL Adam Armstrong ’04

For me, having these guys at the Change of Command for one of the most challenging jobs (not because the unit isn’t great—it’s absolutely incredible, it just demands a lot out of everyone in it from Rifleman to Battalion Commander) of my life was a pinnacle lifetime event. It left me with so much gratitude that I barely have the words to describe it, and am still floating from the experience. 

Here is the thing. We (’04) aren’t the first class to have gone to war, nor will we be the last… but every one of us went almost as soon as we graduated and got through those initial Army schools. Four of us were infantry, one was Armor (we forgive Tim for choosing so poorly), but all were immediately and pretty regularly in danger as we did our best to lead and not let those around us down. Class of ’04 and the classes around us lost plenty of good officers. I’d bet almost no one didn’t personally know or call someone who was killed in action from our class a friend. Most of us hit Iraq just before or during the surge years of 2006-2007 and got the pleasure of pulling a 15-monther before our five-year commitment was up. We’d email each other from Internet cafes just to check in. Tim Lawrence ’04 and I even got lucky enough to run into each other in Kuwait on our way into Iraq, but we were pretty busy as platoon leaders and XOs in those days, so mostly—and I write this as I get a little choked up—you flipped right to the back of the “Stars and Stripes” and hope you didn’t read the name of one of these men whom you transitioned from a boy to a man with at West Point.  

For me, it was the guys from this trip and a few others who drug me out of my room and forced me to go on ski trips or elsewhere when I’d have been perfectly happy to stay in my room and study—as Tim said, but without those experiences away from the books, developing those close connections and sharing the hardship of simply getting through the rigors of West Point—that support network that is so strong now would not exist.   

But time marched on. Deployment after deployment, challenge after challenge… before I knew it I’d spend over five years in Iraq or Afghanistan. You get tired. You lose touch with folks. At one point when I was a young captain, Dennis James ’04 demanded I get a Facebook account to better stay in touch (he sold it as me needing to learn technology so when my daughters got older I’d know how to navigate the challenges of social media… now Facebook isn’t even cool to teenagers). At another point as a senior major when I was TDY in New York City and drained from the day’s travel and business, Dennis demanded I come eat dinner with his family. It had been a few years and I remember giving Dennis’s wife Tiffany a hug that felt like family because she and my wife Kim were both two-percenters. As a Battalion Commander in 10th Mountain, Dennis slipped on a 2-22 IN PT Shirt and ran with my Battalion in the Tunnel to Towers 5K honoring first responders of 9/11, which we experienced together as Yearlings in 2001. Weddings, football games, reunions… these guys never gave up on me. They always cheered me on and demanded my presence. I never understood why they were so insistent on me participating in their hijinx—I’m a pretty boring guy—but they never stopped.

They are the best kind of friends. Friendships formed over years finding ways to meet the demands of West Point (and in some cases finding creative ways to rebel against them). If we were in the country and not deployed, we were at the weddings for every guy on this ’04 email, usually holding a saber outside the church. Most of them have been to my parents home in Ohio, and vice versa. These guys are family. 

So when I threw it in the group chat that I’d be Changing Command at Point du Hoc a day short of the 80th D-Day Anniversary and said they were invited (half-joking because it ain’t cheap to fly round trip to France), they responded to a man that they and their families would be there, and they were… as they have been for 24 years. Not only that, but these jokers found a way to somehow do a static-line jump (who does that for fun?!) out of a 80 plus-year-old rickety compilation of rivets and propellers at Mont Saint-Michel, and got me to sew the historically inaccurate Ranger patches on their vintage uniforms. Again, who does that?! 

I have the best friends… and I am so grateful.  

I’m not a big publicity guy, particularly being in the Rangers, but it’s worth telling the story of these guys because those friendships and that support structure exists in a thousand places across the Long Gray Line. It’s not just us—but man, am I glad it is also us.

Dennis James ’04

The catalyst for the trip was when we learned that our close friend and fellow A4 Apache classmate, COL Adam Armstrong ‘04, was relinquishing command of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment (2/75) in a change of command ceremony on Pointe du Hoc, Normandy on June 5 as part of the 80th anniversary of D-Day celebrations. 

Our tight group of friends (including Jason Neumann ’04/A4; Sean McCaffrey ’04/A4; Tim Lawrence ’04/A4) have never been able to attend any of Adam’s previous CoC’s so the opportunity to honor Adam on that special day in that special place was just too good to be true. We immediately committed to going (ourselves plus all our families!)

We are all massively proud of Adam so just attending his CoC in Normandy was already enough. His CoC gave all of us the opportunity to honor Adam and his wife Kim for their many years of sacrifice in service to our country. It was an honor and privilege to witness that. Having been out of the military for much more time than I was ever in, it was an important reminder of the sacrifices our military continues to quietly make while most of us go about our everyday lives. At the same time, this trip provided me the special privilege to teach my children about D-Day and to walk the ground with veterans from that day that won’t be with us for much longer. My children also got to see their father honor that history and understand more about my younger life as a military officer. They were born after I left the military and only know the experiences I had through pictures and stories. 

Finally, Sean, Adam, Jason, Tim, and myself went to different units after graduation (4 of us infantry, and Tim “not infantry”). While we all had similar experiences, we never had those experiences together. The opportunity to do that now, together, along with other members of the Long Gray Line while honoring a history we all revere (and poured over in our mil art classes) was just too perfect. 

At some point before the trip we learned that there would be actual airborne paratrooper reenactor static line jumps from WW2 era C-47s while we were there. We had no idea who was running them and it mostly became a running joke that all of us would get in on the jump somehow while there with our families. Fortuitously, Jason happened to meet the Horse Solider Bourbon team through work. Horse Soldier Bourbon is founded and run by retired 5th Group SF soldiers from ODA 595. During combat in Afghanistan, ODA 595 famously used horses to fight the Taliban and became known as the “Horse Soldiers” for their exploits (the movie “12 Strong” is their story). Jason mentioned our planned trip to Normandy to see Adam’s CoC. It just so happens that they are heavily involved in the D-Day celebrations through their non-profit Team America Freedom and actually have a team participating in the jump. They immediately invited Jason, Sean, and myself to join the Team America Freedom (TAF) team and to jump with them! 

Fast forward to March 2024, Jason, Adam, and myself flew down to Florida to conduct refresher training with the Round Canopy Parachute Team (RCPT). RCPT does static line demonstrations all over the world and is also an active participant in the Normandy jump. Since we are Airborne qualified, we only had to attend a condensed two day refresher training that concluded with two static line jumps from a WW2 vintage C-47 at 1,500 feet. As a bonus, we met Hank Fore ’78 while there and on our last jump were the first four jumpers out of the door!

Sharing this experience with other West Point grads and veterans from various generations was truly memorable. In other settings where lots of grads and veterans might gather, the discussion often veers into personal careers and other various topics. That’s totally fine of course, but it’s never the case that everyone is singularly focused on one topic that is more important than us all. Normandy and its history unified us all in a way I didn’t expect. Everyone there came seeking this experience knew they were a part of something special. The conversations that flowed from that setting were more authentic and genuine. It strengthened already strong friendships and created new meaningful ones as well. 

Timothy Lawrence ’04

When I saw the date of Adam’s Change of Command Ceremony, I knew it would be tough to make, but I couldn’t miss the opportunity. I just retired on May 31 and am now on a beach in Greece on terminal leave with my family. My last assignment was at SHAPE in Mons, BE, which is only 4.5 hours driving from Normandy. The big challenge was that June 5 was right in the middle of my HHG pick up. Luckily, my wife and kids are absolute PCS pros so they could spare me for a couple of nights (probably made the final loading and cleaning more organized). It was so great to see all of my classmates again after 10 years or more and to meet all of their kids. I can’t wait for another chance to get my kids to meet theirs. 

The CoC ceremony was fantastic. I’ve been to Pointe du Hoc five times now….but in many ways this felt like a brand new visit. The retirement ceremony and party with my family only six days prior was the perfect end to my Army career. The ceremony on Pointe de Hoc was the perfect way to feel the connection with the Army and West Point family that didn’t end with retirement. Though cliche, it truly felt like it had only been a few weeks since we were all together at West Point or any other number of places we’ve met since. I can’t wait to get to meet all the guys and the families again and that time, have my family there as well! Then maybe I won’t have to sleep on the couch…though it was a nice couch!

Side thoughts…every time I told a NATO colleague about the ceremony they were impressed that a friend and classmate of mine was already a COL and coming out of command of such a prestigious unit. I told them that my friends and I weren’t. I told them that every time the A4 guys headed down to the firstie club, we would try to get Adam to join, but he’d almost always pass so he could study or do some other productive task such as homework…weird….anyway…that work ethic and drive clearly carried on. Paula and I can’t be more proud to call him and Kim our friends.