On the initiative of the Office of the Defense Attaché, Ambassador Martin Weiss received members of the Society of the 3rd Infantry Division on February 24, 2021, at the Austrian Embassy in Washington, DC. On this occasion, the Ambassador was presented a replica of a memorial plaque commemorating the peaceful liberation of the city of Salzburg by the 3rd U.S. Infantry Division, U.S. Army, in May 1945. The original plaque was due to be unveiled at Salzburg airport in 2020 on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the city’s liberation but the event had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The memorial plaque also reminds of two distinguished officers of the Division, Lieutenant Audie L. Murphy, America´s most decorated soldier of World War II, and later a famous actor, as well as Captain Charles P. Murray, Jr. who both were awarded the Medal of Honor, the Unites States’ highest military decoration for acts of valor in combat.
As a special guest the Ambassador welcomed 95-year-old Colonel John L. Insani, from Marlboro, Massachusetts, a WWII, Korea and Vietnam war veteran who served as an officer in the 3rd Infantry Division during their operations in Salzburg.
