Whidbey Island, 22nd MEU Visit France

By MC1 Rachael Leslie and MC3 Desiree Green • July 19, 2011 9:50 am
The mayor of Cannes, France, Bernard Brochand, shakes hands with official flag bearers during a memorial service honoring American pilots lost in a downed B-24 Liberator during World War II. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Desiree D. Green/Released

CANNES, France (NNS) — Sailors and Marines aboard amphibious dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) concluded a five-day port visit in Cannes, France, July 8.

The ship arrived in Cannes July 3, just in time to celebrate Independence Day with French dignitaries and local members of the Navy League and French navy. The group held a memorial ceremony honoring fallen American aviators of a B-24 Liberator that was downed during World War II.

Sailors and Marines participated in various Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) tours while visiting Cannes. Tours included wine tasting in the countryside, visiting a medieval village, touring a historic castle, tobogganing in the French Alps, cliff-diving in the Verdon Canyon and a day trip to Monaco.

“The tours were made possible because of the hard work of the MWR committee, as well as Michele Felizzola, who was our tour coordinator while in Cannes,” said Lt. Giancarlo Bertaina, Whidbey Island’s “Fun Boss” in charge of MWR activities. “The tours that were offered provided an exciting and historical perspective of the French Riviera. Sailors and Marines were able to get out and enjoy the region and learn about the French people and culture.”

Several of the tours took place two to three hours away from the port in Cannes, providing them with a chance to relax and see a bit of the rolling countryside, or experience first hand the natural beauty of the alpine mountains.

“The scenery was unreal,” said Quartermaster 3rd Class Chris Koch, from St. Petersburg, Fla. “The tour guide we had was great, too. [The tour guide] knew everything there was to know about the areas we visited.”

The Verdon Canyon and Alpine Village tours provided participants with the opportunity to cliff dive into the man-made Sainte Croix Lake, nestled at the bottom of the nation’s deepest canyon, or tobogganing down the slopes at Valberg, one of the most popular ski resorts in the Southern Alps.

“The cliff diving was a little scary, but I’m very glad I did it,” said Koch. “The beauty of the lake and the Verdon Canyon far exceeded my expectations. I’ve never seen anything like it!”

Whidbey Island is deployed as part of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group, supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility.