St. George Ribbons @ Battery Park

May 8 @ 6:30pm, Battery Park by the East Coast Memorial

On May 8 we will be celebrating the “Victory in Europe Day”, generally known as V-E Day, the public holiday marking the day, May 8, 1945 on which the Allies of World War II, including the United States, formally accepted Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces and thus marked the end of World War II in Europe.

On that day we will be giving away St. George ribbons at Battery Park by the Eagle on a pedestal between two ranks of four inscribed pylons.

(Also, for the first time in history, a giant St. George ribbon will fly around NYC. At 6:45pm on May 8^th and it will be seen best from Battery Park.)

This ribbon has been a symbol of valor and heroism of Russian soldiers and officers for the last two hundred and fifty years. It was in 1769 when Empress Catherine II first established the Order of St. George the Holy Martyr to be awarded to those soldiers and officers who demonstrated special heroism on the battlefield.

During the Second World War, two of the more significant medals “For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945” and the “Order of Glory,” were attached with the St. George ribbon, which was also known as the Guard Ribbon. Overcoming the most difficult historical cataclysms, the ribbon has remained an enduring symbol of the courage and heroism of the Russian soldier and officer.

Since the 60th anniversary of Victory Day in 2005, in Russia and many other countries the “St. George Ribbon” Campaign has provided these ribbons to anybody who appreciates and respects the enormous contribution of the Soviet Union to the defeat of Fascism and Nazism during the Second World War.