80th Anniversary of the Battle of The Bulge

[dwco5051]

It was 80 years ago on 12.16.44 that Germans attracted the front were the Pennsylvania 28th and the newly arrived green 106th held a line that was twice as long as one normally protected my that number of troops. I was staying at my grandparents over Christmas vacation when the telegram came that my uncle was MIA. Didn't completely understand the fuss only being 5 at the time but remember still where I was sitting in the living room when grandma went to the door.

This song means a lot to me and is a good reminder of that time in history. All my close relatives who served in WWII are now gone. The last about 5 or so years ago, an older cousin who was a gunners mate in the Navy who served in a detachment on board a merchant ship doing North Atlantic crossings.

 

[southkogs]

I was out this past Saturday at a Wreath Laying Ceremony at our National Cemetery - honor wreaths for all branches, and POW and MIA. A good opportunity to remember, honor and teach about people like your familly - who served well, and have now gone home.

 

[Lou C]

We who have relatives who served & have long since nice departed this earth have the responsibility to educate today’s youth as to the sacrifices made and what those sacrifices yielded in terms of freedom. Don’t depend on others to do it, we must educate & inform….

 

[dwco5051]

We who have relatives who served & have long since nice departed this earth have the responsibility to educate today’s youth as to the sacrifices made and what those sacrifices yielded in terms of freedom. Don’t depend on others to do it, we must educate & inform….

Thought about this on the way to a store this evening. Young clerk behind the counter, clean cut, guessing about 25. Asked him if he ever heard of the Battle of the Bulge. He said he had no idea. Gave him about a three sentence description of what it was and he seemed puzzled that we were fighting the Germans. He also was not to good at math even though I told him it was in 1944 he asked me if I was there. Maybe the white hair and the lines on my face are more pronounced than I thought.

 

[aspeck]

Dwco, we know you were there when dinosaurs roamed the earth!

It is a shame the younger generation has missed out on so much history. I remember talks with my Grandmother about life growing up … no running water in the house, no electricity in the house … heat was the fire place and the cook stove …. My how things have changed!

 

[FLATHEAD]

My father was in the 899th tank destroyer Battalion for the US Army during WWII they were at the battle of the bulge.

 

[four winns 214]

An elementary school friend had a dad with a prosthetic leg. It replaced the leg he lost in the Battle of the Bulge. That was the only thing ever mentioned. The dad was a very popular professor at Frostburg State College (now University). He drove a car with hand controls, quite an unusual thing in those days.

Years later I had three and four day layovers in Cologne, Germany, approximately an hour and a half drive from the Bulge. I began a quest to find where my friend’s father might have been during the battle. I had lost touch with my elementary school friend. His father died in 1999. A long and winding internet search revealed he was part of the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne and had jumped into Normandy on D-Day. I even found which airplane he was on.

Unknown to many, the 82nd Airborne was pressed into emergency service and was trucked into the Battle of the Bulge, just as the more well-known 101st Airborne was. However, the 82nd was on the north side of the bulge and was temporarily placed under the command of British Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery due to communication and logistical reasons. Montgomery forced the 82nd to retreat from ground they had already taken in order to “tidy up” his lines. Bitterly, they complied. The 82nd had NEVER retreated. And of course, later on, they suffered casualties retaking the ground from which they had retreated.

Remarkably, today, many of the roads in the area are much the same as they were during the battle. The terrain is hilly and not suited to travel via vehicles, even tracked ones. That’s why control of the roads was so important. The landscape is dotted with small villages where the steeple of the church (there’s usually only one) is the highest point around.

I never did find precisely where my friend’s father parted with his leg.

 

[racerone]

Off topic.----It appears that rich old folks send young folks into battle.------Most average folks just want peace , a chicken in the pot , slice of bread and perhaps a beer or glass of wine every day.----History just repeats itself.-----Years ago I stated ----:" if everybody was given a wee sailboat ( using military budgets ) , they would be happy and no need to fight "

 

[RGrew176]

I

Off topic.----It appears that rich old folks send young folks into battle.------Most average folks just want peace , a chicken in the pot , slice of bread and perhaps a beer or glass of wine every day.----History just repeats itself.-----Years ago I stated ----:" if everybody was given a wee sailboat ( using military budgets ) , they would be happy and no need to fight "

I really think that there was no choice for the U.S. entry into WWII. The December 7th 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor had to be answered therefore the declaration of war asked for and granted to FDR on December 8th.

3 days later Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S. There was once again no choice here the U.S. had to respond to both declarations. The majority opinion in the U.S. was to stay out of the European war. December 7th and December 11th changed all that.

 

[cyclops222]

If we stayed out ? We would all be speaking Russian by now.

 

[Lou C]

If not us all of Western Europe would be either Russian or German. Most likely Russian at the cost of millions of lives. The Western Europeans are good at starting wars and lousy at ENDING them!