Today marks the 69th Anniversary of the start of the Battle of the Bulge. The battle raged well into January 1945. In its wake the US lost some 80,000 casualties and the Germans lost some 86,000 casualties.
My father was in the middle of this conflict in command of an ambulance company attached to the US First Army. I always remember this day and wonder what it was like for him and what he saw during this battle. Most of it I am sure wasn't pleasant. Unfortunately he passed when I was young so I never had the chance to talk to him about it. What I know I have pieced together through old papers and letters.
Feel free to share any stories about loved one who were in the Battle of the Bulge. It makes for good reading and remembering.
Thanks!
Ivan the Big
My Uncle
http://www.bensavelkoul.nl/John_Nickerson.htm was in the
http://www.bensavelkoul.nl/643rd_tank_de...talion.htm
"The 643rd deployed into Normandy exactly three years after it was activated, landing at Cherbourg on 15 December 1944. The following day, a major German offensive was launched in the Ardennes forest, beginning the Battle of the Bulge, and the battalion was rushed into action, arriving at the front on 22 December.[1] One company was deployed that same evening to support an attack on Hotton by elements of Combat Command Reserve of the 3rd Armored Division.[2] The battalion remained attached to the 3rd Armoured until 26 December, supporting it in a number of small-scale engagements."
My dad was a 101st Airborne "Screaming Eagle" (transferring in from training as a tanker). He joined the outfit just after the Bulge, saw action at the Moder River (?), and participated in the capture of Hitler's "Eagle's Nest" at Berchtesgaden. After VJ Day, he landed hard in a Victory Jump, hurting his back badly. Rather than hole up in hospital in Germany, he toughed it out and came home to march down NY's Fifth Avenue (with the 82nd Airborne). He paid a big price for that decision, suffering as he did from chronic back pains for the rest of his life. I'd post photos, but they've been misplaced.
My great-uncle (my grandfather's brother), Major "Bill" Grantham, was in 13th (Lancashire) Parachute Bn. On 3 Jan 1945 he was commanding B Company in the attempt to recapture the village of Bure. From a Lt Arthur Prestt:
"We moved out of the wood onto the snow covered hillside adopting an open formation as we did so. I was moving slightly to the rear of Major GRANTHAM and his Command Group. After we had advanced about 100 yards, he must have seen something suspicious and moved down the hill to the shelter of a hedge. He appeared to speak to his signaller who already was in contact with one of the other stations. There was a single shot and the O.C. fell dead at our feet. Then the shelling and the mortaring started. The hedge gave us no protection at all and very quickly the casualties mounted. ..."
It was only some years after I first became interested in the Battle of the Bulge that I learned I had a relative who had fought and died in it.
More on the Battle of Bure (the quote is from the first link):
http://www.pegasusarchive.org/varsity/repLuardsOwn1.htm
http://www.battleofthebulgememories.be/f...ennes.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bure
http://www.paradata.org.uk/people/george-k-grantham