It Was 60 Years Ago Today

[Gary Sisco]

Anniversary of Battle of the Bulge Marked

1 hour, 11 minutes ago

By ROBERT WIELAARD, Associated Press Writer

BASTOGNE, Belgium - World War II-era jeeps and trucks rumbled through this town Saturday in ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the deadliest battle in American history, the Battle of the Bulge.


AP Photo



Veterans from across the United States returned to find Bastogne covered in snow, just as it was that bitter cold December of 1944. The town of 14,000 took the brunt of the six-week battle that raged across the Ardennes hills of southern Belgium and Luxembourg.


"The American veterans who have returned 60 years later to the battle site represent those who gave their lives on our soil, so that today we can live free," Bastogne Mayor Philippe Collard said in French at a memorial honoring U.S. General George S. Patton.


Then he added in English, "We will never forget. You are home here."


Later, Belgium's King Albert was to lead a special commemoration at the town's vast star-shaped Mardasson Memorial. Dennis Hastert, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, was attending, along with hundreds of war veterans.


The Battle of the Bulge was the war's largest land battle involving U.S. forces. It drew in more than a million troops — 600,000 Germans, 500,000 Americans and 55,000 Britons — who fought in bitter cold from Dec. 16, 1944, to Jan. 25, 1945.


Some 81,000 Americans and 100,000 Germans were killed or wounded in the fighting, Nazi Germany's last offensive.


"No American knows where to find Belgium on the map, but they all know about Bastogne," the daily De Standaard said in Saturday's edition.


The battle began when Germany's panzer divisions broke through the thinly held American front in the Belgian Ardennes sector, catching the Allies by surprise and driving the front westward in a "bulge" that ran deep into Belgian territory.


There was so much destruction that it was impossible to know exactly how many were killed in action, how many went missing and how many were wounded.


The Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge in Arlington, Va., says 19,000 American troops died, making the battle the deadliest in U.S. history.


Though surrounded and outnumbered, an American force held out at Bastogne, which was heavily damaged.


On Saturday, there were to be guided walks along the southern perimeter relieved by U.S. Gen. George S. Patton's Third Army, which rushed north from France in time to defeat the Germans.


There was also to be a military parade across Bastogne's central square, named for Anthony MacAuliffe, the acting commander of the 101st Airborne whose paratroopers repulsed repeated attacks.


On Dec. 22, 1944, the Germans gave MacAuliffe two hours to surrender or face "total annihilation." His famous reply — that stumped the Germans — was "Nuts!"


The 40-foot-high Mardasson Memorial bears the names of U.S. Army units that participated in the action as well as the names of the then-48 U.S. states in bronze letters. There is also a plaque that says, "Liberatoribus Americanis Populus Belgicus Memor" (The Belgian People Remember Their American Liberators).





I salute every one of those GIs, the toughest motherfuckers who ever walked anywhere west of Stalingrad. Below zero every night and damned cold every day. Often going for many days in a row with no sleep or food at all, fighting all the while -- for weeks, snow for water, temps so cold they had to pour hot water on the machineguns to keep them working. Fucking wet, cold, tired, dirty, muddy and hungry like no one of us today can even imagine.

I've had the privilege of knowing several of those guys as personal friends and it is a great honor to have been able to know them.

One was the father of a kid I played with in one of my first childhood rock bands. He was the quietest, most mildmannered guy you can imagine. Never a harsh or angry word for anyone. I never knew and even many of his friends, vets included, didn't know until his obit was published that he was highly decorated for conspicuous bravery and gallantry during the Battle of The Bulge, within sight of General Patton, who was so impressed with the man's behavior under fire that Patton immediately made Mr Boozan, then only a kid, his personal driver for the rest of the battle and the rest of the war -- fighting with The General all the way to Berlin. RIP, Mr Boozan, a real American hero, the likes of which very, very few of us will ever see.

[Dr Dave]

That's not what MacAuliffe really said.

[Monte Smith]

Nuts.

My favorite quote of all time.

[Gary Sisco]

Another old vet of the Battle Of The Bulge, who was a dear personal friend and drinking buddy, long dead, now, was my great old sidekick, Les. He was regular army, 1st Infantry Division, having enlisted in the '30s and who put in his 30 years and retired to Vermont, where I met him in a local tavern.

Les was the most closedminded music friend I've ever had, but one of the most interesting as well. He was absolutely fanatical about jazz and big band music from the dawn of recording to 1944. He absolutely insisted that American music as such died and died forever after 1944, and he didn't care who you were talking about. Ellington, Basie, whoever. If it was made after 1944 it was shit. Period. And he absolutely loathed pop music of any kind. Loathed it. Loudly. When the Walkman came out, he bought one right away so he could drink at the bar and listen to his own music. He always wore a gray fedora because the top of his head was raked with shrapnel scarring, so he wore the headphones over top of his hat. Like many wearing headphones, he never realized he was yelling when talking to someone else, so you'd be drinking a cocktail and all of a sudden Les would yell out "This is the great Harry James!" or something like, forgetting that no one but him could hear the music. Funny as hell.

He liked me right away once he found out that I knew the music he loved and the names of the musicians and so forth. We became fast friends and he'd come up to our apartment now and then and drink with me and my best friend. Les always stood because he received machinegun wounds to his legs and knees in the Battle Of The Bulge. He had to either stand or lie down for the rest of his life. So there would be this old reactionary from another world, standing with his tumblerful of bourbon, neat, in front of our Black Panther Party Defense/Offense Committee flag, raving away at us, while we all listened to classic jazz served up with alcohol and fabulous stories from the days. Amazing character. Amazing man. Fought every inch of the way on foot with the Big Red One through North Africa and from Normandy to the Bulge, where the machinegun took his feet out from under him, or he'd have fought on foot all the way to Berlin if someone didn't kill the motherfucker. What a guy.

Thing was, he had a Smithsonian quality collection of mint and near mint 78s, including every V-disc he could get his hands on during the war -- all of which he sent home, unplayed, and it wasn't until he was retired that he began playing them and taping them to preserve the quality of the records. An astonishing collection. I still have two 90-min cassettes he made me of Ellington and Basie singles. I used to have another of Benny Goodman but I gave it to a friend long ago who likes Goodman more than I ever have. I play those tapes now and then to remember Les. One of them has his voice on the end of it, announcing the personnel on the last side. "What a band. What a performance," he says, in that oldtime northern New Jersey accent.

A real American hero, old Les. I'll always cherish his memory and salute his service.

[ran]

Gary,

I thought we were getting old enough to say Sgt. Pepper started his band.

Must be the good No. Cal. cannie.

BTW, many years ago our attorney used "Nuts" as his only awnser to a set ot interragatoies (sp)
Needless to say the other side didn't find it so amusing and tried to have our guy sanctioned. The judge loved the reply and told the opposing attorney to take a lude.

[Gary Sisco]

Good one, Dickran.

As your attorney, I advise you to take a jet again one of these days so that we might have a downtown consultation.

[james harrigan]

great story about Les, Gary. I wonder what happened to that collection of 78s?

I'm astonished about the level of US casualties (19,000 dead!) in the Battle of the Bulge reported in the article. I always thought that Antietam was the deadliest battle in US history. Can anyone shed light on this grim issue?

edit: Google to the rescue, as usual. According to this site, about 7,640 died at Antietam, a one-day battle. September 17 1862 was the bloodiest day of the war, but more died in other multi-day battles.

According to this site, American deaths in the month-long Ardennes offensive were 8,607; horrific enough and worse than Antietam, but a lot less than 19,000.

[ran]

As your attorney, I advise you to take a jet again one of these days so that we might have a downtown consultation.[/QUOTE]



I'll be in NYC shortly.If you can make it I'll be buying drinks at McManus' pub, you remember the place don't you ?

[Gary Sisco]

Who could forget? I won't be able to get there until end of May, though.