Posted on 12/17/2011 5:48:40 PM PST by InvisibleChurch
Fantastic post. Thanks.
You are correct. Generaloberst Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (June 17, 1888 - May 14, 1954) He was about 56 years old at that time. The photo was in Life magazine, He also made the cover of Time magazine Aug. 7 1944. Guderian died on 14 May 1954 at the age of 65, in Schwangau (Southern Bavaria.)
When it was over, I asked him what he thought of the flick. You see, he had caught it "on its original showing", as he blithely put it.
He thought for a sec, and said "It was a fine movie, but no one looked cold enough."
Wow.....
Neat. Thanks 2sheds.
It’s great that there are FReepers who can share this. Our Dads would be happy. God bless them all.
Do you have any idea what division or outfit he was in?
I guess I'm just as silly. The first thing I thought was may I would spot my great uncle Oscar. Yes he was on our side. First generation in this country and hated the Nazis with a passion for what they did to Germany.
I vividly remember when he came home from the war,the big party they had for him and all even though I was only six at the time. We spent three or four hours or so talking about the war...I mostly listened to his stories and he seemed to want to talk about it.
Joe was a member of the 712th Tank Battalion attached to the 90th Infantry coming ashore at Utah Beach on D+23 in his M5A1 Stuart tank and fighting all the way into Czechoslovakia in May of '45. He was a PFC when he came ashore but was a MSGT at the end...he said it was due to attrition and a little research by me found that the 712th had the third highest casualty rate in the ETO.
During the Bulge the 712th was part of Patton's move to relieve Bastogne and Joe says it was bitter cold and that a Stuart tank isn't the warmest thing to be in,but it was better than being out in the weather 'cause there was too much s**t flying around. He says he was really lucky because he was "only" wounded once and rested at the Aid Station for a few days until the hole in his arm quit bleeding so much.
He still has the two pistols he brought home saying that at one point he had thirteen of them but was only allowed to bring two home.He says he made a fortune selling all the Lugers and P-38's to REMF's.He kept a Mauser in 7.65mm and what looks like a nickel-plated Browning Hi-Power. Further research on my part shows it to be M1935 Polish made pistol under license from FNH.The nickel plating indicates that it came from a Waffen SS officer...but Joe didn't elaborate on that...maybe next time.
I'm going to visit him again next month and will ask him more about that and anything else he wants to talk about. He lives here in Florida too because he too has an aversion to the cold...and hedgerows too!
self ping
self ping
My dad was there, never would talk about it to us kids, but a couple years ago while visiting me, he told me a lot. He remembered riding in a jeep over Remagen Bridge (which had been heavily bombed) and looking down thrugh holes in the ridge roadway at the river rushing below.
He was one of the “Battle Babies”, so-called because they had no combat experience and were thrown right into the Battle of the Bulge. He spoke of digging artillery emplacements, getting all set and then beng told they had to move again as soon as they were done.
He told of many men killed or taken prisoner and also said that the Germans still had huge amounts of men and materiel when they surrendered.
He was part of an artillery battalion and volunteered to be a forward observer because he was young and childless and the other guys had kids at home.
He said they never really knew at the time where they were or what was going on in terms of the big picture. You just went where they pointed you. That surprised me, I figured everyone was privy to the general plan of what they were doing.
We kids always kinda teased him about his hearing loss, I guess now I have a better understanding of what standing next to those big guns does to a person.
Mrs. AV
So she would always take care of him whenever he came in for dinner. His wife had died many years ago. She got to know this man quite well and would take me over to his house on Sundays. Sundays were when all his friends would come over and they'd talk about the war. My mother would make coffee and cornbread. All these fellows were widowers.
I was allowed to sit in the kitchen and listen but instructed never to interrupt. I'd sit there bug eyed listening to these stories but they have mostly faded from my mind. At one point she got permission to leave a tape recorder running out of view to capture their history. Sadly, all those hours of all those men vanished in a fire years back.
Those men are all gone now. I often wonder what they would think of this country now.
Its a long, long shot but might as well see if I have anything. I think I still have the master disc with the scans. Sold the photos individually I'm sad to say but they were too valuable to keep.
My father, 19 years old at the time, was taken prisoner at the Battle of the Bulge (at St. Vith).
Interestingly, the 101st Division was one of the youngest in American military history. The average age of the soldiers was around 19, while the average age of the officers was around 23-24. Sadly, my father was tortured and was not liberated for several months after the end of the war due to his injuries. Fortunately, he was able to come home and lived a good life until his death in 1991.
I salute the honor of my father and all those who served from the greatest generation.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.