Posted on 12/17/2011 5:48:40 PM PST by InvisibleChurch
Breath taking pics...
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I still have my father, he is 86. He missed the bulge by 2 weeks.
He farms. He worked every day until a year ago. He had quadruple bypass surgery. He was not out long for that, but lately he spends more time with my mother. She has dementia, but they are still lovebirds after 65 years. They met when he stopped in DC on his way to Europe. They wrote throughout the war. When he was on his way home after being discharged he called my grandfather to wire money for a train ticket to my mother. He did. When she arrived in Texas they were married in my grandparents dining room.
He never talked much about the war. Just settled down to farm again and to live his life in peace. That is the way it was and is here.
Pray that it remains that way, but the way things are now. Well we won’t go there.
“...I always look at the faces to see if one of them might be him.”
My dad fought in the Ardennes in the Battle of the Bulge. He was a heavy mortarman. When I see pictures of that battle, I also wonder if I might be looking at my dad. It brings tears to my eyes when I see those pictures. I am so proud of him.
Perhaps w/ the 410th Bomb Group? I’ve been blessed to meet a few of those gents at recent reunions, wonderful collection of memoribilia and pictures they have. Just this fall,I finally got take a drive over the area - from Utah to Bastogne - and on the way back to Paris, dropped by Coulommiers Aerodrome, where they flew from in Dec ‘44. Perhaps your Dad slept right where I was looking. A salute and a tear.
Pray that it remains that way, but the way things are now. Well we won’t go there.
World War II didn’t touch the continental United States. I no longer see us protected. I fear for our future.
9th Air Force, 387 Bomb Group, stationed at Clastres, France, later at Maastricht.
http://387bg.com/387th%20Bombardment%20Group%20-%20Distinguished%20Unit%20Citation.htm
I have the photos he took of camp that winter. Makes you shiver just to look at them.
I find it ironic that his great-great-great grandfather endured the brutal winter of 1777 with Washington’s army at Valley Forge. History repeating itself.
“My husband’s Uncle was there. He told family members that he was never so cold in his life and hoped he would never be cold again.”
Heard the same thing from a vet I used to work with years ago. He was at the Battle of the Bulge. He and two fellows got separated from thier company during battle. He said all they had to eat for three days was an onion and damned near froze to death (on top of being shot at). He said that was the coldest he’d ever been.
“My husband’s Uncle was there. He told family members that he was never so cold in his life and hoped he would never be cold again.”
Heard the same thing from a vet I used to work with years ago. He was at the Battle of the Bulge. He and two fellows got separated from thier company during battle. He said all they had to eat for three days was an onion and damned near froze to death (on top of being shot at). He said that was the coldest he’d ever been.
The problem with Army Ground Force's doctrine at the time was the Tank Destroyer Corps was to engage the German tanks while the Armored Corps was to provide infantry and recon support. In reality, the TD arm was employed like tanks and suffered large numbers of casualties and infantry support tanks were called to fight German tanks more often than not. The tank destroyers had the guns to kill the enemy tanks, but not the protection; the tanks had the protection but not the guns to kill the German tanks.
The US Army's Armor Branch was not equipped with a tank that could meet and defeat the German tanks on a level playing field until March 1945. In January 1945 20 T26E3 Pershing heavy tanks were shipped to the ETO for the attacks into Germany.
Called the “Zebra Mission”, these tanks were equally split between the 3rd and 9th Armored Divisions. Ten T26E3’s went to the 3rd AD, 33rd Armored Regiment, and 10 went to the 9th AD, 67th Armored Regiment. All 20 were engaged in combat operations by March 1945. At the end of hostilities on 8 May 1945, there were 310 Pershings in Europe but only the first 20 Pershings took part in real fighting.
The T26E3 (reclassified M26) in March 1945, weighed 46 tons; had a road speed of 25 mph; a 500 hp gasoline V8 engine; a crew of 5; a 90mm M3 main gun with 70 rounds, a .50 machine gun with 550 rounds and two .30 machine guns with 5,000 rounds; operational range was 100 miles.
This is an M10 or M10A1 conversion to the M36 GMC (aka “Slugger”) with the 90mm M3 gun. The major recognition point is the gun mantlet and turret shape. Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M36_tank_destroyer
The M36 shared the same weak armor and lack of overhead protection as the M10-series, but its M3 gun could take on and defeat all marks of German tanks.
Wow! Those pictures are breathtaking!
Do you know what went through my mind as I was viewing them? I surely hope we don’t have to count on the OWSers or Ron Paul in the future.
I still believe this country has enough young people who love this country and want to defend us, though.
Thank you SO much for the ping! It’s so good to “see” you!
Merry Christmas, potlatch!
..just recently I brought over an 8 x 10 of dad from that era when he was in uniform...
..dad was movie star handsome in the 1940's and the cheekbones and bright blue eyes remain, as then.
I recently found some letters (written during the war years)...to his mom and dad and brother....
..at the top of the letterhead, he wrote...'somewhere in India'....
He was always very proud of his service....
There were three main reasons for this:
1. Almost all the US troops stationed in the Ardennes were replacement divisions..just arrived from the US, never seen battle. The were put there because SHAEF expected nothign but occasional small unit skirmishes..they wanted to give these troops a little seasoning.
2. Not only were the US troops raw, but they were vastly undermanned. I've seen estimates that for the length of the frontline, there should have been at least TWICE as many US troops. The rationale given for this was that the Ardennes was viewed as inpenetrable to last German formations..therefore less troops were needed.
3. The cold. US troops weren't well equipped for winter combat. THis impacted their combat effectiveness. More tellign is the ration of KIAs to WIAs in the Bulge. It was much lower than all during most of the European theater. That's because the cold is deadly to a wounded soldier. Totally saps his strength..
John Wayne did not make a Battle of the Bulge movie or for that matter, I can’t think of any movie he made dealing with the European theater. (oops I forgot...... the longest Day)
His movies all seem to be set in the Pacific
I looked for Dick Winters and Easy Company but didn’t see them either. That first picture with the tanks looks like the model for the Band of Brothers set however
Your statement can't be repeated often enough.
Interesting. The Germans are always pretty wicked. IMO, a very mean culture. I lived among them for a few years and I could tell you some stories of plain out abject cruelty. For about 50 years they have been largely pacified with long vacations, sick days, kindergeld and other various “social benefits”. All one has to do is wait in a deli line with a group of Germans to see a microcosm of their nature.
These pictures are incredible. Let us never forget the sacrifices Greatest Genreation made. They are almost gone from us.
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.