Read the book last summer before visiting Cologne and retracing the battle over the current terrain. Very powerful and surprisingly emotional (as a former tanker). Definitely will see the movie.
Wow!! That must have been a very moving experience. Thank you for your service. I had two uncles who were U.S. Army, and served overseas in WWII. My brother was U.S. Army Infantry in Vietnam ‘66-67. The closest I got to WWII sites in France was visiting the D-Day Landing Beaches, and St. Laurent Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer. Too old now to go back unfortunately. My great-uncle who served with Canada during WWI, and was killed two months before the Armistice, is buried in Terlincthun British Cemetery, in Wimille, France.