My First Return to Belgium Since WWII

YouTube.com ^ | unknown | Vincent J. Speranza

[Twotone]

A little over 2 minute video...very sweet.

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TOPICS: History; Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: 101stairborne; bastogne; belgium; screamingeagles; vincentjsperanza; worldwareleven; ww2; wwii

[SunkenCiv]

My screen got all blurry.

My First Return to Belgium Since WWII | 2:10
American Veterans Center | 1.2M subscribers | 4,386,899 views | January 19, 2026

[Thank You Rush]

Very, very nice...and thank you for posting. So glad he did make the trip. I bet he has some great stories to tell; both BEING THERE THEN and WHEN he went back.

[srmanuel]

Thanks for the post.

You can’t mention Vince Speranza without think of the song he’s well known for singing....

Blood on the Risers. Gory,, Gory, what a helluva way to die.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1i1uYEeyFY

Having spent a couple of days in Bastogne, he’s right, they do have monuments dedicated to the 101st Airborne all over the place.

[Nailbiter]

.

[ChuckHam]

A trip to Bastogne is mandatory if you go to Europe, IMO.

[Chainmail]

I've been to Bastogne too and it's exactly as you and this veteran described: they remember us warmly and as I was an American in uniform then, I couldn't buy a beer or a meal while I was there.

They have a large, beautiful monument to our contributions in the war and there's a restored M4 Sherman - with a large shell hole in its side - in the town square.

By the way, all of Belgium is welcoming, the food is excellent, and most everybody speaks English! (you have to try their Moules (mussels) and their chocolate while you're there)

[Albion Wilde]

That’s beautiful. Thanks for posting.

[srmanuel]

I remember when we got there and parked, right on the town square was a restaurant/bar called Le Nuts, which we had lunch in.

Obviously, the Le Nuts was in honor of the American General’s response when the German Commander asked for his “honorable” surrender.

[JOHN ADAMS]

Thank you so much for posting.

[FrankRizzo890]

My maternal grandfather fought in the battle of the bulge in Belgium, and I’d like to visit the area. Has anyone been?

[BluH2o]

I've seen this guy before ... he's quite a storyteller. He tells about visiting his wounded buddies in a church while the battle was still underway. He asked if he could do anything for them and they said they were thirsty for a drink. He found an abandoned pub nearby with a beer tap that was still working. Lacking anything to carry the beer in he used his helmet and transported it back to his wounded buddies. Apparently he made a couple of trips before a medic caught on and stopped him. Unbeknownst to him this became legend in Bastogne, another war story, which he was oblivious to until he visited Bastogne 50+ years later. Happenstance played a role and he heard the story and identified himself as the beer guy. Word got around quickly and he became a minor celebrity ...

[SunkenCiv]

😆

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

He has since passed.

[imardmd1]

Thank you so much! I was inthird grade when all this happened, A cousing was captured in the Battle of the Bluge. A friend in church (now passed on) was in Patton’s thrre-day march, 104th Regt of 26th YD Division from Metz to the Belgian front Bastogne. Told me a lot about it.