Sunday, December 24th
On Sunday, December 24th, our P-47s and P-38s came over at daybreak. We were told that the enemy had given the division an ultimatum to surrender but it had been refused. - - We all got a big kick when we heard that General McCauliffe had said "NUTS" ! to the enemy. - - We also knew that things could get worse ....More supplies came by air and except for the freezing weather, we were in high spirits and sort of confident. The vigil of Christmas began rather badly. That night, Christmas eve, the Lufftwaffe bombed Bastogne twice. - - Yet, on that unholy night, history has recorded an unforgettable mass that took place in town; wounded Airborne soldiers shed tears at the tune of "Silent Night". The German POWs were visited by Gen. McCauliffe himself as they were singing "Stille Nacht" and " O Tannenbaum". He wished them a Merry Christmas!
NOTE: This was a Christmas eve for all times, at this important road junction in Belgium, 40,000 Germans, about 17,000 Americans, and 3,000 Belgian civilians were destined to spend Christmas Day. But, siege or no siege, civilians and fighting men on both sides were being touched by the advent of Christ. It was meant to be a white Christmas, indeed, and those involved would celebrate as best they could.
Monday, December 25th, Christmas Day
In the forward areas of the perimeter, in the MLR {Main Line of Resistance}, what is called today FEBA, the forward edge of the battle area, - - in that place where the outcome of the battle is finally decided - - clinging to our foxholes in the frozen ground, we sank into deep thoughts and emotions. I thought mostly about home in the Yucatan in southern Mexico where we never have snow; I thought about my family there and my relatives in Paducah, Kentucky, I was wearing a sweater, OD color, which had been sent to me for Christmas in early December by my cousin Marie. {I still have it}.
That very night, on the opposite side of our lines, the enemy activity had increased . -- We did not know it at the time, but the Germans were having a large scale deployment to launch a major attack against the northwestern sector of the Bastogne perimeter; the area defended by the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment - - Bastogne, indeed, would make a worthy Christmas present for the Fuhrer. It was going to be, indeed, an unholy night for the 502d!
Suddenly, around 0300 a.m. the first barrages crashed against our positions, a few German planes droned over regimental headquarters and dropped bombs. Minutes later, wearing snow suits, the first grenadiers crept forward against our lines, supported by a few tanks. The fire fight in our left flank intensified - - "A" Co. 1st Bn, was catching the brunt of the assault. The enemy was determined to break though - - but the "Deuce" was not about to yield easily. Champs and Hermoulle were the objectives, no doubt about it, it was a major assault.
As the ground shook under the impact of the heavy shelling, the snow covered battlefield soon became an spectrum of bright flares and deafening explosions and machine-gun tracers .... The attack was on, it was Christmas Day already, lying face down in the bottom of my icy foxhole, I remember praying both in English and Spanish. A few mortar rounds exploded in front and behind our position, yet the activity to our left was gaining intensity. Our outposts between Longchamps and Champs had been reinforced and our machinegunners were delivering flanking fire against the attacking German infantrymen. Our own parachute infantry was also being deployed to meet the enemy threat; these men were the brave rifles from Co "E" 2nd Bn. 502d P.I.R. To me, personally, this was a defining moment in my life as a soldier and as an American, to see well disciplined courageous fellow soldiers well motivated to follow orders under the most hellish of circumstances yet, without hesitation, at that very trying moment everyone seemed to know what had to be done and they DID IT!
The enemy attack ended in failure. The Five-o-deuce had held firm. The assault force had suffered heavy casualties and was forced to withdraw. There were also, of course, American casualties, in grotesque forms the death froze into eternity.
Tuesday, December 26th
Bastogne was relieved the next day, Tuesday, December 26th by the 4th Armored Division of General Patton's Third U. S. Army. The Ardennes was, of course, not the first time that American soldiers had fought under adverse conditions. At the birth of our nation there were cold ...tired ... and hungry soldiers at Valley Forge, but at Bastoge and throughout the Battle of the Bulge, the resourcefulness and dependability of the American fighting men were highlighted by the GIs themselves. Were we prepared for Bastogne? I believe we were; we certainly were well-trained and well-led; AND above all, we had that Airborne esprit-de-corps which always prepared us to fight facing the enemy from all sides as we did in Normandy and in the Liberation of Holland during Operation Market-Garden.
Success in the perimeter was achieved not by chance, or because of air superiority - - it was won by officers and NCOs {From General to Sergeants} who provided exemplary leadership and by soldiers who knew how to follow orders, and yet had the initiative to act on their own when necessary. - - As such, I remember my Squad Leader Sgt. Joe O'Toole from Vincennes, IND.; my foxhole buddy, our gunner, from Florence, S.C.; Francis Papaleo, from South Philadelphia; Alfred Steen from Brooklyn, NY; Sgt. Bill Robinson; Cpl. Dale Reeder; Lt. James R. Hill; and last but not least, our AT Btry C.O. Capt Bill Lockman, from West Palm Beach, FLA. I also remember Sgt. Lawrence Silva from "D" Co. Yes, I remember all of them because destiny and faith had bound us together as one of the finest divisions ever fielded in battle: The Screaming Eagles of the 101st!
The siege of Bastogne, Belgium was a frightful experience never to be forgotten; and hopefully, never to be repeated again. Misery on the battlefield was compounded by the severe winter of that year. YET, despite the adversity of war, all those involved were able to find warmth, strength, and comfort in man's eternal hope for universal fraternity and man's eternal search for divine guidance. As for me personally, like that of my fellow soldiers, it was my destiny to take part in and survive that gallant feat of arms; and, as miserable and terrifying as the experience was, it enriched my life forever because I learned to have faith and trust in my superior officers and in my fellow soldiers: it enriched my life because I learned first hand about the true spirit of America, by never hearing anyone ever express the word surrender. - - YES, Bastogne was part of the rendezvous with destiny of the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division, and I am proud for having been there - - I had had my first White Christmas in that small Belgian town, and there were enough lights to last me a life-time.
Thank you all, past and present. For the Christmas of 1944, and every Christmas since.
