Today marks the 72nd anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge which raged until 1/25/45. This was the largest battle American ground forces ever participated in and resulted in 89,500 US casualties. Struggling with 10 foot snow drifts, below zero weather and without any air support US forces overcame a massive German counter offensive. Salute to those who fell and fought in this savage battle! The moral of this epic battle lies in it's history. Americans had become complacent, it was nearly Christmas, it was felt that the Germans would soon surrender, everybody just wanted it to end so they could go home, sentries were not being posted, it's over - right. We too are in a similar situation, don't become complacent, remain vigilant, and be prepared to defend yourself at all times.
Grand dad fought in this after the long slog from the Beaches! He and his squad and three others were attached as infantry support for a platoon of Sherman Modded tanks with the anti tank 90 mm guns, so they were highly prized, and a high value target. The men all dug small trenches under neath the tanks and draped tarps and branches and what ever they could find, and they took turns eating and sleeping in these positions or were on guard duty! When ever it came time to move, the tracks were all ready clear, and the tanks could move out in search of the Dreaded Tigers and Panthers, or take on any thing the Jerri's could come up with! Lack of guard, situational awareness, and Pattons obsessive drive caused all sorts of troubles that all conspired to nearly undo what the allies had accomplished! The ONE saving grace was the weather finally cleared and the allies could put up over whelming air support and drove the Germans back, Broke the attack which pretty much spent the remaining Germans. You are 100% correct, we are in trying times, and we need to be ever wary, ever ready to act!!!
My old man was there too. 80th ID, 3rd Army, point of relief column to Bastogne, 3 days constant movement and combat, no sleep, pulled off line due to frozen feet. We have no real idea what hell our forefathers endured for our freedom.
@Oltymer Great reminder. My enduring thanks to our greatest generation. Many of the 5,329 people interred at the Ardennes American Cemetery died during Nazi Germany's final major offensive in the west, the Battle of the Bulge. They include some service troops who were fighting as infantry. Others died in the advance to the Rhine and across Germany, and in the strategic bombardment of Europe.
Mom had a cousin at Bastogne who was in the engineers and on a rest and reorganize thing until the attack came. The general in charge had taken the ammo dumps and spread them out so that they couldn't be destroyed by a lucky hit or overrun. He said that for a while they picked up ammo, took it the guns, then took breaks to sleep, eat, etc, then about the 2nd or 3rd day they noticed that the guns were firing in all four directions. After that they slept in the trucks and made da** sure the guns had all the ammo they needed. Cold and lack of fuel were his worst complaints, never saw a German soldier there as he was drafted into supply. He said everyone fought and the he** with paperwork, saluting, and all that stuff. Freedom isn't and never has been free. May they all rest in peace and we owe them a tremendous debt that we can never repay.
We can never repay them enough for what they did. We need to take better care of our veterans,if not for them were would our country be today?
Dear old people, You have been lied to your entire lives. America did not enter the war to promote "freedom", in fact the majority of Americans at the time wanted nothing to do with it. These people did not wave the red-white-and blue banner of the military, they did not salute veterans for "their service to our country", they did not watch talking boxes and believe propaganda, either. But, when Pearl Harbor occurred, enough people did rally behind the cause, and so the war drums were beaten. The media of the day was bought up by wealthy industrialists and banking families for pennies on the dollar at bankruptcy auction. Stalin became an ally and friend of Roosevelt, while Hitler played the role of the antagonist. The long awaited prophecy for the Zionist Jews was finally on the horizon, and this time nothing was going to stop the establishment of Israel. And what do you know? Exactly 6 million....again...er...and again. The war with Germany caused many happenings to unfold, but one of them certainly wasn't "establishing freedom". You are all living a dream, and it's long past due for you to WAKE UP.
I may disagree with you, but push comes to shove, you defend your country and its isn't optional. Like a lot of marriages, couple fights like he**, but if you get involved, both will attack you. Don't know about the war and the German's, but had relatives in Norway and went to school with Jewish survivors from the camps, and none of them mentioned the bankers and an unjust war. Just my opinion and in our imperfect system, you are welcome to have and speak to others about your opinions.
Funny how all the Jewish "survivors" managed to survive. When asked about the ovens and gas chambers, none could honestly claim to have seen them. Many Jews were shuffled around from staging point to staging point on their way to what is now Israel, and most that died, died from disease. The Second World War established a permanent safety net for the Jewish people, who to this day (Israel) murders Palestinians in genocidal fashion and influences politics in America, which still funds their nation. Don't trust what I say, and please do not believe the Zionist corporate media. There are plenty of independent journalists out there who have done the work for you. But, this is only one brick in the wall...most people have been fed so many lies, there's no solution and no hope of bringing them back. Everything you are, all that you see and believe in is a lie. The only threat to the people is their "government".
Don't really know what had happened to him, he had rickets, a number ta-toed on his arm, no teeth was 20 years old, looked like he was 40, said his parents, brothers and sister, rest of family had been killed by the Germans and he was living with an uncle in Tucson when I knew him. Was originally from Poland, but had been released from a camp in Germany by the US army where he was slave labor. Had no idea of what happened to his family, they got on one train in Poland, he got on another train and never saw them again and was told that they were dead by the US government. Had a teacher whose father had been a Lutheran minister and was executed in the 1930's for preaching against Hitler and he was allowed to leave Germany after he signed over all the family property to the state. He was not Jewish.
