Act of mercy amid brutal winter fighting in Battle of the Bulge

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20140106/NEWS/140109414/1685#act-of-mercy-amid-brutal-winter-fighting-in-battle-of-the-bulge

By Steve Liewer Published Monday, January 6, 2014 at 12:30 am / Updated at 4:39 pm

In the frigid yard of a movie star's mansion, one of the snow-covered German corpses suddenly waved his hand.

The American soldiers, besieged and shivering inside, watched from the blown-out windows of the château in war-ravaged Luxembourg.

It was 1944, a few days before Christmas, in the midst of a brutal German offensive that would come to be called the Battle of the Bulge.

They were terrified, recalled Norbert Gubbels of Osmond, Neb., who was then a 19-year-old Army private. And yes, they had seen these very German soldiers inflict destruction upon their comrades.

FULL story and photo at link.

[Siwsan]

1. My Uncle fought in the Battle of the Bulge

It is only in retrospect that we all realize he suffered from PTSD for the remainder of his life, and died far, far, far too young.

[Jenoch]

2. I used to work with a guy who fought in the Bulge.

I once had a two hour conversation with him about his experiences. His reaction was to turn to alcohol. He was sober the last 19 years of his life. I spoke with his son after the funeral. It turns out his son never had that conversation with his father. Boy, did I feel guilty.

[Siwsan]

3. My uncle talked very little about his experience, except with my Dad

And Dad only shared a little of what he was told, with us. The little I know was horrific enough so I can just imagine what Dad held back.

[Jenoch]

4. I don't think I heard the worst of it.

I did learn that when he joined the Army in Kentucky in 1938 he was assigned to a cavalry unit and they were assigned horses. Later on he was in a tank regiment.

The stupid thing was, the guy I was working with was the host of an outdoors radio and TV show. I was the writer and sound editor, we were sitting in a recording studio, and I did not start a tape machine. I still kick myself for that.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Dad told me stories in the hospital

the year before he died. His were of his years hiding from the Germans and fighting with the resistance and later the Red Army. He said, and he was correct, that my husband and I would get it. The rest, don't. And I tried to share some at my brother's funeral. So I will keep that treasure. And yes, it was horrific.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. And on a whole different subject, how are you doing with the weather?

Here I am amazed a red flag has not been called for quite honestly.

[Siwsan]

8. We ended up with in excess of 16"

I didn't go in to work, today. They delayed the opening until noon, but I didn't get my driveway cleared until after that, and by the time I got cleaned up and dressed, and made the slow trek down the bad, bad roads, well, it just didn't make sense.

Tonight the freeze starts, through tomorrow. It will be about -7 with -45 wind chill.

Here's the really irritating thing. Our county commissioner said he couldn't call a state of emergency without the governor's say so. The governor said it was up to individual counties to declare a state of emergency. So, our county moron just shrugged the whole situation off. Now the you know what is hitting the fan because the of the massive outrage at the county NOT declaring a state of emergency. There have been dozens and dozens of car and truck related 911 emergencies, and those people would likely have stayed home, had they not felt the need to report to work.

I expect we will see his head on a platter, sooner rather than later.

Meanwhile, all of the schools are closed again, tomorrow, because of the sub arctic temperatures.

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. Wow, that is fucked up

Stay safe, stay safe.

[Siwsan]

10. Thanks, I'm doing my best to stay warm

Hopefully most of the snow shoveling is behind us. That can be a back breaker. By Friday it's going to be in the high 30's, and we could get some icy pellets turning into rain, which will make a whole new mess to deal with. I'm hoping it doesn't happen.

[Aristus]

7. Back when I was a Medical Assistant, I met a German-American veteran of the BotB.

He had survived the war, and later emigrated to the US and became a citizen. Sometime before I met him, he had been awarded an honorary place in the American Battle of the Bulge Veterans Group, even though he had fought for the other side. His buddies in the organization told him: 'Hey, you were there slogging in the slush and the snow just like us, and you made it. You're one of us."

I liked that story of comradeship and reconciliation.

[Kaleva]

11. An elderly lady who lived not far far me lost a brother in the battle.

I had worked on her furnace and after I was done, I came back into the house with the bill and gave it to the lady who was in the living room. While she was writing out a check, I noticed a picture hanging on the wall of a soldier dressed in what I thought was a WWII era uniform. I asked her who that was and she told me it was her brother who had been killed in the Battle of The Bulge.

[shraby]

12. My Dad was there....and that's all I know. He never talked about it.

Except that at one point his was the only tank left on the field and that's when he decided it was time to get out of the way.
Other than that, nothing.