Patton, band of brothers, and family ties? (2 Nov 2013)

So today was the day for a tour to the area of the Battle of the Bulge. That meant up bright and early...ok, it wasn't bright at all, in fact it was drizzling, but it was early. Get the meeting place and wouldn't you know, the bus is a full bus. Now I say that because the last two tours that Rosemary and I went on, the bus was only half full which meant room to spread out...but not this time. Oh well, can't always have stretching room.

We started off on our way to Luxembourg. If you know nothing at all about geography, Luxembourg is a teeny tiny (not as small as Lichtenstein) country situated kind of by Germany, France, and Belgium. Seriously, it is a very small country...only about 1,000 sq miles. Despite this, it has a lot crammed into that small space. One important thing to Americans is the Luxembourg American Cemetery. There are a few things that make the cemetery important. 1) it is an American cemetery and honors Americans. 2) it has the grave of General Patton. 3) it has medal of honor recipients buried there (William McGee, Day Turner) 4) there is one woman buried at this cemetery (Nancy Leo). 5) several of the members of the Band of Brothers  (John Julian, Warren Muck, Alex Penkala, Kenneth Webb, Patrick MCNeal) are buried here. As I said, it was a rainy day so we didn't spend as much time at the cemetery as we might have on a nice day, but it was interesting.

roses for the graves

chapel

front of chapel

inside chapel

inside chapel

inside chapel

Half of the names of the 371 missing soldiers

other half

back of Patton's marker, looking out over the cemetery

  

this was just cool looking

As a sort of comparison, we drove up the road about 5 minutes to the German Cemetery in Sandweiler, Luxembourg. Quite a difference.

Many of the markers had two names on one side and two on the opposite side. So basically, they buried on two levels on both sides of the marker. (this one belongs to a soldier who was known and an unknown soldier).

Next stop the National Museum of Military History in Diekirch, Luxembourg. Funny thing about this museum (it is quite an interesting place by the way) it has pictures of various military people who were known for activities in the area. There were pictures of many German officers who were involved in conflicts, but one of the ones I could not find a picture of (although their audio tour did mention him) was Hasso von Manteuffel (yes, this is the family connection, as odds are this man was related to my relatives...since we have Manteufel's who were famous Prussian military people...but I think he is a distant relative)...Manteuffel was in charge of the 5th Panzer unit in the Battle of the Bulge. Anyway, the museum is housed in an old beer brewery and is an interesting place.

Liberty marker in Diekirch, Luxembourg

Next stop: Clervaux, Luxembourg to see the GI Memorial Statue and have some lunch. Clervaux is known for its part in the Battle of the Bulge. Basically the American 110th regiment had its headquarters in Clervaux. Meanwhile the 5th Panzer Army (lead by Manteuffel) wanted to take it. Despite additional support from other units, the 110th was not able to hold the fort (or in this case the castle) and on December 17, 1944 the Germans invaded Clervaux from different directions. There were all sorts of fights in the streets, but on the 18th the Germans broke into the castle compound with tanks, and the Americans surrendered. Colonel Fuller, (the american officer in charge) was taken prisoner. Even though the Americans were defeated in this particular instance they did help to slow down the Germans.

on a side note Victor Hugo stayed here.

The castle in Clervaux

The Catholic church in Clervaux. Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to check it out, since we had little time here.

After lunch we were off to Bastogne, Belgium and the Mardasson Memorial. The Memorial markers the farthest point that the Germans traveled in Belgium during the battle of the bulge. The monument is in the shape of a five-pointed star (as a reference to the United States), and has a circular gallery area. It is a memorial to honor the American liberators of Belgium.

After a brief visit at the Mardasson Memorial we drove a short distance to the 101st Airborne, 506th PIR, 2nd Btn, "Easy" Company Memorial. This is the unit that the Band of Brothers belonged to.

Just up the road from the memorial are many of the foxholes that the unit used when they were observing Foy, before they took it from the Germans.

Looking down to Foy

This is a good example of how thick the forest is...it is hard to see anything in the darkness of the trees.

The Band of Brothers was the 101st Airborne, 506th PIR, 2nd Btn, "Easy" Company. They were paratroopers who are known for Normandy, Operation Market Garden, and the Battle of the Bulge.

Our next stop was the Belgian Military Base where the 101st Airborne headquarters was housed in Bastogne. The  acting division commander during the Battle of the Bulge was General Antony McAuliffe. At one point, four Germans came into the area with white flags raised. The Americans assumed that they were surrendering. In fact they had brought a note stating that the Germans would take the American surrender. While McAuliffe stewed about the situation he made the Germans wait (outside, in the cold, in the dead of winter). He responded with "Nuts" (in other words he was telling them to "Go to hell"). Needless to say, his response to the German offer to let the Americans surrender got around. Today the original building still stands and houses the Bastogne Barracks Museum. We have a lovely young man as our tour guide for this. His name was Joel.

These were two belgian nurses who helped

This guy played a major role in Belgian culture. He was part of the 101th and at one point he and his friends who were not in town really wanted some beer...well most of the town near them had been blown up during the fighting. This guy decided he would go into what was left of the town and see if he could find some beer. So he gets in town and almost everything is demolished but this bar...he goes in and finds a beer tap, but has nothing to put the beer in to carry it back...so he fills his helmet and walks back to their camp carrying this helmet full of beer. Upon arrival back at the camp he shares the beer and then proceeds to get in trouble for it. Years pass and he returns to Belgium to be honored at the Bastogne Barracks. He thinks he has really done nothing notable or rememberable...but the Belgians tell him otherwise and tell him that they can prove it...so they take him to various bars and the locals can tell him his own story...and that he has a beer named after him...see below:

Supposedly, if you go to the right tavern, you can have it served to you in a little helmet, but we didn't know which place to get it at.. (upon looking it appears the beer in the ceramic helmet can be gotten at  Brasserie Lamborelle Rue Lamborelle 5, 6600 Bastogne, Belgium)

Our last stop was McAuliffe Square in Bastogne. This is the liberty marker in Bastogne. These markers are all long the route from Normandy to Bastogne.

Next trip is to Paris but with a side trip to a Scottish town in France.