Bastogne and Luxembourg in November (Howard Speaks)

One of the last, largest and fiercest battles of WWII took place in December 1944 is known to Americans as the Battle of the Bulge. In Belgium it is called the Battle of the Ardennes. The key village in the center of it all was Bastogne. Without giving you a long history lesson, the US 101st Airborne Division was surrounded and held the town during a bitterly cold winter. You may remember in the footnotes of your mind the famous response from US General McAuliffe when the Germans demanded the US surrender: "Nuts!" The Germans were confused and didn't know what to make of it. It was a very inspirational response and apparently kept the soldiers warm with laughter as they hunkered down for the onslaught. In the movie "Patton" when Patton hears of the response he says something like, "We need to rescue General McAuliffe because we can't let an eloquent response like that go to waste". Patton led the charge to rescue Bastogne. Below is a picture of the war memorial to the US soldiers who fought and the 80,000 who died in the Battle.


One thing about Belgium is that they haven't forgotten in both Wars how the Americans rescued them. If there is an intact tank around, it will be on display in a village. In this case at the WWII museum in Bastogne, but there is also one in the town square with a monument to Gen. McAuliffe. The museum has an extensive collection of US and German military uniforms, weapons and other paraphernalia. An original town sign for Bastogne that was taken as a souvenir by a GI from the Bay Area and was returned in the 70s is displayed, complete with a bullet hole. I thought it was pretty cool that the guy returned it after 30 years.

We like to take back roads and somehow found our way to Bras. Who would have known?

The tiny village of Vianden in Luxembourg has a large lovingly restored "Chateau" or castle, hovering over the village. You can meander through the castle at leisure. It gives one a sense for the incredible work it takes to keep up a castle!






In a nearby village is an interesting monument to the liberation of Luxembourg by the US. There is a bronze statue of a GI and on the adjacent building on the second floor is a bronze of the ecstatic population being freed. It is a moving scene in totality, but here is a deconstructed version to give you an idea.




Did I mention that if there's an intact tank around it will be on display as a monument to those that fought, died and liberated Luxembourg. Since I used to have army toys as a kid, and I lived on a US Naval Base, I tend to be drawn to these types of displays.