The Town Talk from Alexandria, Louisiana • Page 13

Opinions, A-20 i i i i December 18, 1994 A-13 Memories still vivid for vets Battle of the Bulge left indelible mark on those involved Wbrld War II, 50 years ago Editor's Note: Central Louisianians were to be found throughout the front at the Battle of the Bulge, and many have responded to our request for their stories. There were many heroes, but none boasted of battle actions in their recollections. In addi tion to the experience of war, another common theme is the bitter cold of that December 1944 campaign in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium. What follows are a few representative recollections of that battle which was raging 50 years ago today. Battle of the Bulge At 5:30 a.m.

on December 16, 1944, the Germans opened fire on the U.S. 1st Army in the sector of the Western Front. The Germans, hoping to seize Antwerp, fought 60 miles into the Ardennes before being pushed back by the Allies. The German counteroffensive lasted from December 16 to its high point on December 24, 1944. Rundstedt's counteroffensive Front lines before the battle Front on the morning of December 16, 1944 ISmS Allies Germans HOLLANIA ft II BELGIUM rjj-n Front line on December 1 6, 1 944 German attacks Front line on December 24 and 25 Front line on night of December 20 U.S.

Corps and divisions counterattacks Liege Uie1 Namur FRANCE ArlJ Luxembourg t-L-j- bm Some American unit locations 7thAmxl Div. The outcome By Jan. 20, 1945, the German armies were back at their starting point. In 34 days of fighting, 100,000 of the original 250,000 German soldiers were killed, wounded or imprisoned. Eight hundred of their tanks and at least 1 ,000 aircraft were destroyed.

Of the 600,000 Allied soldiers, 81 ,000 Americans and 1 ,400 British were casualties. 8 1 if -i WM Liege Eupen VX. WeSE 7) GERMANY 20 miles Pf3 ff OB WESTj PT Hy i CTSftiTI XiriSChauJ Rundstedt 1 XAr fe' fstadtkyll Jim Leggett Staff reporter Lanny Crow of Natchitoches shows medals he won for valor during World War II, including a Distinguished Service Cross for his efforts during the Battle of the Bulge. His other medals include a Silver Star and a Purple Heart. By Jim Leggett Staff reporter Lanny Crow got into his first combat on Nov.

8, 1944, and won a Silver Star for valor. Only 50 days later, he won a Distinguished Service Cross in the Battle of the Bulge. Crow, 71, a retired Natchitoches insurance agent, was among the rescuers. Serving with Company, 101st Regiment, 26th Infantry Division (the "Yankee" Division), he received this nation's second highest award for valor in the Battle of the Bulge for taking out a German machine gun nest while under intense fire on Dec. 28.

But earlier on his first day of combat in November, he was awarded the Silver Star and a Purple Heart, also for taking out a German machine gun nest. Pete Couvillion, 72, of Simmesport was a combat medic attached to the 60th Armored Infantry Regiment, 9th Armored Division. The 9th was already in the area when the German offensive started. He said the Germans called the 9th the "phantom division." He also says with a bit of mischief that it was not Patton's 3rd Army forces which came to the rescue of Bastogne. He said his unit was attached to the 4th Armored Division, "one of Patton's favorites," and "we were the first troops into Bastogne." History says the 4th liberated Bastogne on Dec.

26, but Couvillion says it was part of the 9th on Dec. 27. The Germans had been wreaking havoc with American units since Dec. 16. Couvillion remembers evacuating wounded as early as Dec.

18 including a captain who later was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for valor. He said the battalion to which he was attached began the Bulge with full strength of 1,200 and was down to 250 when it pulled out in early January. He said he never even carried a weapon, and both he and his evacuation jeep were clearly marked with red crosses. The Germans always honored the red cross, he said, and he and other medics evacuated not only American wounded but also German wounded when they could. He even recalled Germans allowing him through their lines in order to evacuate wounded.

Tom Eckel, 71, of Alexandria was a tank commander with Headquarters Company of the 60th Armored Infantry Battalion, 9th Armored Division, the same battalion as Couvillion. The two met only last year at a battalion reunion at Fort Knox, Ky. Asked his memory of the Battle of the Bulge, he said, "Cold weather." He recounted wearing summer socks but that his platoon sergeant stole four pairs of 1 hi .1 Jit 1 vVVEchtemach LUXEMBOURG WESmtf Michael Meeks Staff photographer Pap Dean of Colfax, who served in an antiaircraft artillery battalion in World War II, was near the city of Malmedy when it was bombed by Allied forces on Dec. 23, 1 944, resulting in numerous civilian and American soldier casualties. Many from Cenla fought in Battle of Bulge FRANCE Source: 2194 Days of War, An Illustrated Chronology wool socks from the supply sergeant.

"He accused the supply sergeant of hoarding the socks for the officers, but I got one of the pair he stole." Asked his memories of that combat, his first in the war, Eckel said he likes a quote from a 9th Armored Division colleague. "There's a lot to remember, and there's a lot to forget. I forgot most of it." One memory, though, Normandy, Northern France, and Rhineland campaign. Marvin Eplin: of Harrisonburg. He was a member of the 9th Armored Division, 3rd Army, at the Battle of the Bulge.

Hester W. "Red" Fairchild: of Forest Hill (deceased). He was in the 84th Infantry Division, headquarters company cook, and was Involved in Battle of the Bulge. Crawford J. Fletcher: of Colfax (deceased).

He was a rifleman in the 47th Infantry Division and participated in the Battle of the Bulge. He was wounded in March, 1945 and received the Purple Heart. Ellis Froust: of Plneville (deceased). He was a member of Battery 448th Anti-aircraft Battalion and participated in the Battle of the Bulge and Central Europe. Rupert Green: of Alexandria.

He was in a service unit with the 501st Infantry regiment attached to the 101st Airborne and was located in Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. Joe Gonzales: of Elizabeth. He was with the 447th Anti-aircraft Battalion with the 28th Infantry. Burke Guillory: of Bunkie and later Alexandria (deceased). He was with the 79th Field Artillery.

Ben Gunter: of Woodworth. He was in the 86th Mortar Battalion, a unit that was attached to whatever division was on the front lines. He served in both the 1st and 3rd Armies. "I wa9 surrounded three day9 and Arlon of the Second World War; Consulate General of Belgium; is, "It would be rough at times, but when it was over our sense of humor would take over," he said. Asked about Couvillion's version that it was an element of the 9th Armored Division that first went into Bastogne instead of the 4th Armored Division in Patton's 3rd Army, Eckel said, "Yeah, that's true.

Jess Gibbs, 74, of Alexandria was first sergeant of Battery nights during the breakthrough. had been there so dang long it didn't scare was pretty rough time I guarantee. They captured our kitchen, motor pool, and even got back past the field stayed 315 straight days on the front lines from Normandy. That little outfit I was with, we lost so many .30 something came back with me to New York on the boat." Edward Neal Hebert: of Forest Hill. He was a surgical technician with Patton's 3rd Army.

He was wounded in the Ardennes while treating a wounded soldier when German threw a grenade into small shack. He was captured Christmas Day. Howard Henry Hebert: of Forest Hill. He was killed on Dec. 21, 1944 at Battle of the Bulge.

Landed at Normandy in glider. He was in 101st when it was formed from 82nd Airborne at Camp Claiborne. David W. Herring: of Leesville. He died Jan.

17, 1945, in the Battle of the Bulge when he was 27 years old. He was in Company 193rd Glider Infnntry, 17th Airborne Division. Phillip Higdon: of Glenmora (deceased). He was a sergeant in a transportation company of the 23rd Infantry. He was a veteran of the Normandy Invasion (the second day) and received the Bronze Star for that action.

He received the Purple Heart for injuries received in the Battle of the Bulge and was transported back to the states. Robert Higgins: of U.S. Army Center of Military History APCarl Fox 3rd Field Artillery Battalion, 9th Armored Division. His duties with the battery, a self-propelled 105-millimeter unit, included fire direction control and forward observing. He doesn't remember the scenario of getting to Bastogne as do Couvillion and Eckel.

"There's a lot I don't remember," he said. The one thing he did recall with absolute Please see VIVID, A-15 Leesville. He was a staff sergeant in the 963rd Field Artillery, 9th Army. On the 23rd Dec, his unit was called from the Rhur Valley to help defend the area around the Bulge. Units had removed their rank and unit markings.

Then there were reports of Germans taking GI uniforms to infiltrate American lines. Higgins had recently had his overcoat returned following storage after landing at Normandy. That coat with its rank and unit markings caused a close brush with being mistaken for a German infiltrator. Tom Holland: of Bunkie. He served with 551st which in mid-Jan uary 1945, merged with the 82nd Airborne.

The unit took 555 prisoners of war and killed 400 Germans, but lost most of its original members. There were 20 men left in January 1945, according to his son, Stafford Holland of Bunkie. Artie Johnson: of Forest Hill. He was with the 106th Infantry Division military police. About the initial attack he said: "We just got our tails kicked, Germans kept driving us back.

We were on Belgian German line stationed in a little town. We had to take care of prisoners, traffic, our own men and we saw a lot of gunfire. I got sent back to division headquarters Just before the Germans hit us. Wasn't long we were taking care of retreating soldiers and wounded. We had men that got It was mighty cold, couldn't have any fire because it would give our Bisitlon away." Please see MANY, A-14 to fight to the last man.

We ran out of food on Christmas Eve We worked our way from 12 miles behind the German lines. and sliding through the snow and 400 of us got A Stars and Stripes headline in January, 1944, reads "From out of hell comes Hogans 400" referring to Col. Sam Hogan. He said that after the Bulge his unit was the first to reach the Rhine River at Cologne. "They blew up the bridge in front of us.

But, three days later we went down to Remagen and crossed on a pontoon bridge." J. Hugh Berel: of Florien (deceased). Truck driver in the "Red Ball Express." Haven P. Bonnette: of Marksville (deceased). He participated in Normandy, Central Europe and Rhineland campaigns and was injured in the Battle of the Bulge and received the Purple Heart.

His unit is listed as the 22nd Fighter Squadron. Russell Boone: of Glenmora (deceased). He was a radio operator with 491st Field Artillery Battalion. Theodore P. Bradford: of Jonesville.

He was killed in Battle of the Bulge. He was in the 358 Infantry Regiment, 9th Division. R. Lynwood Brister: of Baton Rouge (deceased). He wa9 with 120th Infantry Regiment.

Roy Burns: of Alexandria. He wa9 with the 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Division at the Battle of the Bulge. Sam Cataldie: of Alexandria (deceased). He wa9 with the 28th Division, Battalion 59 2nd uionLDUinnii II I AGO TODAY artillery. He was also in Normandy third wave.

Edward II. Clay: Alexandria. 3rd Army. E. Nicholas DeSimone: of Wlnnfield (deceased.) He was a radio technician and tech sergeant in 42nd Tank Battalion of the 3rd Armored Division.

Benjamin F. Dickenson: of Georgetown (deceased). He was a staff sergeant in 54th Armored Infantry Battalion, 10 Division in an anti-tank unit. He survived the Battle of the Bulge and was wounded in March 1945 in Germany. His widow says he was 38 years old when drafted.

She has a piece of a parachute that was used to drop supplies to them at Bastogne. "I do remember that was the saddest Christmas I ever spent. For 21 days I didn't know if he was dead or alive." Mattie B. Dickenson of Georgetown. Merlin J.

Dorgant: of Mansura (deceased). Third Armored Division. C. Woodrow Doughty: of Lecompte (deceased). He was a tech sergeant in the 776 Anti-aircraft artillery, 276 Ordnance and served in England, Battlep of the smS Editor's Note: The following is a list of those who responded to our request for names of veterans of the Bottle of the Bulge in the Ardennes Forest of Belgium which began Dec.

16, 1944. In some cases, family members reported the names and whatever information they had on deceased veterans. The names are listed alphabetically. Champ Baker: of Alexandria (deceased). I Company, 502 Parachute Regiment.

He wa9 a company commander at Battle of the Bulge. Aaron C. Belgard: of Deville (deceased). He was a mechanic in the 28th Infantry Division. Tom Bell: of Jena.

He was a member of the 3rd Battalion, 33rd Regiment, 3rd Armored Division which activated at Camp Beauregard and moved to Camp Polk in 1941. The division landed on Normandy on D-Day plu9 9 and "made the Normandy breakthrough made the longest tank run in history." The division made a number of "firsts" such as first into Belgium and Germany and spent 11 consecutive months in combat without relief. Out of 14,000 men the division suffered 13,400 casualties with 2,800 killed. Bell was a gunner in the battalion command tank. "When the Belgium bulge broke out we were in up in Germany.

They called us to return to Liege to protect it because that's where the 1st Army Supply base was. We held two Germans divisions for seven days and nights. We had orders.