Today, December 22, 2015, marks the anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. I dedicate this essay to my friend and mentor, American solider and WWII veteran, Harold Turner.
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Harold Turner in a Veteran's Day
Parade |
A
two-hour flight later I was in my beloved South, assaulted by humidity and
cold. A heavy and constant rain made it difficult to drive my rented Corolla. I
expected humidity and hot and I was shivering in my light clothes.
The
roads were deserted compared to the heavy constant traffic in D.C. Once in a
while a solitary car would pass going in the opposite direction. I had the
excellent road all to myself. The dense vegetation and trees displayed lovely
shades of green. Hanging lavender wisteria formed nature’s intricate draperies.
White, pink, and fuchsia azaleas were in full bloom. Yellow daffodils dotted
the landscape. The sky was grey and dreary but the scenery was bursting with
color.
I
was excited to make the two and half hour drive from the airport to my
Mississippi destination. I wanted to see my friend Harold and his lovely wife
Lois, my adopted mother in the U.S. since 1978. I could not have stayed without
her emotional support and devoted friendship; I was so home sick. Adapting to
America was difficult to say the least and she was my thoughtful, loving, and
learned advisor.
Harold
is a WWII survivor. There are not many left like him, literally and
figuratively. He is 93 years young, full of life and energy, straight and
moving with a purpose, always smiling, optimistic, and jocular. I never tire of
his war stories. I wished I had recorded all of them for the last 37 years.
The
house is the same as I remembered it, embracing the visitor with a welcome home
comfort that is soothing to the soul and body. No matter when you arrive, you
are always welcome in Lois’ home and she has something sweet to eat that she
prepared herself, no store bought foods in her house.
The
lovely garden in the back is exploding with greenery and a myriad of buds. Lois
always had flower beds and birdhouses, while Harold, with his green thumb,
planted a sizable garden every summer. His tomatoes were delicious! Harold
still fiddles with a small patch of vegetables if he is not too busy bird
hunting.
Harold
was drafted his senior year in high school. He spent three years in the army,
1943-1946, two of them overseas, as a private first class. At the end of the
war, he was offered a good rating of Sergeant First Class if he re-enlisted but
Harold chose to build a career as a successful businessman instead.
Harold
brought out his prized brand-new Luger pistol in its original holster. He was
proud of this WWII souvenir confiscated from a German soldier during the Battle
of the Bulge. Holding the cold and heavy weapon, I read the German writing and
the caliber. It was made in Prague, Bohemian Weapons Factory, model 27, caliber
7.65, same as a 32 today. The Germans produced around 450,000 such pistols during
1939-1945.
Fought
in the winter of December 16, 1944 through January 25, 1945, Harold describes
the Battle of the Bulge in the forests of the Ardennes region of Wallonia,
Belgium. The Allies front line bulged inward on wartime maps, hence the name.
At the Battle of the Bulge, the largest and bloodiest battle fought by United
States in World War II, of the 600,000 American troops, 89,000 were killed in
this battle. The enemy suffered more than 100,000 casualties. The German
soldiers of the National Socialist Workers Party (Nazis) eventually lost the
battle because they were unable to supply their armored columns with fuel. The Allies
constantly bombed the fuel refineries, including those in my hometown of
Ploiesti.
Harold described the Battle of
Hürtgen Forest as if it happened yesterday. With his
lilting Southern accent, he pronounced it Hurricane Forest. A series of fierce
battles were fought in a 50 square mile area east of the Belgian-German border
from September 19, 1944 to February 10, 1945.
In the Battle of Aachen, Harold’s
company lost half of its 165 soldiers. To seek shelter, the soldiers built a
hut from tree tops and mud. His artillery outfit shot down 494 German planes
with the M45 Quad mount, nicknamed the “meat chopper” and “Krautmower” because
the four barrel, .50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns delivered a high rate of
fire and was highly mobile against enemy aircraft.
German warplanes would attack at
low altitude and then would rapidly retreat to avoid Allied fighters. The M45 Quad
mount units were a strong deterrent to strafing runs by German warplanes
because of the large firepower and because the four
50 caliber barrels could be "tuned" to converge upon a single
point at distances which could be reset quickly.
The Hürtgen Forest claimed the
lives and limbs of 33,000 soldiers (U.S. 1st Army) in combat and
non-combat losses. It was dubbed the Allies’ “defeat of the first magnitude.”
The Germans defended the area staunchly because it was the staging zone for the
Ardennes Offensive, to become the Battle of the Bulge, and it encompassed a
strategic dam. When Aachen eventually fell on October 22nd, the U.S.
9th Army had suffered heavy casualties.
Harold was the master cook and
baker. He did not just feed the troops; he fed the entire battalion three meals
a day. Fierce fighting forced him to serve one meal per day sometimes. He tells
the story of the emaciated soldiers whom everyone thought dead but returned,
having been saved from starvation by a Belgian woman who sacrificed and cooked
her last rooster to feed them.
With limited resources, Harold
always kept a pot of coffee on or warm biscuits, cooking with a 9 pound M1
Garand rifle on his shoulder. The cook was everyone’s lifeline and the soldiers
tried to protect him as much as possible, sometimes setting up kitchen quarters
in a thicket.
Harold had many close calls with
grenades that should have gone off but didn’t or “seeing eye to eye with a low
flying German pilot.” He does not speak of the horrors of war, the killings,
the loss of limbs, and the utter destruction. His mission was to feed and
nourish the soldiers.
While in Normandy, a young
Frenchman named Louis Carmelich (Carmelex), Harold is not sure about the
spelling of his last name, came by the kitchen quarters looking for something
to eat. Harold gave him a few slices of
bread, field rations, and chocolate bars. Louis took them home to his parents
and returned a couple of times. He came back one day with a piece of charcoal and
paper and offered to draw Harold’s portrait. He drew a large number 7 and from
it, soon the likeness of an American soldier emerged. It was young Harold. I am
trying to imagine how Harold made it home to the States with Louis’ charcoal
portrait rolled up in his backpack, but he did. The paper is slightly yellowed
by the passage of time but the framed portrait hangs proudly in the Turners
lovely home.
The Battle of the Bulge ended
January 16, 1945 and more than three months later, the Nazi soldiers
surrendered after Hitler committed suicide in his bunker.
Seventy-one years ago and
thousands of miles away from his home and family, Harold, a young lad out of
high school, was on a mission to feed an entire battalion fighting the common
enemy, Nazi Germany. He is an unsung hero who deserves his place in history for
his selfless service to our country in defense of freedom. To Harold Turner and
all servicemen and women from World War II, your sacrifice and bravery will not
be forgotten!
On this
peaceful Christmas day 2015, we should remember President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s message
of hope to the nation on Christmas Eve, 1944:
It is not easy to say "Merry
Christmas" to you, my fellow Americans, in this time of destructive war.
Nor can I say "Merry Christmas" lightly tonight to our armed forces
at their battle stations all over the world- or to our allies who fight by
their side.
Here, at home, we will celebrate this Christmas Day in our
traditional American way- because of its deep spiritual meaning to us; because
the teachings of Christ are fundamental in our lives; and because we want our
youngest generation to grow up knowing the significance of this tradition and
the story of the coming of the immortal Prince of Peace and Good Will.
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=16485
