Traveling to Europe: Bastogne, Belgium

We traveled today...to Bastogne, Belgium.

We met Henri, who captured my heart...and I suspect, many more!

Henri met us on a street corner by an American tank. He began to talk to us about the Battle of the Bulge...also called the Battle of the Ardeenes (not sure of the spelling on this, but it's an area of Belgium.) The 'Bulge' was a bulge in the German line... this was 1944.

One of the markers that are placed every kilometer between Normandy and Bastogne.

Henri talked a lot about the 101st Airborne...General Patton...Band of Brothers...his respect for the Americans...and the impact of all this on his life.

General Patton Square

Bastogne City Hall

Henri was 9 years old in December, 1944. He remembers it well and was captivating as he shared his story with us.

He told us how the Germans bombed the town at night...at random. He talked of seeing all the planes, hundreds of planes filling the sky...of the Germans taking over his home...of the first German army - how nice they were... how the Nazi's came in later - how cruel, how arrogant they were...how they shot and killed his father. He remembers when the Americans came back, after they had lost everything...his family was invited into their American kitchen...and Henri remembers the white bread, canned meat, and canned cheese! A lot of the American soldiers he met have come back.

He told us and showed us how General Patton, nicknamed "Old Blood and Guts", is present all over Bastogne.

Bastogne was crucial during the war because of it's location...there were only 5000 people living there, but it was at an important junction of roads. Today, Bastogne has a population of 12,000. Henri described Bastogne as '1 main street, 1 traffic light, and 1 tank' - the American tank on the corner where we first met him. Americans are revered in Bastogne...on their town hall, the American flag is flown. St. Peter's Church in the center of town, chimes the first 3 notes of the Star Spangled Banner on the half hour.

Henri took us to the Bastogne Barracks. These were built before the war, but the German's took them over and used them for training officers. He explained that a division has about 12,000... and a division is divided into 4 regiments, each having about 3,000. A battalion has about 400 and a company has about 200 men. Then he talked a lot about General Taylor, who was commander of the division, and General McAuliffe. All around the barracks are huge poster sized photographs. The photographs are positioned in the exact spot where the photograph was taken. In a hanger type building, are tanks and vehicles used during the war. He told us the Germans were the first to ever use camouflage...both on tanks and on jackets!

This is the photograph...

This tells you who is who...

This is a re-creation of the dinner...

The Band of Brothers is the story of Bastogne...or at least part of it. Henri talked about it quite a bit...saying many of the original Band of Brothers has come back to Bastogne..how he's met them and taken them around just as he took us. I know most of our delegation had not seen this mini-series...and I'm sure most of us plan on watching it now. He told us about the German's sending a message asking the Americans to surrender...and General McAuliffe's answer, "NUTS!" This happened on December 16, 1944. Now, every December 16th, 'NUTS" is shouted from the balcony of the town hall in Bastogne. There is also a NUTS cafe!

In 1948, a French officer had the idea to make markers every kilometer from Normandy, France to Bastogne, Belgium. We saw a few of these, including the last one, #1147.

Henri also took us to see some of the foxholes in the woods. You would dig them according to your size, usually having 2 men in each one. They were everywhere on the battlefield. He showed us photographs of December, 1944...and there was snow...lots of snow...and men were down in foxholes. I cannot even begin to imagine. These were occupied by E company (Easy Company) of the Band of Brothers. We saw a cross out in the woods, a cross for Easy Company. When asked about the Germans today...Henri paused...and said there was still some resentment towards them because of the war crimes.