Monument Dedicated May 31, 2011
Military park unveils new memorial for Battle of the Bulge
by Kevin Allen, South Bend Tribune Staff Writer
Photos by Robert Franklin South Bend Tribune
Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called it “undoubtedly the greatest American battle” of World War II and an event he believes would “be regarded as an ever famous American victory.” It was the Battle of the Bulge – 40 days of fighting in the bitter cold of December 1944 and January 1945 to force the German army out of Belgium and Luxembourg in what was Adolf Hitler’s last best chance to turn the tide against the allies.
The American triumph over the Nazi onslaught led the way to victory in Europe the following spring and now the Battle of the Bulge is memorialized at the Military Honor Park and Museum next to South Bend Regional Airport. Park and museum officials hosted a ceremony Monday afternoon to unveil a granite monument dedicated to the 600,000 US soldiers who fought in the bloodiest American battle of World War II.
One of those US soldiers, Geza Csapo, of Osceola donated money for the monument. Csapo, 85 served in the Army from 1943 to 1945 and fought in tanks during the Battle of the Bulge. “This is a much-needed addition to the park”, he said of the monument “I dread to think what the world would be like today if the Germans had won”. Csapo said he was caught by surprise when the German attack began December 16, 1944. There wasn’t much time to think about the significance of the battle. All I remember he said “it is early one morning night turned into day”.
Frank Firtl a Mishawaka resident who worked in intelligence and reconnaissance for the Army during the Battle of the Bulge said the sky that morning looked like Disneyland on the Fourth of July.
Csapo came close to dying during the battle as a German soldier aimed a bazooka at his tank. Fortunately for Csapo he fired a shot before us German soldier did. Firtl, 94 also had several close calls as he moved behind enemy lines as a scout. He suffered a fractured skull and a blown out eardrum later in the war when the jeep he was riding in hit a land mine in Germany.
Louis Kobold another Mishawaka resident who fought in the Battle of the Bulge wasn’t able to witness the monument’s dedication Monday, he died in December 2009. Kobold’s family however was on hand for the event. I am sure he’s looking down and smiling at what happened here today his son Mark said. Louis Kobold nearly lost his feet to frostbite at the Battle of the Bulge and as a result he had trouble with his feet for the rest of his life. He also suffered a shrapnel injury there and slivers of metal continued surfacing in his hip for years after. His widow Dorothy said he kissed the ground when he returned to Mishawaka. But he never talked about the war he just hoped his children would never have to experience anything like it. They just want to come home get married and have children Dorothy Kobold said of the World War II veterans. They wanted to have a normal life because war was never normal.
Csapo said he reacted similarly when he returned stateside. I never said a word he said my children didn’t even know I was in the war until they were grown. But after talking about his experiences on a canoe trip in Michigan he said the stories poured out as if a damn had broken. Csapo quickly found it was important and therapeutic to pass on the history. With the new monument his contribution to keep that history alive will be permanent.
