All posts by Leon Reed

About Leon Reed

Leon is the VP, National and Regional Coordination of BOBA.

BOBA Produces Series of Books

Bulge, Bulge Bugle, Christmas story, Veterans' Stories

The Battle of the Bulge Association has produced a series of five books exploring selected dimensions of the Battle of the Bulge. Four of these books, The Defense and Relief of Bastogne; Christmas in the Ardennes 1944; Courage in Captivity: American POWs in the Battle of the Bulge; and Nurses, Guardian Angels, and Medics, are based on first person accounts by Bulge veterans. The fifth: When Doctrine Met the Pacers, is an account of how the Army planned use armor and the very different ways it was used during the Battle of the Bulge.

The publication of these books directly promotes two of BOBA’s missions: 1) to perpetuate the memory of the sacrifices made by those who participated in the Battle of the Bulge; and 2) to preserve historical data and sites relating to the battle. This publication also directly fulfills BOBA’S vision to “honor the history of the Battle of the Bulge and the memory of those who fought in the Battle, while promoting fellowship among the descendants of the Veteran Members and others interested in the Battle.”

The series is available on Amazon.https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HFD6MWMB?binding=paperback&qid=1787522297&sr=8-1&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tpbk

VE Day

Uncategorized

81 years ago today, the mission of the greatest army the world had ever seen reached the culmination of its mission to save the world from Nazi tyranny: the once-mighty German army laid down its arms and marched docilely off to Allied POW enclosures.

SHAEF commander Dwight D. Eisenhower issued this order of the day.

“Men and women of the Allied Expeditionary Force:

“The crusade on which we embarked in the early summer of 1944 has reached its glorious conclusion . . .

“Your accomplishments at sea, in the air, on the ground and in the field of supply, have astonished the world. Even before the final week of the conflict, you had put 5,000,000 of the enemy permanently out of the war. You have taken in stride military tasks so difficult as to be classed by many doubters as impossible. You have confused, defeated and destroyed your savagely fighting foe. On the road to victory you have endured every discomfort and privation and have surmounted every obstacle ingenuity and desperation could throw in your path. You did not pause until our front was firmly joined up with the great Red Army coming from the Easy, and other Allied Forces, coming from the South.

Eisenhower Chapter endorses Gettysburg-Bastogne partnerships

Bulge, Commemoration, Public Outreach

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Chapter of the Battle of the Bulge Association (BOBA) endorsed a resolution calling for creation of partnerships between municipal governments, museums, schools, research organizations, veterans groups, and other organizations in Gettysburg and Bastogne. The relationship is natural: the two towns were the sites of two of the most consequential battles ever fought by the U.S. Army and are both dedicated to the study, remembrance, and commemoration of the great conflicts that occurred there. As the generation of veterans passes, it becomes more important for the current generation to foster actions that will keep the memory of these great events alive.

BOBA Honors Veterans at Conference

BOBA Conference, Bulge, Public Outreach, Veterans' Stories

Nine WWII veterans were honored at the BOBA Battle of the Bulge conference, held at the WWII American Experience museum in Gettysburg, February 28.

All of the veterans were interviewed and two, Harry Miller and Joe Landry, participated in the presentations.

From left to right, the eight veterans shown below are  Richard J. Weaver – Paratrooper, U.S. Army, 17th Airborne Division; Frank Stellar – U.S. Army Air Corps, 302nd Airdrone Squadron and 36th Infantry, 142nd Regiment, Company A; Harry F. Miller – U.S. Army, 740th Tank Battalion; Wilbur “Jack” Meyers – Corporal, U.S. Army, Company B, 692nd Tank Destroyer Battalion, attached to the 104th & 42nd Infantry Divisions; Irvin C. Gers – U.S. Navy Seabees, Okinawa; Benjamin M. Berry – Corporal, U.S. Army 863rd Quartermasters (Germany, France, Luxembourg, England, Belgium, Battle of the Bulge) and Member of the Quartermaster Corps Hall of Fame; Joseph Landry – U.S. Army 776th Anti-Aircraft Artillery, Automatic Weapons Battalion; and Russell Sattazahn – U.S. Army 1st Infantry Division, 18th Regiment, Company G.