Richard Rizzio, President of the West Michigan Chapter, invited Sherry Klopp
to Traverse City, Michigan to visit Grand Traverse Area Veterans Memorial Park to
see the Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge Monument. The news media and public
were invited to attend. The event began July 22nd at 10: 00 a.m. at Veteran’s Park.
Several members of the monument committee, Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge,
family members, and others were present. It took them seven years to acquire land from the city for their monument and monuments of other wars.
Sherry Klopp, National VP of VBOB, spoke to the group beginning with greetings from the National Board of VBOB. She praised them for their dedication, thanked them for their service and talked about her father, Richard Switzer, a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge, who passed away March 8, 2013. The group went to the VFW for lunch after the program.
Left to Right George Phillips, John Good, Roland Sayer, Maurice Cole, Richard Rizzio, President of West Michigan Chapter and event organizer, Lewis Charles
I introduce myself, my name is Bruno Pollet I live in Belgium.
In 2009 I adopted the grave of FRANCIS LEE ALLEN (14,005,185) to the cemetery Henri-Chapelle Belgium.
What month later, Jai had contact with Madame Andrée Dessy REMOUCHAMPS (friend of Mr Christian De Marcken).
After years of research without result unfortunately I shall desire to know if there is still life in the family of Francis Allen, knowing he had two brothers and a sister (I have pictures in my possession that Madame my Dessy offered).
Nick Zillas, 285th Combat Engineers, Company A tells of this fortunate meeting in 1945 and its surprising climax at the Nashville Reunion in 1992:
On 16 Feb 45, the Third Platoon of Company A was sent on a recon patrol toward Born, Luxembourg. The Company A patrol of one officer and 15 enlisted men was accompanied by a similar patrol of one officer and 15 enlisted men from Battery B of the 42d Calvary.
We were going to go into a small village to find out if it was occupied by the enemy. At the last minute, the plan was changed and we did not enter the village, after all. Our Company A 2d Lt. was in favor of going in, but the Calvary 1st Lt. talked him out of it. As it turned out, this was a very wise decision because later it was discovered that the Germans did occupy the village and were lying in wait for us.
We completed our patrol and returned to our Platoon CP in the vicinity of Boursdorf, Luxembourg. Most of the patrol entered the CP Building, but I stopped to chat for a moment with a man whose name I forgot over the years. That moment of conversation may well have saved each of us from injury or even death; a rocket launcher round exploded inside the CP just before we turned to enter the building! One man, SSGT. Roy Sattetfi.eld, was killed, and I believe about five others woe injured, some seriously.
This October 1992 at the Nashville Reunion someone came up to me and said, “Do you remember me?” I said no, I did not. Then he went on to say, “I want to thank you very much for saving my life!” Those words made no sense to me until he then explained that we were the two men who had stopped for the brief chat outside of the 3d Platoon CP just before the deadly explosion! This man told me that if I had not stopped and spoken to him that day, he would have gone right into the building -just in time for the blast!
The man who thanked mefor saving his life is Charlie Ransdell. His few words to me there in Nashville in 1992 took me back in a flash to our very brief and fortunate encounter on 16 Feb 45. To meet Charlie after 47 years made the reunion in Nashville a very special occasion! By coincidence, it was Charlie’s birthday on the night of our banquet. This gave us a double reason to celebrate – one happy birthday and one warm reunion!”
Submitted by Bessie Zillas, Nick’s wife and Andrea Britton, Nick’s daughter.
TWO CHANCE ENCOUNTERS – IN 1945 AND IN 1992
Nick Zillas, 285th Combat Engineers, Company A tells of this fortunate meeting in 1945 and its surprising climax at the Nashville Reunion in 1992:
On 16 Feb 45, the Third Platoon of Company A was sent on a recon patrol toward Born, Luxembourg. The Company A patrol of one officer and 15 enlisted men was accompanied by a similar patrol of one officer and 15 enlisted men from Battery B of the 42d Calvary.
We were going to go into a small village to find out if it was occupied by the enemy. At the last minute, the plan was changed and we did not enter the village, after all. Our Company A 2d Lt. was in favor of going in, but the Calvary 1st Lt. talked him out of it. As it turned out, this was a very wise decision because later it was discovered that the Germans did occupy the village and were lying in wait for us.
We completed our patrol and returned to our Platoon CP in the vicinity of Boursdorf, Luxembourg. Most of the patrol entered the CP Building, but I stopped to chat for a moment with a man whose name I forgot over the years. That moment of conversation may well have saved each of us from injury or even death; a rocket launcher round exploded inside the CP just before we turned to enter the building! One man, SSGT. Roy Sattetfi.eld, was killed, and I believe about five others woe injured, some seriously.
This October 1992 at the Nashville Reunion someone came up to me and said, “Do you remember me?” I said no, I did not. Then he went on to say, “I want to thank you very much for saving my life!” Those words made no sense to me until he then explained that we were the two men who had stopped for the brief chat outside of the 3d Platoon CP just before the deadly explosion! This man told me that if I had not stopped and spoken to him that day, he would have gone right into the building -just in time for the blast!
The man who thanked mefor saving his life is Charlie Ransdell. His few words to me there in Nashville in 1992 took me back in a flash to our very brief and fortunate encounter on 16 Feb 45. To meet Charlie after 47 years made the reunion in Nashville a very special occasion! By coincidence, it was Charlie’s birthday on the night of our banquet. This gave us a double reason to celebrate – one happy birthday and one warm reunion!”
Submitted by Bessie Zillas, Nick’s wife and Andrea Britton, Nick’s daughter.
TWO CHANCE ENCOUNTERS – IN 1945 AND IN 1992
Nick Zillas, 285th Combat Engineers, Company A tells of this fortunate meeting in 1945 and its surprising climax at the Nashville Reunion in 1992:
On 16 Feb 45, the Third Platoon of Company A was sent on a recon patrol toward Born, Luxembourg. The Company A patrol of one officer and 15 enlisted men was accompanied by a similar patrol of one officer and 15 enlisted men from Battery B of the 42d Calvary.
We were going to go into a small village to find out if it was occupied by the enemy. At the last minute, the plan was changed and we did not enter the village, after all. Our Company A 2d Lt. was in favor of going in, but the Calvary 1st Lt. talked him out of it. As it turned out, this was a very wise decision because later it was discovered that the Germans did occupy the village and were lying in wait for us.
We completed our patrol and returned to our Platoon CP in the vicinity of Boursdorf, Luxembourg. Most of the patrol entered the CP Building, but I stopped to chat for a moment with a man whose name I forgot over the years. That moment of conversation may well have saved each of us from injury or even death; a rocket launcher round exploded inside the CP just before we turned to enter the building! One man, SSGT. Roy Sattetfi.eld, was killed, and I believe about five others woe injured, some seriously.
This October 1992 at the Nashville Reunion someone came up to me and said, “Do you remember me?” I said no, I did not. Then he went on to say, “I want to thank you very much for saving my life!” Those words made no sense to me until he then explained that we were the two men who had stopped for the brief chat outside of the 3d Platoon CP just before the deadly explosion! This man told me that if I had not stopped and spoken to him that day, he would have gone right into the building -just in time for the blast!
The man who thanked mefor saving his life is Charlie Ransdell. His few words to me there in Nashville in 1992 took me back in a flash to our very brief and fortunate encounter on 16 Feb 45. To meet Charlie after 47 years made the reunion in Nashville a very special occasion! By coincidence, it was Charlie’s birthday on the night of our banquet. This gave us a double reason to celebrate – one happy birthday and one warm reunion!”
Submitted by Bessie Zillas, Nick’s wife and Andrea Britton, Nick’s daughter.
The Spirit of ’45 70th Anniversary Commemoration continues this fall with a coast to coast convoy of military vehicles that will travel 3,300 miles across America to symbolize the greatest homecoming of veterans in our nation’s history and the legacy of General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
My father, VBOB Member Alfred H. Taylor, 10th Armored Division, received one of the rarest honor ceremonies in the world when he was decorated with the French Legion of Honor at the headquarters in Paris in November 2014. The Grand Chancellor, General Jean-Louis Georgelin, addressed my father in English, and I delivered his response in French. A champagne reception in the rotunda followed.
Investitures at the Palace of Salm are generally reserved for heads of state and other extreme VIPs, so Dad’s selection for the distinction is a bit mysterious. On average, only one American is honored there per year.
At our recent meeting on August 18th, 2015 at the Best Western Hotel in Bethlehem, Pa., we were able to reenact the famous Times Square kiss from VJ Day at the end of WWII 70 years ago.
Two of our members, married couple Samantha and Frederick Polgardy, were more than happy to recreate the kiss between the sailor and nurse, complete with the sailor’s and nurse’s caps.
Submitted by Stephen Savage, Associate, Lehigh Valley Chapter (55)
I just joined VBOB as an Associate Member as I conduct oral history interview of Veterans. In fact, your inclusion of my information in the May 15 Bugle resulted in several telephone calls from Veterans to conduct interviews.
This is a non-profit enterprise and passion for me as I share and preserve the video oral history interviews with the US Library of Congress, National World War II Museum and the University of Florida Samuel Proctor History Project. I have been to Normandy three times and to Bastogne once and most of the other places in between.
I would like to work directly with VBOB and its local Chapters to interview as many Veterans as humanly possible? These interviews could be added to your membership video archive as well.
Attached is the project brochure that I hand to Veterans that I meet.
Patrick Russell
Oral Historian
Making History Project
2 S. Biscayne Blvd., Suite 3760
Miami, FL 33131
Tel. (305) 608-2977
Fax (305) 842-3610 Email patrick@makehistoryproject.com
The Miss. Chapter of Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge will be awarding scholarships to six local high school students at the Fall meeting, Thursday, October 16, 2015, at Lake Tiak O’Khata, Louisville, Miss. This is a vital part of the scholarship process, a time when we can get to know each recipient and also share what you have learned about the “Battle of the Bulge”, Ardennes, Belgium. The students will be our guests for lunch at 11:30 AM and the meeting should be over by no later than 2:30 PM.
We hope all will understand the importance of this sharing time because we want to know more about your VBOB relative and the part he played in winning this battle and ensuring the safety of the entire world as we know it. This battle has been called by Winston Churchill the” greatest land battle of World War 11.” Tom Brokaw wrote a book entitled The Greatest Generation” which has proved to be true. By learning about these brave men, you will be a special kind of emissary to people you know to keep other generations aware of the “whole story” of those heroes. Several years ago, a false story was spread about the Nazis and their Concentration camps during the years of the war, and their total cruelty and destruction of the allied countries of Europe—England, Holland, France, numerous smaller towns and countries. Groups of people in this country were told that all of this was false .i.e. “It never happened’, they were told, from the media and Nazi sympathizers in this country and else where. The truth was that it DID happen….there are pictures, detailed accounts, personal stories that prove the inhuman and terrible deeds that were done. But as years go by and new generations come along, it is vital that these new generations know the story of the ones who saved civilization from annihilation and from imprisonment of our society under Adolph Hitler, a man insane for power who almost conquered the world.
Now you will understand the importance of our finest students….YOU… being informed about the true history of those times and why it must never, ever happen again. We each have an opportunity to keep the truth alive and we have a responsibility to do so. You six winners are among the highest and brightest of your generation and your ancestor has been an important, even critical part of our lives today. We live in the greatest country in the world, as well as the safest. We challenge you to do your best to keep it that way!
Sincerely in God’s love,
James W. Hunt, 1st Infantry Division, 18th Infantry Regiment, Company K
Members of the scholarship committee
(l-r) James Hunt, 1st Infantry Division; Jane Hunt; Sarah Naugher; David Naugher, 5th Infantry Division
The Kansas Chapter of the Battle of the Bulge held their annual meeting at the Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas on January 25, 2015.
A part of the program was a Panel Discussion by four Battle of the Bulge survivors including, Julian Siebert, Jim Sharp, Wallace Jeffries, and Marvin Ledy. The Moderator was Robert Smith, Curator of Ft. Riley Museum.
In addition, the Kansas Chapter donated and dedicated a memorial bench that was placed 75 feet away, under the gaze of the statue of our leader, General Dwight Eisenhower. Jim Sharp founder, and first president of the chapter made the dedication for the Kansas Chapter.
In the dedication photo above Jim Sharp is in the center right and on his right is The Eisenhower Library’s Director Karl Weissenback. More than 250 people attended the event including 26 Battle of the Bulge Veterans.
Submitted by Jim Sharp, Chair Communications, KS Chapter VBOB
