On October 14-15, BOBA will once again take to backroads. This time we will wind up in Carlisle, PA, where we will exhibit at the Army Expo 23. This is a big show, complete with the Golden Knights, equipment displays, etc.
If you’re there, stop by and see our table.
In honor of the 83rd, 4th, 5th, and 76th Infantry divisions for their part in liberating the town.
We’re starting a new feature here on the BOBA web page. Every week, we’re going to make note of a Battle of the Bulge monument, in the US or overseas.
For the most part, these monuments are simple tributes to the American GI who fought in this campaign.
This week’s monument is located in Patton Park on the outskirts of Ettelbruck, Luxembourg. Ettelbruck was near the southeast corner of the Bulge and was the site of intense fighting between German forces and the 80th Division. This monument was erected in 1994 to mark the 50th anniversary of these events. It was erected by the Cercle D’Etudes Sur La Bataille Des Ardennes (CEBA) (“Circle of Studies of the Battle of the Bulge.”)
If you have a favorite Bulge monument, submit a photo and brief description for this feature. Send your information to boba.editor@gmail.com.
The following story was found in the records of BOBA’s Ohio Buckeye chapter. The chapter recently closed but the son of the last president thought to contact us to see if we want to have the records sent to us. We are making an arrangement with Jim Triesler to have the Virginia War Memorial serve as the archive of VBOB/BOBA records.
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Christmas Peace
A True Story by Fritz Vincken,
Found in the papers of the Ohio Buckeye Chapter, VBOB
More than half a century ago, on Christmas Eve 1944, in the middle of the battle about the Ardennes, mother and I had unexpected guests.
On that Holy Eve the infantry division No. 256, having received replacements from Bohemia was fighting left on the Rhine bank. Its six battalions had been regrouped. In the New Year Night they once more attacked the Maginot Line from the area around Pirmasens under the code name ‘Nordwind.’ The casualties of that final German advance in the west are buried on the soldier cemetery at Bad Niederbronn (Alsace) and at Dahn (Palatinate).
At that time I was twelve years old and we were living in a small cottage in the Ardennes, near the Belgian border. Father had used this little house before the war when he had gone hunting on weekends. And when our hometown Aachen suffered more and more under the air raids, he sent us there. He himself was ordered to the 6 km distant border town Monschau for air raid protection. “In the forest you will be safe,” he said to me. “Take care of Mother. You are a man now.”
But one week ago Generalfeldmarschall von Rundstedt had started the last desperate German offensive and whenever I went to the door I heard the battle raging.
When there was a knock at the door on Christmas Eve, Mother quickly blew out the candle. Then she went to the door, I behind her. Outside, before the ghostly background of snow-covered trees stood two men with white steel helmets. The one addressed Mother in a language we didn’t understand and pointed to a third one who was lying on the snow. She conceived quicker than I that they were Americans.
Mother stood – her hands on my shoulders – unable to move. The men were armed and would have been able to force their way in. but they didn’t move and were begging only with their eyes. The wounded man in the snow was more dead than alive. “Come in,” Mother said finally. The soldiers carried in their comrade and put him on my bed. None of them spoke German. Mother tried with French and in this language one of the men was able to communicate to some extent
Before Mother took care of the wounded man, she said to me, “The fingers of both are totally stiff. Have them take off their jackets and the boots and go and get a bucket of snow.” Shortly after, she rubbed off their blue frozen feet with snow. The stocky, dark haired man, we heard, was Jim. His friend, tall and slender, was Robin. Harry was the wounded man who slept in my bed now. His face was as white as the snow outside. They had lost their unit and got lost in the forest trying to find the Americans, always anxiously watching out for the Germans. They were unshaved, but without their heavy coats they looked like tall boys. And Mother treated them accordingly.
“Go and bring Herman,” Mother said to me, “and also bring some potatoes.” This was a deep cutting change in our Christmas program. Herman was a fat cock (named after Hermann Goering, for whom Mother hadn’t any sympathy). He had been fed in the past few weeks in the hope that father would be home at Christmas.
While Jim and I helped in the kitchen, Robin took care of Harry, who had got a shot in his upper leg and was almost bleeding to death. Mother tore a sheet in stripes to bandage the wound.
Soon the smell of the baking cock filled the room. I was just about to lay the table when there was another knock. In the expectation of seing even more Americans, I opened without hesitation. Outside were four men in a uniform well known to me. German soldiers – Ours! I was paralyzed by the shock. Despite my youth, I knew the law. Whoever is hosting the enemy is committing treason. We all could be executed. Mother also showed fear. Her face was white, but she went out and said calmly: “Merry Christmas!” “We have lost our unit and want to wait until day comes,” explained the leader, a sergeant. “Can we stay with you? “Naturally,” mother said with the calmness of desperation. “You can also have a good warm meal and eat as long as something is available.”
The soldiers smiled while sniffing the good smell coming through the half open door. “But,” Mother continued energetically, “we have three more guests here, whom you are not likely to consider as friends.” Her voice was suddenly so strict. I had never hard her speaking in this manner. “Today is Holy Eve and there is no shooting.”
“Who is inside?” the sergeant asked brusquely. “Americans?” mother looked each one in the frost stiffened face. “Listen,” she said slowly, “you could be my sons and they in there too. One of them is wounded and is fighting for his life and his two fellows are lost and hungry like you. In this night,” she spoke to the sergeant and lifted her voice, “in this Holy Night we do not think of killing.”
The sergeant looked at her. For two, three endless seconds there was silence. Then Mother ended the uncertainty. “Enough talk,” she said and clapped her hands, “put your weapons there on the wood pile – and hurry before the others eat everything up.”
Dazed, the four soldiers put their weapons in the box of firewood in the aisle. Two pistols, three carbines, one light machine gun, and two bazookas. Meanwhile, Mother talked hastily with Jim in French. He said something in English and I saw with astonishment that the Americans also handed over their weapons to Mother.
As now the Germans and the Americans were standing shoulder to shoulder with embarrassment. Mother was in her element, smiling, looking for a place for each one to sit. We had only three chairs but Mother’s bed was large. There she placed two of the later arrivals next to Jim and Robin. Then she continued cooking without taking notice of the tense atmosphere. But Hermann didn’t get bigger and we had four eaters more.
“Quick,” she whispered to me, “go and et a few potatoes and some oat meal. The boys are hungry, and when the stomach rumbles one is easily irritable.” While I was plundering the store room, I heard Harry groaning. When I returned, one of the Germans had put on his glasses and was bending over the wounded soldier. “Are you an ambulance man?” Mother asked. “No,” he said, “but I studied medicine in Heidelberg until a few months ago.” Then he explained, as it appeared to me in fluent English, that Harry’s wound was not infected, thanks to the low temperatures. “He has only lost a lot of blood,” he said to Mother. “He simply needs rest and nourishing meals.”
The pressure was fading. Even I had the impression, when all the soldiers were sitting side by side, that they were all still very young. Heinz and Willi, both from Cologne, were sixteen. The sergeant was the oldest with his twenty-three years. He took out a bottle of red wine from his haversack and Heinz found a loaf of rye bread, which Mother cut into slices. They were all asked to come to table. The rest of the wine was set aside for the wounded man.
Mother spoke the prayer. I saw that she had tears in her eyes when she recited, “Komm, Herr Jesu, sei unser Gast . . .” and when I looked in the round, the eyes of the soldiers were wet too. They were boys again, the ones from America and the others from Germany. All distant from home.
Towards midnight Mother went to the door and requested all to follow her to see the star of Bethlehem. With the exception of Harry, who slept quietly, all stood next to her. And while viewing the Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, the war was far away and almost forgotten. Our private ceasefire endured also the next morning. Harry awoke in the last night hours, groaning, and Mother poured some broth in his mouth. When the day dawned, he was visibly stronger. Mother stirred him one egg, we took some sugar in the rest of the red wine for a powerful drink. We others ate oat meal. Then a stretcher was fabricated for Harry with two sticks and Mother’s best table cloth.
Bent over Jim’s map, the sergeant showed the Americans how they could find back to their troops. In this mobile war the Germans seemed amazingly well informed. He put the finger on a brook. “Go along here,” he said, “on the upper leg you will meet the First Army, which is reorganizing.” The medical student translated everything in English. Mother gave back all the weapons. “Be careful, boys,” she said. “I hope that one day you will get back to where you belong, back home. God Bless you all.”
The Germans and the Americans shook hands and we saw them disappear in opposite directions. When I returned in the house, Mother got the old family Bible. I looked over her shoulder. The book was opened to the Christmas story, at the report of the birth of Christ and the manger and the three men who came from far away to bring gifts. Her finger slid over the line, “… And they traveled back to their land along a different route.”
Postscript from Washington Post article “US and German Soldiers Shared Christmas eve dinner at height of WWII, by Dave Kindy, 12/24/2022
Not long afterward, the war ended, and the Vinckens were reunited. Fritz immigrated to the United States in 1959 and later opened a bakery in Honolulu. Hubert died in 1963, and Elisabeth followed in 1966.
Fritz always hoped to meet the soldiers again, though he knew his chances of seeing the Germans were not good, given their staggering casualty rate at the end of the war. He thought publicity might help, starting with his 1973 Reader’s Digest article, which President Ronald Reagan mentioned in a 1986 speech. In 1995, Fritz appeared on national television, telling his story on “Unsolved Mysteries” to host Robert Stack.
A nursing home chaplain in Frederick, Md., saw the episode and remembered a resident telling a similar story. He contacted the TV producers about Ralph Blank, a World War II veteran who had been a sergeant with the 8th Infantry Division in 1944.
In 1996, Fritz flew to Maryland to meet with Blank, who was 76 and in poor health. They recognized each other immediately and reminisced about their shared evening of peace during a hellish war.
The reunion was filmed and shown on “Unsolved Mysteries” later that year. At one point during the episode, Ralph turned to Fritz and said, “Your mother saved my life.” For the former German boy who was now an American citizen, that moment was the high point of his life.
“Now I can die in peace,” he told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. “My mother’s courage won’t be forgotten and it shows what goodwill will do.”
Neither man lived to see the 2002 TV premiere of “Silent Night,” a retelling of their 1944 encounter. Ralph died in 1999 at age 79, and Fritz died in 2001 at 69. (The families of both men could not be reached for comment.)
In a 1997 interview, Fritz spoke of the lessons he learned from the Christmas miracle.
“The inner strength of a single woman, who, by her wits and intuition, prevented potential bloodshed, taught me the practical meaning of the words ‘good will toward mankind,’ ” he said, adding, “I remember mother and those seven young soldiers, who met as enemies and parted as friends, right in the middle of the Battle of the Bulge.”
Speaking of stained glass windows, we came across this beauty when we visited 80th division sites in 2011. The legend “Ettelbruck 1944” suggests this is some sort of commemorative about the battle, but I couldn’t find anything to document that. Does anyone know where and why and by whom this stand glass window was installed? If you know, write boba.editor@gmail.com and you’ll be identified as this month’s “Bulge Expert” in the next edition of the Bugle.. Thanks.
Frank Chambers celebrated his 100th birthday on August 9, 2023. Chambers served in the 75th Infantry Division, 291st regiment during the Battle of the Bulge. He pulled a 105 mm canon behind his 6×6 Jimmy truck. He earned the Combat Infantryman Badge and Bronze Star. Dad was awarded the French Legion of Honor in 2010.
After the service he married Doris Albers, and they had two children, Marjorie Duffield and John Chambers (1956-1984). Frank has 2 grandsons and their wives, and 2 great grandchildren. .
Much of Frank’s career was with the Farm Bureau organizations in Illinois and Nebraska. He also had a 19 year career with the Gallup Organization, retiring at age 80.
He is a life member of The American Legion, and has been active in his church, Scouts, and speaking to public school students about WW2. He resides with his wife in League City, TX.
Benjamin Melvin Berry was born to parents Hester and James Wallace Berry Sr. on September 21, 1923. He is celebrating this milestone with a party at Philadelphia’s Mission BBQ.
He was one of four children. He can proudly trace his ancestry back to great-great grandparents Paul and Ameilia Edmonson, whose children Emily and Mary were friends of Booker T. Washington and Frederick Douglass and were active abolitionists in the Washington DC. area in the 1840’s. Their story is told in the book Fugitives of the Pearl.
Ben was drafted into the segregated US army in WWII in 1943. He served in Germany, Luxembourg, France, England, and Belgium and was in The Battle of the Bulge, the largest battle fought by Americans in WWII. His title was Technical Corporal, with duties of providing equipment and supplies to his company, even water for drinking, washing, and cooking. Blacks were not allowed to fire weapons, but he and his buddies sometimes sneaked and practiced by shooting rats at the dump. Ben prayed if God let him survive this war, he would serve him the rest of his life, and he has kept that promise. He’s been a faithful member of First Baptist Church of Crestmont for nearly 90 years. Ben was honorably discharged in 1945 after serving 27 months.
Ben went to Bok Vocational School on the GI Bill to learn paperhanging. Although blacks were not allowed in the paperhangers’ union at that time, he became a successful entrepreneur, managing his own business for more than 60 years. He provided apprenticeship opportunities to young people, some of whom opened their own businesses, and did charity paperhanging from time-to-time, for example papering walls at the Ronald McDonald House.
Ben has four children, 9 grandchildren, a host of great-grandchildren, one great-great grandchild, and lots of other family that he loves.
Two of the many honors he’s received in his life include recognition for 50 years of service as a deacon at his church and election as president of the Philadelphia Paperhangers Guild.
Ben has many interests, including genealogy, antiques, and veteran’s organizations. He is on the Board of Aces, a veteran’s museum in Germantown, and is often interviewed about his experiences in the army.
Three things Ben would want you to remember are (1) Serve God and others (2) Save a lot; give some; spend a little (3) Put family first.
One thing I would like you to remember is that everyone has a story that others can benefit from hearing. It’s important to tell your story.
WWII and Battle of the Bulge Veteran Dr. Ralph I Dinin is celebrating his 100th Birthday on September 12, 2023.
Ralph was born September 12,1923 and was raised in Brooklyn/Bronx, New York. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School and continued his studies at Brooklyn College until 1943 when he entered the Army. Ralph served from February 1943 – January 1946 with the 701st and 740th Tank Battalions 82nd Airborne during WWII and the Battle of the Bulge. He received The Good Conduct Medal, three campaign stars for the European, African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the American Campaign Medal, and the WWII Victory Medal, The French Legion of Honor, the Sharpshooter (for marksmanship) Badge with Machine Gun clasp and was recognized for Meritorious Service by the State of New Jersey. His nickname was “Bulldog” and he was discharged in 1946 with the rank of Technical Sergeant.
We all thank Ralph for his service and wish him a very happy birthday as we celebrate this momentous milestone!
The Bulge stained glass window, a gift from VBOB/BOBA, still hags in Bliss Hall at the Army War College. However, as of a few weeks ago, Bliss Hall has been emptied and locked. It is scheduled to be torn down. The stained glass windows are slated to move to a new building, which will house the Army Heritage and Education Center Foundation. However, this may be a few years off and the stained-glass windows will be locked away in Bliss Hall for some time.
In person, the window is even more magnificent than it appears in a photo.
UPDATE: BOBA members – The virtual Annual Membership Meeting and Election will be held at 2pm Eastern Time on Saturday, November 4th. For those without a current e-mail address on file, a letter a letter was sent 30 days in advance of the election. To join, make sure you download Microsoft Teams if you don’t have it on your computer or phone. The meeting is available to join this link 15 minutes prior to start time – CLICK HERE TO JOIN MEETING.
Candidate Bios have been posted online on a password-protected page. Click here to view the bios. CLICK HERE FOR THE AGENDA. All BOBA members with an email on record have been sent the meeting link to join.
BOBA will hold elections for elected officers and other members of the Board of Directors at the annual general membership meeting. In accordance with the Article 7.B.3 of the BOBA Bylaws, “nominations may be made from the floor with an accompanying signed letter of nomination from at least three (3) BOBA members supporting that candidacy and including a written statement with a brief bio, from the candidate agreeing to the nomination.” All members in good standing and willing to commit time and energy to the advancement of BOBA are encouraged to run for office.
Please note that in accordance with Article 7.A.3.e of the Bylaws, only members who have served two terms on the Board are eligible for the positions of President and Executive Vice President. Letters of nomination should be submitted to the BOBA office as soon as possible to support preparation of meeting materials.
Two members of our Delaware Valley chapter, Jake Ruser and Benjamin Berry, will appear at the Eisenhower Farm in Gettysburg on September 17 to discuss their experiences during the Battle of the Bulge. They will be speaking at the Eisenhower Farm WWII weekend, a major living history and educational event that will take place from Friday, September 15 through Sunday the 17th.
Ruser and Berry will talk at noon on Sunday. Ruser was featured in the Spring 2023 issue of the Bugle; he recently returned to Hurtgen Forest to relive memories of being a stretcher bearer during that battle.
BOBA will also have an information table at this event. Other attractions will include presentations and book signings, vehicles, living history, and hands-on events. Admission is open to everyone and there is no charge. Drop by if you’re in the neighborhood.
Join us at the Eisenhower Farm in Gettysburg. BOBA will be exhibiting there Saturday, September 16 and Sunday, September 17. Come by and say hello. This is a big World War II event and gives BOBA good exposure to a crowd of World War II enthusiasts.
The theme of the Eisenhower Farm event is “1943,” which is outside our main area of interest, obviously. Besides information and exhibits about BOBA and the Battle of the Bulge, we’ll have exhibits on two activities that were underway in 1943 that were vital in creating the mobile, lethal strike force that blunted Hitler’s legions: the Arsenal of Democracy, which produced the weaponry, and the 1943 Tennessee Maneuvers, which allowed the army to incorporate the lessons of mobile warfare.
Come see us at Ike’s place.
Dear BOBA Membership,
My name is Steven Landry and I’ve been nominated for the position of President of your Association by the Nominating Committee in accordance with our bylaws. At present, I am the only nominated candidate but that does not exclude additional nominations from the membership prior to the election of officers in the Fall of 2023.
As an organization, we are entering a period of transition occasioned by two related factors. First, the age and health of our surviving WW2 veteran members, and second, the drawdown of the nest egg created by the sale of Lifetime memberships during the early years of the organization. This situation was anticipated by the Strategic Planning Committee (which I chaired) but for a variety of reasons the committee’s recommendations were never functionally implemented. We are now approaching a point of crisis, and I believe the membership should know where I, as your prospective President, stand. As my good friend Gary Higgins is fond of saying, it’s YOUR organization.
First, a little bit about me. My father, Joe Landry served in the Battle of the Bulge. He was assigned to the 776th Automatic Weapons Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion. If you don’t know me, you probably know him. I’ve been married to Diane (Bedard) Landry, the daughter of a Navy WW2 veteran, for 47 years and we have one adult daughter, Allison.
I’ve been a member of BOBA since about 2015 and have been on the Board since 2020. I am a retired Army officer with ~21 years of service. I hold a Doctorate in Chemical Engineering and an MBA, and have graduated from the Army Command and General Staff Course and the Program Manager’s Course at the Defense Systems Management College. Since retiring from the Army in 1997, I’ve worked in private industry supporting programs for the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security. I plan to fully retire in November, 2023. I’ve published two alternative history novels and one science-fiction anthology, with three more in various stages of development.
Now to the future of the organization. On November 7, 2020 the general membership approved the following Mission Statement: “To perpetuate the memory of the sacrifices made by those who participated during the Battle of the Bulge, to preserve historical data and sites relating to the battle, to promote friendship among Battle of the Bulge veterans, their relatives and others interested in the battle, to foster and maintain international relations and good will with all Allied countries who were a part of the battle, and to support Chapters of The Battle of the Bulge Association.”
Further, in January, 2021, the Board approved the following Vision Statement: “The Battle of the Bulge Association® will evolve from a Veteran Member-centric organization primarily focused on promoting fellowship among and honoring the Veteran Members to an enduring, financially-sound organization focused on honoring 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.”
I am fully committed to the Mission and the Vision, notwithstanding the implementation problems we’ve experienced over the last thirty months. Unfortunately, our financial situation has further deteriorated during that span. As of June 30, 2023, our reserves are down to about $63K when unspent Reunion expenses are figured into the calculation. If not for two substantial donations in 2021 and our recent decision to eliminate two of the four 2023 editions of The Bulge Bugle, we would already be on the precipice of bankruptcy. Clearly, we must evolve if we are to survive.
At present, there are numerous honest opinions regarding the future of our organization. The primary tension, in my view, boils down to the balance between “honoring the history of the Battle of the Bulge” and “promoting fellowship” among the membership. There are those that advocate a transformation into a historical society, much like the International Churchill Society. Others advocate for more or less the status quo, with quarterly printed Bulge Bugles, annual Reunions, Commemorations, and five-year Anniversary trips, relying on largely imaginary cost savings, unrealistic membership projections, and unreliable donations. Neither pure option is viable, in my opinion. We need an alternative that blends the two approaches in a financially responsible manner.
The 2022 budget forecasted a loss of ~$30,000 and that loss was realized. The 2023 budget forecasts a similar loss and we were on track to realize that loss until President John Mohor cancelled the Summer edition of the Bugle and the Board subsequently concurred with the cancellation of a second 2023 edition (either Fall or Winter). Still, there will be a substantial loss this year. These shortfalls are not the result of poor budgeting, but rather the execution of the previous strategic plan to near perfection. They planned for the money to run out when the last veterans passed. They expected the organization, then known as VBOB, to fold.
That is not the fate I or your other Board candidates endorse. Rather, we want to follow the strategic Vision quoted above, to evolve to an enduring, financially-sound organization focused on honoring the history of the Battle of the Bulge and the memory of those who fought in the Battle, while promoting fellowship.
First, I want to address the financial challenges. Change is often painful. Recently, we took steps to put the organization on a more sound financial footing by raising the dues. Due to some administrative issues occasioned by the departure of one Office Administrator and the health of her replacement, at the time of this writing, we are unable to assess the impact of the dues increase on membership. We will have a complete picture in the next few weeks, however.
The current Board is implementing additional steps to reduce administrative costs, but the cost of producing, printing, and mailing The Bulge Bugle has become prohibitive, even with the dues increase. To survive, we must move publication of the Bugle into the 21st Century. At the next general membership meeting I will propose changes to the bylaws as follows:
In my view, the second major change required is to shift much of the administrative work of maintaining the organization away from paid staff to volunteers. We can no longer afford to pay individuals to maintain our membership rolls, handle incoming and outgoing mail, operate a member hotline, or schedule events. The incoming Board has agreed to step up but more help will be required. In particular, the Board has proposed forming a Membership Committee to that will perform two functions: 1) recruiting and retaining members, and 2) maintaining the membership rolls. We will need several volunteers for the committee.
Next, I want to talk about maintaining the legacy of the Bulge Veterans. As the son of a Bulge Veteran and as a career Army officer, I believe we can and should do much more on this front. Our Historian, Jim Triesler, has proposed monthly web events focused on the Battle, and our Bugle Editor, Leon Reed, has proposed much greater outreach and contact with other historical groups. I endorse both these approaches, but I am also mindful that The Battle of the Bulge Historical Foundation folded. Volunteers are the lifeblood of such organizations, and at present, BOBA does not have a tradition of volunteerism. It will take time to build that tradition, and eliminating the “social club” aspect of BOBA will largely disengage those who are volunteering now.
Which brings me to the third element of the Vision statement, promoting fellowship. We should continue to hold Reunions and Commemorations, and sponsor five-year anniversary tours, but those events must all be budget neutral. But I take an expansive view of fellowship. I believe BOBA is in a unique position to partner with many other WW2 veteran organizations, potentially becoming an umbrella organization that coordinates a synergistic relationship. For example, we co-hosted the last two Reunions with the 87th Infantry Division association, and are now discussing rotating the administration of the Reunion between the two associations. We need to build on that great work started by Allen Cleghorn and carried on by Andy Waskie. And we must do more to support the Chapters, in particular having Board members attend Chapter gatherings.
If we get volunteers and if we don’t lose significant membership as a result of the Bugle and dues changes, I believe we can right the BOBA ship and set sail into the future. However, if we don’t, then I am also committed not to let the organization just disappear. We cannot wake up one morning, discover we are out of money, and just collapse. That would not be fair to the members or the Chapters, which may want to continue as independent entities, and would potentially put people in jeopardy with the IRS. If that sad day comes, we need to close out our bank accounts and accounting services, properly sever ties with any employees, notify the Chapters and help them navigate the tax issues, and publish a farewell issue of the Bugle. All that costs money. I estimate as much as $10-15,000. I plan to refine that number in the coming months, but whatever the number, if our funds fall to that level, I will initiate an orderly shutdown. Hope is not a plan.
I am optimistic that such a sad day will never come. If we can get our financial house in order and implement our strategic vision, we can prosper. As the posters at the WW2 Museum proclaim, “We Can Do It!”
Thanks,
Steve
Originally written by my friend, Stuart Dempsey, Hall of Fame caliber Gettysburg licensed guide and D Day/Bulge tour guide (https://www.battlegroundhistorytours.com).
HAPPY 248th BIRTHDAY TO THE UNITED STATES ARMY
On June 14, 1775, the Continental Congress authorized an American ‘Continental Army’ to be raised with troops from the thirteen colonies – soon to be states. The next day, Congress by unanimous vote appointed George Washington as the new army’s commander.
The image shown, by renowned military artist Don Troiani, portrays an enlisted man of that army, specifically the First Pennsylvania Battalion, as he would have appeared in 1776. Contrary to popular perception (which often has Continentals in blue uniform coats), brown was at least as common, and probably more so, particularly in the conflict’s early years.
The First Pennsylvania Battalion was raised for one year’s service, from late 1775 to late 1776. The unit served exclusively with the Northern Army on the Canadian front, from Quebec to Fort Ticonderoga. When the battalion mustered out, many of its members reenlisted in the new Second Pennsylvania Regiment, a unit that would go on to fight at Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, and – in reorganized form – at the final victory at Yorktown in 1781.
On this day, we honor the men and women who have served in the US Army’s ranks for the last 248 years.
Join Us in New Orleans
This promises to be an outstanding Reunion. Some of the main features:
See
the Winter Bugle,
the Spring issue that’s about to arrive in your mailbox,
this web page,
or the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100081426996536 for easy registration instructions.