A Trip to Belgium – September 2010 Imagine that you are a WWII Veteran planning a trip to Belgium, a country where you fought in the Battle of the Bulge, 66 years ago. You have made flight reservations and have paid the fare. The journey will not be a group tour. You will be going alone. At 85 years of age you begin to have reservations, concerning your judgment about that journey. The flight is not non-stop. A change of planes is required at Detroit, Michigan and Amsterdam, Holland. Flight time is four months away. Consequently there is plenty of time to fret about your decision of planning, a two-week, journey 6,000 miles from home. Why all the anxiety now that you have committed yourself to go?
Reason No. 1 – Travel by Commercial Airlines is a 1^st for you.
Reason No. 2 – How will you get from point A to Point B at the Air Terminal in Detroit, MI and Amsterdam, Holland?
Reason No. 3 – What if yon become sick along the way? After all you’re 85 years old. And if you do become ill; what then?

As departure time draws closer and closer, more doubts and questions pop up. Medicare, you learn, will not pay one dime of medical expenses outside the continental limits of the U.S.A. Purchasing insurance, which will cover medical & hospital expenses overseas, solves that issue. Advice is offered by someone with past experience, “Don’t take too many clothes and, be careful what you put in your carry on bag. At Airport Security Check Points, even a pair of fingernail clippers can be rejected.”  You are advised, don’t forget to obtain a passport and, put it in something that will hang around your neck. As a soldier, going overseas in l944, details were so elementary that you shouted your name, rank, army serial number and up the gang plank you walked; no other questions asked. A week before your departure you, by chance, acquire a travel companion who is an experienced air traveler. Then for the 1^st time in weeks, you have a good nights sleep. The day of departure comes and with a travel companion riding with you to the Air terminal, you feel very much at ease.

A puzzle is encountered at the Moline Airport; however, an extra fee of fifty dollars solves the mystery. A similar issue faces you at the first stop in Detroit, MI. Although the Airline personnel admitted the error was theirs, they only wanted $2,000 to correct their blunder. The situation, here and now, is your travel Companions’ flight, to Amsterdam in Europe, is four hours ahead of your flight The circumstance, of flying alone, has been dumped back in your lap. However, your would-be travel companion is a resourceful person, and not a bit shy. Locating the boarding gate for my delayed flight is accomplished and at once we go to that zone. Two fellows are already at the gate. Immediately, your companion asks them, “Where are you guys going?” “Amsterdam, Holland” was the reply. My friend said, pointing a finger at you ”So is he. Will you see to it that he and his carry on bag get on the plane; and look after his needs during the flight”?

They warmly agreed to be of assistance in any way they could. Bingo! A predicament is solved. “I’ll see you in Amsterdam, Holland were the de­parting words of your now ex-travel companion, who then scurried off to another gate for an earlier flight to Amsterdam. Now you have two travel companions plus four hours before flight time to get acquainted with them. One of them observes the words WWII Veteran on your cap and inquires, “Where did you serve during the War?” Apparently, your cap is an excellent advertisement. His question is a good base for interaction between you and your new fellow travelers. The three of you immediately became friends. Your new companions, are headed for Ukraine, Russia for the purpose of erecting some farm buildings in that area. They will change planes in Amsterdam. At flight time the three of you board the plane with no concerns. Before long, at 39,000 feet the earth below you looks like a plaything.

On the back of the seat in front of you is a monitor screen. It is displaying some interesting statistics showing the plane (an Air Bus) is flying over the Atlantic Ocean, at an altitude of 39.000 feet. The ground speed is 550 mph.; there is a tail wind of 70 mph and the outside temperature is minus 70 degrees; departure time from Detroit, MI is X number of hours ago and an E.T.A. in Amsterdam Holland is XX hours Amsterdam time.  Curious about the Air Bus now, you ask a flight crew member about the passenger capacity of the plane. She replies, “255 passengers and a crew of 30.” In other words 285 people are zooming through the sky at 550 miles per hour. Scarcely a dream 66 years ago when you were crossing the same ocean at 23 knots an hour. Finally, that little screen in front of you indicates the plane is approaching the coast of Ireland. Before long, you will be in Amsterdam, Holland. As objects on the ground become more distinguishable coupled with the sound of the landing gear rumbling out of the belly of the plane it is apparent that Amsterdam is only minutes away. The clouds are hugging the ground, yet glimpses of the runway meet the eye as the huge Air Bus makes its⁹ final approach to the Amsterdam Air Terminal.

Wow, here you are, in Holland.   Your two companions assist in carrying your hand luggage off the plane. You bid them farewell and they blend into a crowd of people as they seek their next flight gate.  Success!  There’s your original travel partner coming to welcome you to Holland. Before long, by pre-arrangement, another couple from the state of Washington arrive at Amsterdam on another flight. Now your group is complete. There is a two hour wait for another flight to Luxembourg, a city only a few miles from Belgium. An airline, named City Hopper, flies the four of you to the Luxembourg airport where a car is rented and away you drive to the country of Belgium.

Road signs, along the way, point to towns whose names you became acquainted with 66 years ago. Transportation modes for civilians in 1944 were by two wheeled open aired carts drawn by oxen or horses. In most instances people were fleeing a war zone. Fathers would lead the cart and mothers were walking along side of it; looking after the needs of their children, who were bundled up inside, surrounded by the family’s possessions. A scene that, easily, brought a lump to your throat and tears to your eyes. An infantry soldier usually hiked, by road, or across country. Often his path would be through mine fields, and over open country with artillery missiles exploding overhead and on the ground in every direction. What a contrast compared to Belgium and now.

One thing that hasn’t changed is the Ardennes Forest and the terrain. It reminds you of the Smoky Mountains back home. Yet, in Belgium the Ardennes forest is probably 90 percent fir-trees that are very tall and erect. The first item on our schedule is getting settled at the Bed & Breakfast Home, just a few miles west of St. Vith, Belgium, where reservations were made several months ago. What a delightful reception the proprietors give you. Soon all are located in spacious, comfortable rooms. Then you assemble in the inn’s reception room to become familiar with the area. A schedule had been prepared in advance that will permit all to tour the Battle of the Bulge region of 66 years ago. Several days are left open in case extra time is needed in some sectors.

However, a good nights sleep is necessary to recover from jet lag. Your first night in Belgium, 66 years ago, mother earth was your mattress. Your cover was an inadequate sleeping bag. An unwelcome wet snow added to the misery of the night. That wasn’t an evening a person cares to remember, nevertheless, many years later it is still permanently etched in your memories. In the morning of your first day in Belgium all of you go to St. Vith, a small city six miles from your home base. St., Vith was the Headquarters location for your Division in December 1944. In the center of St. Vith there is a visitor center where a friendly attendant is a great help in outlining points if appeal, in and around the area. On your to do list that morning is to exchange some dollars into Euros which is accomplished at a nearby bank.

Before noon your party, now nine people, is motoring to Malmedy, Belgium; a small village were ninety some American soldiers were massacred by German troops during the B.O.B. A museum there portrays some very authentic scenes of that tragedy.   In an open field nearby a monument verifies the site where the outrageous event came to pass so many years ago. Your Army outfit was only about five miles from Malmedy when that atrocity occurred in 1944. In less than 24 hours most American troops up and down the front lines became aware of that incident. If anything, it certainly solidified your resistance to the massive German offensive against your Division.

It’s now lunch time, consequently, before touring Malmadys’ museum the nine of you break for lunch. Earlier, you observed that restaurants in small Belgian towns are only open for several hours at meal time. After your museum tour all of you visit the massacre site just a short distance away. On the itinerary is a plan to locate your first foxhole in the early days of the B.O.B. While driving to that area, you pass through the small hamlet of Wereth, Belgium. A ceremony is about to be held there for eleven black Soldiers whom the Germans massacred in December 1944. Your party paused long enough to attend the event and take part in the procession to the site of the atrocity.  A lunch was served afterward and all of us were invited to attend. That afternoon you arrive at the site where your Army Outfit was when the B.O.B. commenced. In about 15 minutes you locate your first foxhole.

Although the elements of nature partly filled it in you have no trouble recognizing the site and while standing it, you describe the action that happened there 66 years ago to your group.

This region of Belgium and Germany is situated in very hilly country and is named Schnee Eifel, which stands for “Snow Mountain” in German. In the wintertime, it is a popular ski resort. A burst of German gunfire almost terminated your life during the Bulge Campaign, yet you survived the incident. Consequently, you were hospitalized for a while. Just before going back to the front you are in a convalescent   hospital in Dinant, Belgium; a beautiful location on the Meuse River. Dinant is on your itinerary and the next day four of you sojourn to that city. You have fond memories of the hospital in Dinant because the luxury of shaving and bathing every day was yours. That hospital was where you discovered fifty-four holes in your clothing caused by German machine gun fire. That incident and your dream for-wantng of the event is still very vivid in your mind.

The town of Dinant, Belgium is situated at a beautiful location in the Meuse river valley. The day is ideal for lunch at a sidewalk cafe alongside the river. We enjoy viewing the scenic river sights in addition to the sheer cliffs that rise as high as several hundred feet above the town; a sight which you were not able to admire many years ago when you were in the hospital there.  Monday the 27^th of September a surprise awaits you at the Burgemeister’s office in St Vith Belgium. He has been made aware of your presence in the area; hence he prepared a presentation concerning St. Vith for for your group to view. You are invited to his office for coffee. That’s all you know. The surprise is a slide presentation regarding the town of St. Vith, Belgium from December 1944 to the year 1958.

December 1944, St Vith, a town of 10,000 inhabitants, became a focal point in the B.O.B. Five major roads led in and out of this community. The German Army desperately needed to seize the town because of those principal thoroughfares. The American Army was determined to stop the German advance right there in St. Vith. When the B.O.B. ended there were only four buildings left standing in the community. St. Vith, once a thriving city, was a pile of war debris when the battle ended. The Burgemeister’s slide presentation pictures the story of rebuilding the city from 1946 to 1958; in a period of twelve of years St. Vith is restored almost like it had been before WWII.

Saturday the 23^rd of September three of your party drives to Henri Chapelle Cemetery where almost 8,000 American soldiers, most of whom died in the B.O.B are buried.  A ceremony by Belgian officials, honoring those Soldiers, will take place that morning.     Surprisingly, yon and two additional American WWII Veterans become involved in the program. Although it is done in the German language, you recognize your name as well as those of the two other American WWII veterans when it is read; then the three of you are guided forward to place a huge wreath in a designated place on the cemetery grounds. When the ceremony ends, you visit the grave site where some of your fellow soldiers are buried.

The Burgemeister of Veilsalm, Belgium, a town your outfit liberated in 1945 requested you and your group to visit his office. As your group proceeded to that municipality, you thought this was part of the itinerary. Consequently, as your party entered a Municipal Building there you automatically assumed it was to obtain some brochures about the area. However, all of your group is escorted into a very official looking majestic like office. A gentleman entered the room and introduced himself as the Burgemeister of the town. He then declared that the reason for this rendezvous was for the intent of recognizing a person present in his office to be named as an Honorary Citizen of Vielsalm, Belgim.

As your name is read you are surprised and overwhelmed by this proclamation. The composed words read in part:
Certificate of honorary citizenship.   In recognition of his involvement and his sacrifices for our liberty, the communal College of Vielsalm has awarded the Veteran FLQYD RAGSDALE. G. Company. 424t’ Infanry Regiment. 106 Infantry Division the Honorary Citizenship of the Town of Vielsalm the 26^th of September 2010.

After the formalities, refreshments, consisting of beer, wine and cheese are served to everyone present. Indeed, even at eleven of clock on Sunday morning, everyone participated in the festivities. You glance at a wall clock and tell yourself at this hour back home, ” You would be in church.” Although you kept a journal each day that you were in Belgium, at the moment, you are hesitant to elaborate on details about those days, except for one matter.

The cap you wear indicates that you are a WWII veteran. Because many folks in Belgium can read and speak English they acknowledged you as such when they observed those words on your cap. Many days a Belgium citizen shook your hand and said to you, “Thank you for giving our country and freedom back to us. That in its-self made your trip to Belgium in September 2010 worth the effort to go it alone.

The trip home was a good one, yet jet lag was just as much a problem as when you flew to Belgium two weeks before.