I'm sure there are many who might be more qualified to write about my dad's experiences while in Europe. He's never been one to talk about much of anything he considered to be "personal." Why then would he say anything about a traumatic, possibly terrifying experience, such as his experiences while in World War II? He may have talked to other members of the family about his experiences, but by the time I came along, he wasn't talking about anything. He never spoke of anything he did while he was in the Army to me at all. I just put things together, as best I could. To my knowledge, Dad said more to their former pastor, Gaylord Brown, than any other living human being I'm aware of, about his service. Maybe there are others who know a little more than I do, but that is not due to a lack of trying.
One of my earliest memories of my dad and when I realized that he was a veteran of World War II was seeing his German Luger. I wasn't allowed to hold it, but I didn't want to, either. It was a terrifying piece of German Engineering to me. Little did I know then how my dad came to possess it. (Perhaps my family can enlighten me about how he got it. He's never told me anything other than the guy "didn't need it anymore." So far, I've heard different versions of the story, though none are conclusive.) I also discovered some German medals in his old footlocker when I was about 10. (I thought he must have gotten them in a gift shop or something, never realizing what was involved in them coming into his possession. Had I known how special they were, I wouldn't have played with them and eventually lost them!) Later on, I would see his army uniform and find some really old photos from that era. It always seemed like Dad was annoyed with my inquisition into his personal association with the war, but I was fascinated with all of it.
(Also, as a side note, he would make references to "Bastogne," when it would get cold. Every time the weather would change and it would get cold, Dad would talk about being there and how cold it was. I had never heard of it. To me, it was an excuse to turn up the space heater in our house to an uncomfortable level for everybody but him. I got the picture, Bastogne was cold and I would never want to go there.)
Shortly after my family and I moved to the Houston area in 1998, the movie Saving Private Ryan was released. This was the start of a collective emphasis that was being made to honor those who served in World War II. There were reports of elderly veterans experiencing panic attacks and flashbacks of their experiences as a result of seeing the movie. In spite of these reports, I asked Dad to to watch the movie with me. I had gotten him a 101st Airborne cap to wear and he wore it to the theater that night. After the movie, there were several who patted him on the back or shook his hand to thank him for his service. I was so proud for him, but Dad seemed to be embarrassed by the attention. "I just did what I had to" was all he's ever said about it. Many veterans say the same. They had a job to do and did their best to do it and not get killed.
Those who have seen the movie, Saving Private Ryan, should be able to recall the opening scene. For over 20 minutes, the onslaught of German guns against American soldiers storming the beaches of Normandy, France, plays out with frightening detail. The other battle scenes that follow show the band of rescuers proceed across Europe to rescue Private James Ryan of the 101st Airborne Division, which was the division in which he served. Dad watched the entire movie with me, and thankfully he was not adversely affected by the graphic action. After the movie, Dad opened up a little and told me that the depiction of the tanks literally shaking the ground was true to his experience. "You can feel them coming before you start hearing them," Dad said afterward. I wanted to hear more, but Dad felt he'd said enough.
Just a little information about Dad and his service, Dad was a private in the 101st Airborne, the 506th Parachute Infantry Division, G Company. He arrived in Europe just in time to go into the Ardenne Forest for the Battle of Bastogne.
So, last week, I saw that Band of Brothers was coming on HBO, 2 episodes at a time, for the entire week and asked Dad if he'd like to watch, which he did. (Band of Brothers is about E Company of the 506 PIR in the 101st Airborne Division.) We started with Episode 5, Crossroads, which dealt with the battles that led up to the defense of Bastogne and the events surrounding the Battle of the Bulge.
At the end of Episode 5, Easy Company is informed that their leave has been canceled and they are about to head for the Ardenne Forest. As they proceed toward their destination, the are met by a long line of soldiers who are beaten down and demoralized as they return from the front where Easy Company is headed. These soldiers give up their ammo and tell the men of Easy Company that they "didn't have a chance" and "they were killing us." I asked Dad, hey did you experience anything like that? He said 'Yeah. I met this tall, lanky guy who was walking along in line. He was walking along carrying his gun and ammo and saw me and said "what do you think you're going to do, soldier?" I said "we're going to stop them fellas!" He just looked at me like I was stupid and then handed me his ammo and kept on walking.' Of course, those who know their history know that the 101st Airborne were walking right into the teeth of the German Army in one of the bloodiest battles of the war.
Episodes 6 & 7 were about the Battle of Bastogne and its aftermath. I watched with fascination as guys burrowed into foxholes, hid behind trees and scrambled for whatever cover they could find, while German soldiers bombed away at their positions with pinpoint accuracy. Dad didn't say anything during these two episodes. I'm guessing the material was just as he remembered it, or had been trying to forget for the last 55 years.
There was a scene where one of the majors goes around to the different companies to share with them General Anthony McAuliffe's response to the German's offer to surrender. "NUTS" was the general's reply. He said "yeah, they got that right. We were called together to hear the general's message. We went back to our foxholes and dug in a little deeper."
After Episode 6, Dad said "you know, it's a wonder that any of us ever got out of there alive." His words echoed those of the men who were interviewed as part of the film. It is indeed a wonder that any of them made it at all.
Episode 8 is called "Why We Fight" and going in, I had no idea what the "why" would be. As the show progresses, it shows how Easy Company, as it discovers a concentration camp in the German countryside. I asked Dad, did you guys ever run across one of those? "Yeah. There were a lot of them and they were awful. You could smell them miles from miles away, before you ever got to them. It was like a chicken farm, a slaughterhouse and a sewer altogether." I asked if he ever went inside. "No. I never went in until after the Jews were all released from them. It was hard to see how bad those people were treated."
The last two episodes dealt with the things that happened while the war on the European Front were winding down. Dad told me "there was lots of drinking and carrying on going on around that time. I tried not to get wrapped up in a lot of that stuff. Since things were winding down, I just wanted to get back home and I figured the best way to do that would be to stay out of trouble."
I know there's lots more to learn from my dad. I'm thankful for the opportunity created by this mini-series to break the ice a little more. I'm going to get it on DVD so we can watch it again. Maybe it'll serve to get him talking just a little bit more.
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