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Received the following letters from John McAuliffe of the 87th Inf Div, and a follow up letter from our mutual friend Gilbert Stevenot.

 

Here are John's words:

 

[This message could only come from a soldier in the Weremacht and not indoctrinated in the SS .....considering that the SS could not possibly hold such beliefs...Considering how they treated and massacred Belgian and Luxembourg civilians etc..

"Mac"

 

Subject: German Officer's Message

 

 

"Let the world never live through such a Christmas night again!

Is there something more cruel than to die fighting, far from his children,

his wife and his mother ?

To take away a son from his mother, a husband from his wife, a father from

his children is not an honorable act by a human being. Life can only be

given and accepted by people who love and respect one another. Hopefully

universal fraternity will be brought into existance from this scene of ruins,

blood and death".

 

The above was found by a Belgian school teacher on his classroom blackboard near Bastogne written in German by a German Officer after the Battle of the Ardennes.

 

Here are Steve's words:

 

 

Dear John,

 

I have seen the blackbord, on which those wonderfully written thoughts were written, with his heart, of this unknown german officer. and if we face the facts at the situation realistically, we can think long about ! That german officer was a warm-hearted man, who had a sound education, in the heat of the battle. His handwrittting was surely the one of a teacher, and it was a Christmas message for all the belligerents.For sure he was not a SS. I have always associated this message to the one of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was the wise commander-in-chief of the allied forces, who said, " I hate war, as only a soldier could have lived it, but also to have lived its brutality, its futility, and its stupidity"

 

I have received two nice letters, this last days. I will meet, if I remain in good health, and not repeat my misfortune with you, dear John. I will meet two good friends General Albin Irzyk, who was the first to meet General Mc Auliffe, at the gates of Bastogne, just before the encirclement, but had to retreat on Patton's orders, and his friend General James Leach.They are coming from France, from Singling where they have both engaged a big battle, to dedicate a monument. They will be in Bastogne the 9th december,and perhaps the 10th, in my town Rochefort. James is a wonderful friend , he came twice in my town for private visit, and did not know that one of them was official, and so he became a freeman of the City. One more task for me, I will have to arrange a reception in Bastogne and perhaps one more in Rochefort.

 

I am proud of what I have done in the past years and still waiting for hottest future actions.I am proud to have met so much dear friends, on my way, friends like you, without distinction of ranks. Just the same way than you. You were in all the ceremonies just a pivate. No more no less. Thanks again for your last kind attention.To be, and remain a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge means a lot for me John.We live with our memories.

 

Till soon John, and best regards.


My reply to Steve:

 

Dear Steve:

 

I have not heard from you for a while and am always concerned. It was so nice to get this letter below.

 

I have taken the liberty to place John's letter (with the soldier's words) and your response, on the forum. I think they are great words to read and to ponder upon. You are always so elegant with your words.

 

I think it's a great idea to let people know that not all GERMANS WERE BAD PEOPLE. Many got drafted and were forced to fight for their country. Not all were SS, not all believed that Jews were bad people. Not all trusted and loved Adolf the Jerk!

 

We need to make people understand that many of these men were loving husbands and fathers and sons. Many wanted nothing more than peace and to go back to their homes and lead a normal life. So sad that Germany lost so many so that Adolf could live out his psychotic dreams!

 

Bless you and keep you,

 

Marion


Marion: Not to be yelling at you, but please dont shortcut the word "Christmas" and use

"Xmas" as it goes against my grain being a Christian. It is only a few more key strokes. And besides, the ACLU just loves that spelling.


Meant no disrespect, but when you type as much as I do everyday for hours on end, you tend to abbrev things to make it easier.

 

One reason is that you can only type so much in the Subject line, it is limited and I usually do that as standard practice on many of my posts.

 

But nonetheless I have been doing that for years when writing common text. When I write formally I always write Christmas.

 

To me Christmas is Christmas no matter how I type it.