Welcome, Guest
You have to register before you can post on our site.

Username
  

Password
  





Search Forums

(Advanced Search)

Forum Statistics
» Members: 2,340
» Latest member: SamHarrison
» Forum threads: 5,427
» Forum posts: 31,144

Full Statistics

Online Users
There are currently 110 online users.
» 0 Member(s) | 107 Guest(s)
Applebot, Bing, Google

Latest Threads
No Bridge Too Far - the b...
Forum: MARION'S NEWS n UPDATES n BABBLINGS...
Last Post: PDP2020
06-30-2025, 07:00 PM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 67
Exercise Tiger
Forum: ANYTHING WWII
Last Post: buk2112
04-29-2025, 01:42 PM
» Replies: 3
» Views: 5,694
Information on the 8th Na...
Forum: LOOKING FOR...
Last Post: Pierre.hacquard
03-11-2025, 02:07 PM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 413
Digital Version of No Bri...
Forum: MARION'S NEWS n UPDATES n BABBLINGS...
Last Post: CaptO
01-20-2025, 09:43 PM
» Replies: 1
» Views: 860
Harvey Kutz Jr - 540th En...
Forum: WWII ENGINEERS
Last Post: PDP2020
09-24-2024, 07:04 PM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 630
Pfc FRATARCANGELI CESARE ...
Forum: WWII ENGINEERS
Last Post: PDP2020
09-24-2024, 06:42 PM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 599
Documentary - No Bridge T...
Forum: Published articles and more
Last Post: PDP2020
07-23-2024, 11:04 AM
» Replies: 400
» Views: 541,534
Revamped site coming soon...
Forum: MARION'S NEWS n UPDATES n BABBLINGS...
Last Post: PDP2020
07-22-2024, 10:43 PM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 737
Warren G Robinson 250 eng...
Forum: LOOKING FOR...
Last Post: R Eric
07-11-2024, 12:24 PM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 766
Hello from Provence (8th ...
Forum: Introduce Yourself!
Last Post: Pierre.hacquard
07-03-2024, 05:47 AM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 777

 
  New member Filip
Posted by: FIWI - 12-16-2004, 03:18 PM - Forum: Introduce Yourself! - Replies (12)


Hi,

I am Filip from Belgium, I would describe myself as a history buff, or with a great word "amateur-historian" with a special interest in the 101st Airborne Division, in particular 463 PFA (and also a bit 506 PIR).

I live 2 1/2 hours from Bastogne and I work freelance and as a volonteer for the City Council. I am also assistant to visiting Veterans and try to help them with all their needs. Sometimes I do a free battlefield guiding for friends and family, in the neighborhood.

Besides my work as a Computer Support Operator in a Steelplant, I try to do some teaching to adults (Microsoft Access).

And I have a passion for WW2 vehicles. I owe a Willies Jeep, but not WW2 (very expensive in Belgium). My model is a Willies M38A1 (Korea Model). Later, if possible, I would like to buy a Dodge 4x4.

I used to be in the Military for 11 years as NCO. Now I am in the Belgian National Guard, what we call the 'Trained Reserve'.

 

A warm HI to everybody here on the boards.

FILIP :wave:

Print this item

  453rd Engineers Depot Company
Posted by: davecamp - 12-15-2004, 01:33 PM - Forum: WWII ENGINEERS - Replies (3)


My Grandfather, Cpl. George Johnson from Illinois was with the 453rd Engineers/Depot Company during the occupation of Japan. I'm looking for anyone who knew him. Any information regarding this unit is greatly apprciated. Thank you.

 

Eric

Print this item

  Warm welcome Filip!
Posted by: Walt's Daughter - 12-15-2004, 09:38 AM - Forum: ANYTHING WWII - Replies (1)


Hi:

 

Just wanted to extend a warm welcome to a new member of our forum, Filip. He is the author of the wonderful website that I told you about just the other day US Airborne - Clancy Lyall and and Bill Tingen. He wrote to me this morning and it is a real honor having him as a member.

 

We look forward to hearing from you. Essayons and Currrahee!

B)

Print this item

  Battle of the Bulge Remembered 60 yrs later
Posted by: Walt's Daughter - 12-14-2004, 08:50 PM - Forum: ANYTHING WWII - No Replies


DIEKIRCH, Luxembourg, Dec. 14, 2004 — Veterans, servicemembers and government and military representatives are arriving here along the Belgium-Luxembourg border to begin a full week of events commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge.

 

Sixty years ago this week, Allied and German forces faced off in the Battle of the Ardennes, more commonly known as the Battle of the Bulge because of the "bulge" the Germans placed on the thinly held Allied lines in the region.

 

Commemoration events will include ceremonies, concerts, parades and wreath- layings, and planners say veterans should turn out in droves in what is expected to be an increasingly rare event as their numbers dwindle. Already, Bastogne is flying scores of U.S. and German flags in honor of its annual Battle of the Bulge observance on Dec. 18.

 

The Battle of the Bulge proved to be one of the largest and bloodiest battles of World War II — one that demonstrated the resolve of the U.S. Army despite being heavily outnumbered and faced with extraordinarily difficult circumstances.

 

In the winter of 1944, Germany was losing the war. The Allies had invaded France in June and were driving the Germans east. But Adolph Hitler, not about to accept his fate, had directed an ambitious counteroffensive as a desperate, last-ditch effort to halt the Allied advance that began six months earlier during the D-Day invasion.

 

He had hoped the offensive to be a turning point of the war in Germany's favor, but ultimately it turned out to be a disastrous mistake that claimed tens of thousands of lives.

 

During its four-week course, more than 1 million soldiers fought the battle: some 500,000 Americans, 600,000 Germans and 55,000 British. Each side lost more than 800 tanks, and the Germans lost 1,000 aircraft.

 

Some 30 Germany divisions launched the counteroffensive in the early morning hours of Dec. 16, 1944, against the Allies in the heavily forested Belgian Ardennes region. Besides being outnumbered, the Americans were taken by surprise, because at the time, the Ardennes was being used as a rest and recuperation area.

 

The front stretched 85 miles along the borders of Belgium and Luxembourg. U.S. units facing the main German offensive included the war-weary 26th Infantry Division, the unseasoned 106th and 99th divisions, the 2nd Division, an element of the 9th Armored Division, and some smaller units.

 

After a two-hour bombardment, the German forces had pushed back the Americans, using the element of surprise, lack of communication, their overwhelming numbers and bitter winter conditions to their advantage.

 

A huge snowstorm also worked against the Allies, who were unable to call in their air power to intervene.

 

On Dec. 22, Hitler sent a message to the acting commander of the 101st Airborne Division in Bastogne, U.S. Maj. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe, calling for his surrender. Despite being outnumbered and surrounded, McAuliffe made his now- famous response to Hitler's request: "Nuts!"

 

Later that day, the skies cleared, reinforcements were airdropped to McAuliffe's garrison, and Allied planes began their attack on German tanks.

 

On Dec. 23, the United States troops began their first counterattack on the southern flank of the Ardennes "bulge." The struggle between the Allies and the Germans continued until Jan. 16, 1944, after the Allies' original line in Ardennes was restored.

 

Military scholars attribute the U.S. victory on the battlefields of Belgium and Luxembourg to small-unit actions, which deprived the Germans of the key commodity they needed to win: speed.

 

On the first day of the attack, the U.S. 99th Infantry Division and 291st Combat Battalion held most of their ground against the German 6th Panzer Army, creating what would become the northern shoulder. Also significant, historians say, was the holding of St. Vith four days beyond the Germans' timetable by the 7th Armored Division, 106th Infantry Division, along with elements of the 9th Armored and 28th Infantry divisions.

 

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill later called the victory at the Battle of the Bulge one of the greatest of the war.

 

But that victory came at a tremendous cost, with the toll severe on both sides of the Atlantic. About 19,000 U.S. soldiers died, and 47,500 were wounded and more than 23,000 missing. The British suffered 1,400 casualties with 200 killed. And the Germans had 100,000 soldiers killed, wounded or captured.

 

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, in telling the story of the Battle of the Bulge last week to troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, called it "part of a struggle that brought freedom to a huge part of the world in Europe and helped make this country much more safe and secure."

 

He told the troops that they're doing the same thing today, 60 years later, and that history will remember them and their sacrifices.

 

"It is a sacrifice that I believe your children and grandchildren will look back (on) and say, you were part of another great generation," Wolfowitz said.

Print this item

  T-4 Chester Yates & Gilbert M Bush
Posted by: angelabchristian - 12-14-2004, 11:03 AM - Forum: LOOKING FOR... - Replies (19)


My father was Gilbert Manny Bush from Trenton, New Jersey. He died on V.E. day 8th May, 1945 in the vicinity of Unna, Germany.

 

Sadly it was a non-battle death, he and two of his buddies drank fuel from the buzz bombs, they apparently were all celebrating the end of the war. All three are buried in Margraten Military Cemetery, the Netherlands.

 

The names of his friends were TEC4 Chester Yates from Illinois and Seargent Frederick Sierks from Nebraska.

 

If anyone knew any of these men or indeed remembers the incident, I would love to hear from them.

 

Many thanks his daughter Angela Bridget Christian.

Print this item