This was taken from an editorial page (thanks for pointing this out Jim Hennessey)

U.S. paid high price to push back Hitler

December 16, 2004

Our position is: Americans must never forget sacrifices made by U.S. soldiers in World War II's bloodiest battle.

The Belgian people remember well the price paid by U.S. soldiers who stopped the onslaught of German troops in the biggest and bloodiest battle of World War II, which began on this date 60 years ago.

Neither should Americans forget the Battle of the Bulge, a surprise attack that was Hitler's last chance to reverse the Allied advance that began in Normandy on D-Day. More than 76,000 Americans were killed, injured or reported missing during fierce fighting and harsh winter conditions from Dec. 16, 1944, to Jan. 28, 1945.

The Germans, far outnumbering U.S. troops, hoped to seize the port of Antwerp in order to split U.S. and British forces. Through the battle, Americans faced a barrage of tank and artillery fire in the Ardennes forest of Belgium and Luxembourg. The fight got its name from the German advance to the "bulge" in the Meuse River. In the town of Bastogne in southeast Belgium, U.S. troops led by Gen. Tony McAuliffe, commander of the 101st Airborne, held the line until reinforcements arrived.

During a recent interview with The Star's John Strauss, state Rep. Ben GiaQuinta of Fort Wayne, an Army private who served on a machine-gun crew during the battle, remembered the bitter cold and narrow escapes from death: "I saw a lot of guys get killed right around me."

Fred A. Woodress of Muncie, a 20-year-old Army private with the 87th Infantry in 1944, says he will say a silent prayer today "for our 18-, 19- and 20-year-old friends who left their lives in Belgium acing Hitler's last gamble."

A star-shaped memorial outside of Bastogne honors the Americans who fought 60 years ago. And in a nearby museum visitors' book, CNN reports, a simple message from Erica Flegel of Indiana reads: "Thanks, Granddad." We share in saying thanks to those who fought.