The Ardennes with a BRO Veteran

[Big Pete]

Friday (July 17, 2009), Mark and I took a one-day trip to the Ardennes.

Mark was with the Big Red One and served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He never had been to Belgium before, so it was a nice opportunity to show him some of the highlights.

 

We drove from my home to Bastogne.

At the McAuliffe Square, we saw the newly restored Sherman tank.

It used to have markings of the 4th Armored Division on it (in fact, the 704th TD Bn Association paid for its restoration two years in a row!), but it is nice to see it now has its original markings of the 11th Armored Division again.

This tank bogged down and was ko'd by a Panzerfaust in January 1945.

 

 

General McAuliffe's Memorial.

 

Marker of the "Road to Freedom" that starts at Utah Beach.

 

 

From Bastogne center, we went to the Mardasson Memorial.

 

Before you get to the Memorial, you see this beautiful monument to the 101st Airborne Division.

 

 

From there, we went on to the Peace Woods which sure has grown since the last time I was there.

Almost every tree there is dedicated to a GI.

In the middle, there are markers of every unit that fought in the Ardennes.

And from the air, the woods look like the logo of UNICEF.

 

Here, I looked up the name plate of Thomas Vella who was a Signalman in the 101st Airborne Signal Company.

He got killed in a glider crash not far from my hometown on September 17, 1944.

 

[Jeeper704]

From Bastogne, we drove north to Houffalize.

After having the famous BELGIAN fries (Mark had a hamburger with them), we took a look at the German Panther tank of the 116th Panzer Division.

This tank was found in the nearby river and had the remains of 3 crewmembers still in it.

A highschool friend of mine managed to get in touch with a surviving crewmember of that tank.

The tank needs a paint job and one side has been vandalized with white paint.

 

From Houffalize onwards to Manhay crossroads or "Parkers Crossroads".

Here, a group of Paratroopers, TD crews and infantrymen held off several attacks of the infamous 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich".

A 1942-dated 105mm Howitzer and several monuments commemorate this defense.

 

 

 

We took time to go see the monuments and Panther tank of the 2nd SS Panzer Division at Grandménil.

Here, a monument to the 75th Infantry and 3rd Armored Divisions can be seen across the street from where the Panther sits.

 

[Jeeper704]

Back to the crosssroads and still further north to LaGleize.

The museum was already closed, but it is sure worth a visit.

The King Tiger or "Königstiger" tank of the infamous 1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte A H" still guards the road.

 

This damage was caused when 82nd Airborne troopers tried out several AT-weaponry to see if they would penetrate the frontal armor of this beast ....... they did not!

 

Mark next to the King Tiger.

It gives a pretty good idea of the size of this monster.

 

From LaGleize, we returned through Vielsam.

Here, a Sherman with 7th Armored Division markings is standing (there is also a monument to the 7th further down the road).

 

By nightfall, we ended up in La Roche which is a beautiful town with a gorgeous castle ruin overlooking the town.

 

Here, among other things, a British Achilles Tank Destroyer stands guard.

This unit supported the 51st Highland Infantry Division when they moved up and linked up with the Americans.

 

At 7 minutes before midnight, we were back home.

Tired but happy to have seen what we wanted to see.

 

Sorry if the photos aren't state of the art, I'm no professional photographer and my digital camera isn't of the newest kind.

 

Erwin

[CaptO]

Great photos. I only wish I could visit in the near future. As it looks, it is unlikely I will be there any time soon.

[chambers]

Great photos! It is indeed a privelidge to have all that great history so close to you.

 

thanks for sharing!

[Walt's Daughter]

Dearest Erwin:

 

Enjoyed every post within this thread and thought the photos were absolutely great. From my standpoint, there is certainly nothing to complain about.

 

I really loved the overview of the city; just gorgeous.

 

Thank you and Mark for the tour. I certainly enjoyed seeing the sights and the learning more about the history.

 

As always,

M1

[verow]

Great pictures, as usual, Erwin !

I would go certainly soon also .

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

Vee

[Reg from the Bulge]

Erwin ,

 

Thanks for the post . I wonder what your hometown is ?

 

As for the 101st memorial in front of the Mardasson . It's dedicated to the 101st and ALL ITS ATTACHED UNITS ! Very important !

The artist , Mr Remacle worked on it for one year and the rock was donated by the owner of the quarry east of the Mardasson hill . Some symbols are integrated . The eagle's wings are up to refer to the dove of peace and the paratrooper helmet is upside down to refer to all the blood that has been shed .

 

There's a reason for the funny shape of the beak . The artist finished the sculpture on the spoy. They left the beak connected to the helmet for transportation to make sure the head wouldn't break off ...

 

 

A nice detail is that at the inauguration in sept 2008 , the mayor of Bastogne speeched , partially in english and that speech was carefully revised and corrected by our dear webmaster .

 

Reg

[Walt's Daughter]

Just caught the last line, after reading your post again. Guess that got by me the first time. Hey Reg, you are MOST welcome. Glad I could help!

 

[Jeeper704]

Thanks for al lthe positive comments.

 

I'm glad my post was interesting to you.

 

Well, I'm a little bit envious that you are close to the Civil War Battlefields as that is something that interests me a lot too.

 

Erwin