Bastogne, Belgium

 

All the students in my program boarded the bus at 7:30 am and we made a 2 1/2 hour drive to Luxembourg - I slept the whole way.  We stayed in Luxembourg for about an an hour - we went just to see the American War Cemetery and Memorial.  This is also where General Patton was buried.  

Brothers were buried next to each other.

There is one woman buried in this cemetary.

Anyone who was Jewish (of course didn't have the cross) had a stone in the shape of the Star of David.

 

Most of the interred died during Battle of the Bulge (WWII) Winter 1944 to Spring 1945.  The cemetery is in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg which also served as headquarters for

General George Patton's U.S. Third Army. 

 

Bastogne is located in the Wallonian region of Belgium.  Above you can see where it is in relation to Brussels.  It took place in the Ardennes Mountains area.

 

We had a great tour guide for the cemetery - here he's pointing to the map which is found at the cemetery. After seeing the memorial we drove 45 minutes back North to Bastogne.

 

Bastogne was originally liberated in 1944 by the Allies but then attacked again by the Germans almost immediately after - Hitler's plan was to take complete control of the Ardennes.  After General Patton's arrival and attack at Normandy they headed towards the Ardennes to liberate Bastogne.  Below is one of the end trail markers of Patton's path that he took from Normandy to Bastogne - they put these markers  up only a few years after WWII ended (They go all the way from Normandy to Bastogne).  The trail is called Voie de Liberte (Liberty Way).

 

Battle of the Bulge is known to be the bloodiest battle for U.S. during WWII.  It was such a surprise attack that it has come to be one of the most recognized and idolized battles.  When the American War Memorial and Cemetery in Luxembourg City was built there were THOUSANDS of people who visited everyday.  They especially were attracted to General Patton's gravesite - many were there to thank him and honor him for what he did.  Due to the number of visitors it was decided to build another memorial for General Patton - this one is found below - it is located in Bastogne.

 

The town of Bastogne is EXTREMELY tiny.   But at almost every crossroads there's some sory of artillery pieces or memorial piece.  Also within the town is a great museum which gives you detailed background on WWII and Belgium's involvement.  Below is the area around Bastogne - lots of open land.

 

 

After touring Bastogn we visited the Historical Center Memorial - 101s E-Company.  

Pictures below.

   

 

The names of all fifty states are found on the memorial (Even thought only 48 were official at the time).

 

We climbe dthe winding staircase and had a beautiful view of the area.  There were lots of windmills scattered int he distance (lots were seen on the bus ride to Bastogne also).

 

Below is me with "Vermont!"

 

and me with "New Hampshire!"

 

We have a very large program but no one comes from Vermont or New Hampshire (or goes to school in either one). 

Below is another memorial - this specifically dedicated to the men of E-Company of the 101st.  They became most well known after the HBO television series, "Band of Brothers", came out. 

 

Below - Tom Hanks!

 

A couple hundred yars away from the memorial, we walked into the Ardennes forest and saw the fox holes which E-Company dug and used when they faced the Germans.

 

At this point in the day everything looked calm and peaceful - it was so incredibly hard to picture the war taking place at that very spot.

 

The entire setting so so incredibly moving.  Nothing had been touched - it was nature sharing history with us - it was such a different feeling than being in a museum or a memorial.

 

There were no words to describe the feeling when you entered the woods.  Some students were extremely excited and jumped in the fox holes, pretending to hold guns as they crouched down to pose for a picture.  I didn't feel comfortable doing anything of the sort.  It almost felt like I was trespassing - all I could htink about was how much blood was lost in that exact place I was standing. The feeling was really just indescribable.

 

I finally climbed into a foxhole with Tina and took a picture - I felt disrespectful smiling though...

 

Above is the view hen you leave the forest.  This looks out upon the small village of Foy where the Germans advanced from. Our tour guide was amazing.  He had a thick French accent.  He lived through the war, along with his family.  He was born and raised in Bastogne so his family was one of the many who were forced to house and feed Germans in their home before the town was liberated.

 

Above is another scenic picture.  

Our tour guide told us about how he remembers when the Americans liberated Bastogne and how thankful everyone was.  The soldiers brought them food and supplies - he remembers them bringing gum and, no one ever having tried gum, they didn't understand what to do it with it.

 

Above is the road our bus took through a part of the Ardennes forest.

Our tour guide told us a story about when the Germans got lice and therefore everyone in Bastogne had lice.  At first his fmaily tried to take all the German's uniforms and put them in the oven to kill the lice.  But he said everyone still had the eggs nested on themselves so only a few days later the lice would be back. He said, to kill off the lice completely the would go to a cleansing station and be sprayed down with DDT - he went on to explain that they of course didn't know at this point how bad DDT was for you.

 

More scenery and windmills, above.

Below is the Germany War cemetery.  This was smaller but each soldier here did not have their own maker.  There were six soldiers buried to each marker.