When the US entered the war, the US Medical Department had only 1,200 doctors, by D-Day it had 50,000, including 83 women. It also ended up with 15,000 dentists and 2,000 veterinarians. Nurses rose from 1,000 to 52,000. Some drafted and enlisted men became medics (known to the troops as Read more
Bastogne, Belgium was surrounded on Dec. 22, 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge. The Germans had made it a priority to be taken. At 11:30 AM, a group of four Germans approached an American outpost under a white flag. One of them was Maj. Wagner from Gen. von Luttwitz’s Read more
The 333rd Field Artillery Battalion was an African-American (“colored”) unit that landed at Utah Beach in July, 1944. It was commanded by Lt. Col. Harmon Kelsey. Kelsey was not happy with the assignment and was sure the unit would never see combat because it was incompetent blacks. He was Read more
Otto Skorzeny had a scar on his cheek from dueling while in college. He had participated in 15 duels. In 1931, he became a Nazi. After the conquest of Poland, he enlisted as a 31-year-old private in Hitler’s bodyguard. He rose to be a Lt. Col. in the SS Read more
The movie “Patton” made Patton’s prayer famous, but it was not entirely accurate. In December, 1944 Gen. George Patton’s Third Army was in Belgium participating in the Saar Campaign. Patton had become famous for his hard-charging style, but the rain, fog, and floods had stalled his offensive. He was Read more
The Battle of the Bulge famously occurred at Christmastime of 1944. The most remembered moment came when the Germans had Bastogne surrounded and decided to demand surrender. The American general’s response became the most famous one word quote in American History. Here is the message the German commander sent to Read more
Howard Brodie transferred to Europe after doing his first combat art on Guadalcanal (see previous posts). He participated in the Battle of the Bulge and sketched this drawing of a German prisoner executed by firing squad. He could be a member of Otto Skorzeny’s commando unit that was tasked by Read more