One of the blogs that I try to read has this posted on it and I find it quite humorous and actually accurate. If this is what it takes to get our teenagers to learn history then I guess this is what we will have to start doing; adapting to their lifestyle.

How did the landings go? (answer, badly scattered). How successful were the troops in fulfilling their mission?

The landings were very badly scattered, at least for the Americans, throughout the Cotentin. I believe a big reason for this was the caliber of the pilots and their training. The AAF didn’t use their best pilots to fly the transport planes. The best pilots were flying the fighters and bombers. Also, these pilots were generally not flying over an active combat zone in their transport aircraft. And they definitely didn’t fly over a combat zone at 500 or so ft in thick flak. They weren’t trained well enough to fly in the situation they were put into, so some panicked.

The Airborne troops were very successful in getting their mission done even after the scattered landings. We can list any number of factors that lead to their success. One of the greatest factors, in my opinion, was the caliber of the soldiers and the training they endured. Many have said that the Airborne soldiers were some of the best because they were all volunteers resulting in high individual motivation. To go along with that was the high-level of training they received in small unit tactics. They were expected and trained to fight against an enemy that outnumbered and outgunned them. If I had to pinpoint one key ingredient to their success that would be it. Even though they were scattered and had to form make-shift units they still held their objectives and were key to the success of D-Day; they held the exits from the beaches and they disrupted the German counterattacks.

2. Why were American Army planners, reflecting General Marshall’s strongly held views, insistent upon mobilizing all possible resources and manpower for an invasion of France in 1943? Why, indeed, did Marshall believe that an even earlier invasion attempt (SLEDGEHAMMER) might be necessary?

The US wanted to strike across the channel in 1943 to make a decisive blow to the Germans and march straight through to Berlin. The military strategy was to hit the enemy straight on with overwhelming power and we (the US) had the resources to do it. Marshall and his staff felt that the fastest and only conceivable way to victory in Europe was a cross-channel attack that had a direct line in to Germany. They felt that the actions throughout the Mediterranean were only defensive and would not lead to a direct line to the German heartland and complete victory. 

SLEDGEHAMMER was a plan put together with limited objectives and some called a suicide mission. It would be put in motion to give relief to Russia if their defeat seemed imminent. It could also be launched if we felt a large uprising in France or if we sensed a large revolt happening in Germany.

The attack on Pearl Harbor will never be forgotten by the United States, it was an inexcusable act by the Japanese that brought us into the war. As Americans, it is a very dark day in our history and I personally wish it did not happen as it did and I suspect most Americans feel the same. However, that is a very centralized and narrow view of that event. It does not look at the bigger picture of the world. Hastings statement above showed me that.

For the Americans it was a disaster and a direct blow to our heart and soul. But in the end it really was a miracle blow in favor of the British who were hanging on by a thread. Because of the attack on Pearl Harbor and our Declaration of War against Japan, Hitler declared war on us. This was a turning point in the war in Europe. What if Japan never attacked us and Germany never declared war on us? Would we have stayed out? Would Britain along with the Soviets been able to beat Hitler’s war machine back without us? Just questions that I am pondering which I’m sure many others have.

My own opinion is if Japan did not attack Pearl Harbor we would have entered the war at some point; these events just accelerated our decision. Germany would have eventually made the fatal error of declaring war on us. However, the war would have probably lasted longer.

These words are just my thoughts and me trying to look at a bigger picture of the events of WWII. The men who fought and died at Pearl Harbor are among our first American Heroes of the war.

I am the first to admit that I am not an expert on WWII, especially the Pacific Theater, but I am a enthusiast that wants to learn as much as possible. I thought I already knew quite a bit about the war and something of what our soldiers went through. This book was  a complete eye opener to me as to the pain and hardship that our POWs went through at the hands of the Japanese. The writing of Michael and Elizabeth Norman made me feel at times that I was actually watching these scenes unfold instead of reading them. The style and descriptive writing gave me great visuals that were sometimes very graphic and made me a little angry at times. The authors chose to make this historically fact-filled book a story instead of the normal “cold” historical account that listed the big names and battles. The authors took us through the Battle in Bataan, the Death March, and captivity through the eyes of Ben Steele, a regular Montana cowboy. They also used the regular Japanese soldier perspective for much of the book. Telling the story this way really put a home, heart-felt touch to the horrific events endured by thousands of our POWs. I was able to immerse myself into the story and feel the story and events instead of just read about them. I truly enjoy this type of historical work.

My study and reading has been almost exclusively centered on the European battlefields of WWII. The Pacific was always a Naval battle in my mind and I enjoy reading about the common soldier and how he fought the battle. Now, after reading this book, I am more intrigued about this side of the battle and realize there were just as many “ground pounders” in the jungles of the Pacific as in the forests of Europe. I will seek out further readings.

I will recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the historical and anyone who just enjoys a well written book. Thank you Michael and Elizabeth Norman.

This was Hitler’s last chance of the war to “save some face.” I don’t believe anything the Germans could have done at this point would have won the war for them; they had been fighting too long on too many fronts to have the manpower and resources needed to beat the Allies.

One of Hitler’s objectives of this operation was to try and split the Allied command and this almost worked. Eisenhower gave the British General Montgomery command of the American 1st and 9th Armies on the north side of the operation. This was because communication had been lost between both of these Armies and General Bradley, the American Ground Commander. This decision by Eisenhower was made out of necessity and probably wasn’t an easy one for him to make.  Montgomery had success and in typical Montgomery fashion patted himself on the back and said something to the effect that when the times got tough Eisenhower put him in command. His comments also made it appear that the British had an equal, if not more share of the fighting. The American command took offense to these comments because the Americans had almost a 30 to 1 share of the fighting men. There were other comments, or lack of comments, by Montgomery that didn’t sit well on the American side. He never once praised the efforts of any American General except Eisenhower. Eisenhower got very close to firing Montgomery after these comments but reconsidered and Montgomery did make an apology. So, Hitler was close at achieving this one objective and that was the closest he came to having any type of victory in this offensive.

I have not toured the battle grounds of the Ardennes extensively, although I should since I live so very close.  I have driven through this area many times and each time I have a feeling of amazement that anyone could fight this big of a battle in this area. Several written accounts of the battle are at almost any bookstore you come across but no written word can describe the steep hills, deep valleys, and dense forest that scatter this land. I am lucky that I am driving through this area on the modern Autobahn and paved roads. The soldiers of 1944 didn’t have this luxury plus they had to deal with the worst winter in almost 60 years. To be able to maneuver and fight in this area is incomprehensible to me. I am in the US Air Force and we have combat training that we must go through and every one of us whines and moans when we have to train in the cold or rain. I would like to take some of these whiners through the battle fields of the Ardennes in the midst of winter so they can see and feel how our WWII heroes fought and won so we have the right to whine and moan today.

No one in today’s era of technology and comforts will ever know the sacrifice and hardship endured by the soldiers of this operation. So, my utmost respect and gratification goes out to all the soldiers, Allied and German, that fought the Battle of the Bulge; you are all (with few exceptions) heroes in my mind.

Obviously, by the title of this blog you know that I have a vast interest in WWII. I also have a interest in History, in general. So I usually look at instances like I mentioned above from a historical perspective. I can understand that the German government doesn’t want to publish old Nazi propaganda, I’m sure that part of history is an embarrassment to them. However, I don’t see many other reasons not to allow the publication and reeducation of the public about Nazi Germany. The articles that were being published were from the 1930s so it was during the buildup of the Nazi’s. Reeducating everyone on what was going on in Germany in the 1930s just may help keep another Hitler off the street. We all learn from history; what went wrong and what went right. Study the past and you just may know enough about the future to identify a future Hitler and ensure he doesn’t rise to power before it is too late.

Also, history is nothing more than an account of what happened in the past. Nazi Germany was a dark period in German history that no one wants to repeat. And that is all it is. There are still German citizens around that were part of the Nazi party and fought in the war but that was over 60 years ago; they are no longer the same people. We, as a society, have to stop letting the happenings of yesteryear control our decisions for the present and the future, they should only act as a guide for decision making. We need to use history as a source of information that we can pull from so we can make intelligent decisions about our actions in the future. Banning all material concerning Nazi Germany will not make that part of history go away; it only makes it that much mysterious to those they may have aspirations of being another dictator.

So, I say let the articles be printed and let the public choose whether they read them or not. Why should a democratic government try and hide the past from it’s citizens when that history can do nothing to us except help shape our future. Publish the articles!

Joseph Lucas was born 13 December 1907 in Northbridge, Massachusetts. His parents were Polish immigrants, Roman Luksys and Catherine Paskruba. Joe (as he was called by friends and family) was the second oldest of their six children. They resided in Massachusetts until they moved to Michigan about 1911. Roman and Catherine changed their last name from Luksys to Lucas sometime between 1913 and 1920, more than likely to make it more “American”. Roman died sometime between 1920 and 1924.

Joe, along with his brothers, probably helped out on the family farm so they probably didn’t finish any schooling past the 6th grade.. Joe also worked as a riveter for Ford Motor Company and this is probably where he was working when he met his future wife, Teresa Pakledinaz. They were married on 14 Sept 1935 in Carleton, Michigan. Joe and Teresa had four children throughout their marriage: Elizabeth (1936), Joseph (1937), John (1939), and Nancy (1941).

Joe and Teresa had a falling out sometime at the end of 1942 that led to a divorce on 5 May 1943. The reason for the divorce was probably Joe’s second wife, Thelma Sabol. They were married a little over a month later on 21 June 1943. It was later this year, October 15 to be exact, that Joe entered the US Army. It is not known whether Joe enlisted voluntarily or he was drafted. Most men of his age and his number of children were not drafted, but he may have been. There are many indications that Joe regretted his divorce from Teresa and his marriage to Thelma. First was that in Aug of 1944, Joe removed Thelma as his Beneficiary; he put just his kids names. In addition, in a letter to Teresa, dated 8 Jan 1945 Joe stated that he did not have much use for Thelma anymore. The army may have been Joe’s answer to get away from his problems.

Joe’s indoctrination to the army took place at Camp Grant, Illinois. After that, he was transferred to his permanent unit, the 70th Infantry Division, The Trailblazers

. They were located at Camp Adair, Oregon. He was first with L Company, 275th Infantry Regiment but was later assigned to Battery B, 882nd Field Artillery Battalion. It is not known why he was transferred between units of the 70th. With the 882nd is where Joe would spend his combat time through Europe.

Joe’s unit sailed from Boston on 8 Jan 1945 aboard the USS Mariposa and arrived in Marseilles, France on 18 Jan. From there Joe traveled with his unit through France until they were reunited with the infantry regiments of the 70th ID, 7th US Army. Their first taste of combat was at Diebling, France. The 882nd Field Artillery mainly fired in support of the 274th Infantry Regiment. The 70th ID major battles were fought through Spicheren Heights, Forbach, Stiring-Wendel, and finally crossing the Saar River and taking Saarbruecken thus cracking the Siegfried line and entering Germany. After the battle for Saarbruecken was over, the 70th was put in reserve and their basic duties consisted of mopping up and policing duties. The 882nd Field Artillery was located near Neuhoff, Germany when they celebrated Victory in Europe day on 8 May 1945. The battalion was still on the move and by 11 May, they were moved to Hanau. Battery B, Joe’s unit, was assigned to the village Bischofsheim and then on the 25th moved to the village of Bruchkoebel. Their job was to evacuate that portion of the Hanau Kreis as it was declared a part of the SHAEF (Supreme HQ Allied Expeditionary Forces) security area.

On 26 May, Joe was assigned to guard a food warehouse near Hanau. At approximately 1400hrs, German civilians raided the warehouse compound. Joe’s partner, Pfc John Morris, (according to a predetermined plan) went to the third floor of the warehouse, thinking Joe was right behind him, and started shooting towards the civilians. After most of the civilians had left the area, PFC Morris headed back to the ground floor to round up what civilians were left. He found PFC Lucas laying in a train boxcar, dead. The investigation of the incident found that PFC Lucas was shot through the neck by a round fired by PFC Morris, who was firing in the line of duty. The investigating officer found that there was no fault and the incident was just a misfortunate accident. This all took place 18 days after the war in Europe was over.

Joe’s body was first buried at Margraten on 31 May 1945 at 1640hrs; he was buried in grave 260, row 11, plot DD. His brother, Edward, made the decision that Joe’s final resting place should be overseas. Joe’s final burial would take place on 25 April 1949, where he was laid to rest in plot O, row 6, grave 12 of the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten.

Joe was neither the perfect soldier nor the perfect husband, who is? However, one thing is for certain, Joe loved his children. Elizabeth is the only one that has faint memories of her dad; she was 9 yrs old when he died. Nancy, who was only 3 yrs old when Joe died, has no memory of her dad at all. Back in 1999, when the family finally learned of Joe’s final resting place and the circumstances of his death, a letter was found written by Joe back in January 1945. This was probably the last letter Joe wrote to Teresa and his kids before he died. After Nancy read the letter, she said that at least now she knows her dad loved her. The first line in that letter read “…here’s a big kiss and hug for the children with their daddy’s love.” Moreover, the last line of that letter read, “…with all my love to the kids from their daddy.” Joe loved his kids.

I am at a loss for words to describe my feelings and emotions after visiting the Netherlands American Cemetery and participating in their Memorial Day ceremonies.

It seems that, to many Americans, Memorial Day has become just another Holiday. Most Americans look at it as a day off work and a reason to fire up the grill and have a party. I must say, with deep regret, that I had fallen into that mentality myself. That is not what this day is intended to be. This is a day to remember and mourn those Americans that gave their life in defense of freedom throughout the world. My realization came not at a ceremony in the states but a ceremony and tribute held in another country, the Netherlands. The Dutch people pay more respect to our fallen heroes than I have every seen at any time in the States. The American Netherlands Cemetery is located in Margraten, Netherlands. There are 8301 American Heroes buried there and over 1700 soldiers remembered as missing in action.

I was given the distinct honor of representing the American WWII Orphans Network at the ceremony by presenting a wreath in honor of all those buried there.  I was given this honor because my grandpa, Pfc Joseph Lucas, is buried there. Me and my family visited the cemetery on Saturday, 23 May in order to pay our respects privately to my grandfather and the other 8300 heroes buried there. Much to my grateful surprise it was not to be a private tribute. There were hundreds of Dutch citizens  at the cemetery on Saturday doing the same as my family; paying respect and laying flowers at the graves. I didn’t expect to see so many people of a foreign country paying respect to our US soldiers. My first clue on Saturday was when we drove into the cemetery and saw that the parking lot was so full, they were parking people in the grass along the driveway entrance. However, it wasn’t until the next day at the ceremony that I realized why so many Dutch were there on Saturday.

There were several speeches given during the ceremony but the most respectful and emotional were the ones given by the Dutch representatives. They talked of freedom, respect and sacrifice. Their words were directed to the heroes buried at the cemetery and their families; for it was their loss that gave freedom back to the citizens of the Netherlands. It has been 65 years since WWII ended and we are into the 2nd and 3rd generations of those that fought and lived through that war. Regardless of the years that have past since that epic war, each generation of the Dutch was represented throughout the weekend. On Saturday I saw Dutch of all ages placing flags and flowers at the graves which they have adopted. These same people flooded into the cemetery on Sunday for the official ceremony. Sitting in my spot among the other wreath layers, I looked to my left and right and all I could see was a sea of people watching and listening to the ceremony. I looked out beyond the crowds and into the plots of the cemetery and there were hundreds of people still walking around the graves paying their respects. I have never seen such a tribute to our fallen soldiers as I saw this past Sunday in Margraten.It wasn’t just the Dutch that attended the ceremony. As we parked our car and walked through hundreds of other parked cars at the cemetery I noticed license plates from Belgium, France, Germany, and Luxemburg.  These people lived through the tyranny that overtook Europe 65 years ago and they will not forget those that gave their lives in the name of freedom.

I will no longer look at Memorial Day as just another holiday and I will no longer attend parties and barbeques on this day. For the next 3 years, while I’m in Europe, I will attend the ceremonies at Margraten and the other American cemeteries in Europe. I will use the weekend to pay tribute and remember those that paid the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom of the US and other countries of the world.

We took a long weekend mini-vacation to the Netherlands American Cemetery for their Memorial Day services. On the way I couldn’t pass up the chance to stop at the scene of the Malmedy Massacre. We hit Lignueville and followed the path, in reverse, of CCR (7th AD) and Pieper’s Battlegroup. I was pleasantly surprised to find the Baugnez 44 Historical Center, newly opened in 2007, right next to the field of the massacre. Our first stop was the memorial to the 86 Americans murdered that infamous day back in December 1944. The memorial is much larger than I expected and fairly well kept with an American flag as it’s center piece. We looked over the memorial, took some photos, and I explained the events of that day to my wife. It looks much different now than it must have looked back in 1944 but I could pick out Pieper’s route and the approximate location of the 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion vehicles when the short battle started.

We then went over to the historical center. We are a family of 5 and it cost us 15 Euro for admission (not bad, I thought). The museum is loaded with original artifacts that were found in the area, both American and German. There are several life-size diorama’s and mannequins set up in scenes that seem very authentic to the times. Most impressive to me was the thousands of artifacts from helmets and uniforms, weapons, and both German and American insignia and medals; most showed the wear of battle.

It was a short trip but after studying the events of December 17, 1944 over the last month it was very enlightening to me to see the actual site and also the terrain that our American heroes and Peiper’s Battlegroup had to traverse and fight in. I plan on making a longer trip to explore much more of the Ardennes battle in July and I will make another trip to the Baugnez crossroads.

The photos above were taken during this trip. The flags are outside of the Historical Center and the field is the actual site of the massacre.