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Pw—nt From the Airborne* published hi the De—iher, 1968 la—e of The Static Line and written by Lou Vsrrone covered the Battle of the Bulge. In the article, the 17th Airborne Dhrb •ion's role in the battle is des cribed. “In its (the ITth’s) baptism of firo-axcept for the 507th used with the 82nd in Normandy-the youngest of troopers performed brilliantly in holding a Uns along ‘Dead Man’s Ridge’ which opened and guarded a Baatogne corridor.”
Bob Ingle is another Rappahannock resident who fought at the Battle of the Bulge. Ingle was a first lieutenant with Troop E of the 87th Calvary and Reconaiseance Mechanised of the 7th Armored Division. Troop E was an assault gun troop that used 75 mflHiw. ter Howitzers.
Ingle was among a group of replacement officers that joined the division in Belgium on January 1, 1945. “The division had been placed on the north shoulder of the Bulge with the instructions to hold tbe crossroads at SL Vith for at least 48 hours,” Ingle said. They did, but they sustained heavy losses, and they had to be re-outfitted.”
After the 7th was re-outfitted, the division recaptured St. Vith. Tbe thing I remember the most about that time was the snow and the cold,” Ingle said. That is not surprising since according to The Static Line article Western Europe was experiencing its worst winter in the century during the Battle of the Bulge.
American losses in the battle have been estimated at 76,800, and German losses in lives at 120,000. “AH of the divisions like the tank divisions and engineers worked together in the campaign, and none were more important than the other,” said Johnson.
When the Battle of the Bulge is mentioned, many people immediately think of the classic American Commander’s response of “Nuts” to a German demand for surrender. Perhaps that response is remembered because it typifies the courage and determination that the American fore— displayed during the battle.
All of the lives lost during the battle is the best testament to that courage. “We remember thorn who went before us who paid the supreme sacrifice,” Johnson said. “We all did our duty as we were called upon to do R. Some of us were lucky and we are here, but some of us were unlucky and we miss them.”
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