Fayetteville Man to Return to Belgium for Battle of Bulge Anniversary-- Part 1: Parachute Gifts

From the March 26, 2014, Goldsboro (NC) News-Argus "Fayetteville man to return to Belgium to recall WWII jump" by AP.

Everett"Red"  Andrews has perhaps the last parachute used at Bastogne,  "They filtered through the last wisps of lingering fog, brightly colored early Christmas packages in the middle of smoke and flames of hell.  First Lt. Everett "Red" Andrews was among the young men ordered to scramble over hard-frozen fields to gather the gifts sent to keep them alive and fighting."

This December Andrews plans to return to Bastogne on the anniversary of that Christmas drop which helped save the famed 101st Airborne Division which was completely surrounded by Germans during their Battle of the Bulge attack.  Even more important , he will be bringing with him one of the last surviving working-shape  parachutes from that drop.

Everett Andrews, 93, says he won't be jumping out of any planes, however.  But, he was a young soldier from Kankakee, Illinois, with a shock of red hair which gave him his nickname.  In mid-December 1944, his artillery unit  was ordered to take up a position just north of a Belgium town named Bastogne and he found himself in one of the biggest and most desperate battles of the war.

Reliving the Past.  --GreGen

Deaths: There When Gen. McAuliffe Made His Famous Reply-- Part 2

The 101st was essentially surrounded, outnumbered and running out of supplies and ammunition. McAuliffe's first response to the request was "Nuts!" Another officer present suggested he use it in his official written response.

McAuliffe wrote, "To the German commander. Nuts! From the American commander." and gave it to the Germans.

The 101st held on and the Germans were eventually forced to retreat but the arrival of the rest of the Allied Army.

Mr. Vicari on why the reply was "Nuts:" McAuliffe simply did not curse. He's the only general I came across, and I met them all--Patton, Eisenhower, Montgomery, Brradley-- and he was the only general who didn't use profane language."

Now that is some great history.

Mr. Vicari died December 5, 2011, at age 92.

--GreGen

Man Spends Time in WWII Foxhole

From the December 17, 2011, TwinCities.com Pioneer Press "Cambridge man thanks WWII soldiers--from his backyard foxhole" by Sarah Horner.

There is just something about camping out during a Minnesota winter that isn't very appealing. 

But Scott Schmitt,41, is going to spend nine nights in his backyard foxhole accompanied by a couple Army blankets, a musette bag, paratrooper boots, web paratrooper gear, helmet, a tan-green M42 uniform, a wool-lined coat, a 75 mm shell casing to relieve himself, an entrenching tool, M-1 Garand rifle and a few other things.

The rifle is loaded though and he will probably use the shell casing.

He is trying to replicate the conditions the members of the 101st Airborne lived through during the 1944 siege of Bastogne in Belgium.  That winter was the coldest in that country in 40 years and the Americans were still wearing winter uniforms.

A Fitting Way to Honor Their Sacrifice.  --GreGen

Lt. Gen. Harry W.O. Kinnard

This man led quite a history during WW II. He was at Pearl Harbor and fired a machine gun at Japanese planes. Later, he parachuted into France during D-Day as a member of the newly formed 101st Airborne, but became the most famous for his role in the Battle of the Bulge.

Born sometime in 1915, he died Jan. 5, 2009, at the age 93. He graduated from West Point in 1939 and retired from the Army as a Lt. General in 1969.

At the Battle of the Bulge, he was present at US hq at Bastogne, Belgium, when 4 German couriers arrived with the demand to surrender in two hours or be annihilated. Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe, upon hearing the demand, laughed and remarked, "Us surrender! Aw, nuts," and then was wondering how he should respond.

Kinnard suggested, "Why don't you just say nuts!" McAuliffe then scribbled the reply, "To the German commander. Nuts!! The American commander."

On the way back to their lines, American officers explained to the puzzled Germans that "Nuts!" meant "Go to Hell."

The 101st then held out for four more days before the siege was lifted.

In the 1960s, Kinnard developed the Army's helicopter air assault concept at Fort Benning which was used so successfully in Vietnam.

One of teh Greatest. -GreGen