June 10th, 2005.
Seventeen Easy Company veterans are on a journey through Europe. They have
already been in Normandy and today they are staying at a hotel in La Roche,
close to Bastogne.
In the afternoon they
will make a drive on a bus towards Bastogne, close to Bois Jacques (Jack's
Woods) and the Halt Station at the former Bastogne - Bourcy railroad, for the
inauguration of the new Easy Company monument.
The emplacement of the
Monument is very close to the place where
the Germans,
on Thursday 21st December 1944, planned to send the 77th and 78th Grenadier
Regiments along the Bourcy-Bastogne rail line, in the gap between the 506th and
501st PIR's.
At 0830, a 506th patrol, among them Clancy Lyall, discovered
Germans in the woods behind their right flank. After 3 hours of fighting between the Germans and men of the 506th and
501st, the Germans were repelled.
Members of the Tour
were :
Veterans : Rod Bain &
daughter Ella Eaton, Maxwell & Lucy Clark, Jack & Mary Louis Foley, Roy Gates,
Ed & Sally Joint, Don & Irene Malarkey, Bill Maynard + Rose Simms, Earl McClung,
Norm & Lucile Neitzke, Frank Perconte, Shifty Darrel Powers and his son Wayne,
Paul & Shirley Rogers, Herb & Mona Suerth, Amos 'Buck' Taylor, Ed &
Rosalie Tipper, Bill Wingett & brother Ken, Hank & Millie Zimmerman.
Family : Mr. & Mrs.
Sawosko, brother of Carl Sawosko, Tom & Eileen O’Hara, niece of Skip
Muck, Tim & Tatay + Rudy Penkala, nephews of Alex Penkala, Charles
Colvin, friend of Earl McClung, Mr. and Mrs. Mc Gee.
An
impression of the inauguration day.
Early in the morning :
we meet at the hotel in La Roche.
From left to right : Shifty Powers, Earl McClung,
Buck Taylor and Herb Suerth.
After my breakfast with Buck Taylor, I drive to the
Military Base in Bastogne where I have a glimpse at the Nuts Cave where
General McAuliffe wrote the famous 'Nuts' words and after this visit I
join with 2 WBG members at Bois Jacques :
Frank Gubbels and John Kennedy.
This is the Halt Station at Bizory, in front we see the
remains of the former railroad
which was the flank of the 501st and 506th PIR.
The sun is shining, birds are singing and the monument is
waiting to be inaugurated.
It is still very quiet, the seats must be installed, we are about one hour
before the Ceremony.
The woods at right is Bois Jacques, Easy Company positions,
behind the monument there were woods as well and this was the location of
Fox Company.
The Ceremony has started,
Herb Suerth speaks for the vets and the visitors.
In the rear we can see the Bois Jacques.
In the crowd we can see the actor James Madio,
who plays the part of Frank Perconte
in Band of Brothers.
The plates on the Monument have been revealed.
Norman Neitzke reads and takes pictures of them.
Just two days before, the Monument was
not even ready.
Today, it is shining in the sun, it is really beautiful.
The left plate.
The right plate.
After the ceremony John Kennedy and I do a
Tour of the former battlefield.
We decide then to return to the Monument
for a last picture and pick up Johns car,
before driving to La Roche and meet the veterans again.
(Knowing, and feeling, and regretting, this will be probably the last time
and opportunity...)
At the hotel again : funny and long chat in mixed English
and Italian
with the 'real' Frank Perconte... FUN !
