By Sharon White
Seventy five years ago on December 16, 1944, over 200,000 German Troops counter-attacked across the front line in Belgium and Luxembourg. U.S. army historical center calls it “the greatest battle in military history”. It became known as “The Battle of the Bulge” because of the large wedge that was driven in the allied lines by the surprise German attack. After D-Day and the “draining Normandy drive,” allied troops believed the worst was behind them. However, Hitler still thought he could turn the tide by regaining the northern Belgian port of Antwerp. It was a battle that lasted until the last battle on January 28, 1945. The battle gained fame not so much for the commanders’ tactics as for the resilience of small units that stood fast in places like Bastogne, Belgium.
Two Friona residents, Dave Thompson and Joe Saiz, have personal stories concerning this battle. They were both in Belgium and participated in the fighting during the bitterly cold winter of 1944. They have stories of being in the middle of the action during the Christmas season.
Dave remembers his unit (part of the 75th Invantry Division) succeeded in holding its position. One of the wounded had a severe wound in his foot. Orders were to “move out,” but Dave and a friend decided they had to do something for the wounded man. Dave carried the man, and his friend carried the three rifles across a valley the size of Friona. They finally found a medical unit and left the man with them. It was dark by then, and they had lost their unit, so they hid in a hay stack (Dave says, “the old fashioned kind”).
All night long they could hear German soldiers driving tanks. For some reason the Germans stopped by the hay stack for a while, and they could hear them talking. Finally, morning came. Dave and his friend were able to get out of the hay stack and eventually find their unit. Days or maybe weeks (Dave is not sure how long), he was marching with his unit when he was called out of rank by a soldier who happened to be cooking something by the side of the road. He outranked Dave, so he did what he said. The man stuck Dave with a knife in his foot he was using, and Dave didn’t feel a thing. He doesn’t know why the man noticed him, but it’s good he did because Dave’s feet were frozen. He was moved to a medical facility in Wales England and eventually back to the states.
Joe’s story begins on a troop train carrying his division to relieve the 82nd airborne division in the Ardennes. He remembers eating in what used to be a castle. Asked if that was Christmas dinner, he indicated that there were no specific days or times to celebrate. They were getting ready for battle. They got up in the morning to wade in knee deep snow, and he was carrying a machine gun. There was artillery flying overhead. They were commanded to “get down”. He didn’t want to “get down” and get wet until the shooting got closer, so he decided it was safer to get wet. Joe likes to talk about the end of “The Battle of the Bulge” and crossing over the Rhine into Germany. He also met up with Russians troops. The women were driving the tanks and the men the trucks. Hanging close to Joe’s bed is a picture of soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge given to him by a son. A plaque proudly proclaims the following: PFC Saiz, Joe R., US Army WWII, 329 Reg., 3rd Batt., 4th squad machine gunner, “Battle of the Bulge”, Jan. 1945.
Dave Thompson
Joe Saiz
