Post by Carl W. on Aug 4, 2010 8:15:02 GMT -5
A short introduction. Born 43 years after the end of WWII, I was always fascinated by the stories my grandparents used to tell about the dark years of German occupation they experienced here in Belgium and their unimaginable joy as the Allied armies liberated us from the dreaded Nazi’s. Belgium is not a very large country and it still bears the scars of two World Wars. On a school holiday many years back, I First saw the monument dedicated to the 106th division at St. Vith.
My interest in the division had been sparked. When I got a little older I started collecting WWII memoribilia and doing research on the 106th, a division few people had heard of in contrast to other army units that had entered popular culture through video games and blockbuster movies. After reading Charles Whiting’s book “Death of the division” I got a feeling that the division had been put in a bad light. There was more to the 106th than the surrender of the two regiments. That’s one of the reasons I created a website in their honor and started doing research.
The Division bore the brunt of the last major offensive of the German Army in the West and suffered many casualties. The units surrounded in the Schnee Eifel fought valiantly but were victims of elements beyond their control. Other units of the division were fortunate enough to escape from the encirclement and continued the fight on the front lines of the Ardennes. After several days of battle, running out of food, water, ammunition and other vital supplies and after sustaining heavy casualties, the commanders of the trapped regiments made the decision to surrender their troops in order to save lives among the troops. The men would face tremendous hardships in the German Stalags and many more would lose their lives. By holding out in the Schnee Eifel, the troops of the 106th held up the German advance in the Northern Sector long enough for the Offensive to fail. To me, each and every one of them is a hero.
It is by sharing my finds on the “Golden Lion” division and by helping veterans and their families that I would like to give my thanks for the brave men of the 106th and the other units of the US Army and the Allies that helped liberate my country and the rest of Europe from the Nazi tirany. We are forever indebted and grateful for the sacrifices.
Another thing I would like to mention is about my great-grandfather. He was a veteran of both world wars and after surviving the horrors of trench warfare in the Great War, in 1940 he, like many of the 106th division, was captured by the German army. He spent several months in a German Stalag and after the war spoke rarely of his experiences. He died in 1976 and I know very little of his wartime experiences.
It’s therefore that I hope I’m able to pass on some information on this board and being of help to those of you in search of your familymember’s history or merely those of you interested in this division that put up a gallant stand in the Battle of the Bulge, the 106th Infantry Division.
Greetings from Belgium!
Carl
My interest in the division had been sparked. When I got a little older I started collecting WWII memoribilia and doing research on the 106th, a division few people had heard of in contrast to other army units that had entered popular culture through video games and blockbuster movies. After reading Charles Whiting’s book “Death of the division” I got a feeling that the division had been put in a bad light. There was more to the 106th than the surrender of the two regiments. That’s one of the reasons I created a website in their honor and started doing research.
The Division bore the brunt of the last major offensive of the German Army in the West and suffered many casualties. The units surrounded in the Schnee Eifel fought valiantly but were victims of elements beyond their control. Other units of the division were fortunate enough to escape from the encirclement and continued the fight on the front lines of the Ardennes. After several days of battle, running out of food, water, ammunition and other vital supplies and after sustaining heavy casualties, the commanders of the trapped regiments made the decision to surrender their troops in order to save lives among the troops. The men would face tremendous hardships in the German Stalags and many more would lose their lives. By holding out in the Schnee Eifel, the troops of the 106th held up the German advance in the Northern Sector long enough for the Offensive to fail. To me, each and every one of them is a hero.
It is by sharing my finds on the “Golden Lion” division and by helping veterans and their families that I would like to give my thanks for the brave men of the 106th and the other units of the US Army and the Allies that helped liberate my country and the rest of Europe from the Nazi tirany. We are forever indebted and grateful for the sacrifices.
Another thing I would like to mention is about my great-grandfather. He was a veteran of both world wars and after surviving the horrors of trench warfare in the Great War, in 1940 he, like many of the 106th division, was captured by the German army. He spent several months in a German Stalag and after the war spoke rarely of his experiences. He died in 1976 and I know very little of his wartime experiences.
It’s therefore that I hope I’m able to pass on some information on this board and being of help to those of you in search of your familymember’s history or merely those of you interested in this division that put up a gallant stand in the Battle of the Bulge, the 106th Infantry Division.
Greetings from Belgium!
Carl
