Staff Sergeant Albert D. Dian

Cannon Company, 318^th Regiment,

80th Division wrote:

 

“The time was December 24, 1944.  The Battle of the Bulge was very much in doubt.  We were located in Luxembourg north of the capital.  About the 14th or 15th of December, we were poised near Saarebourg in France for a big push by Patton's Third Army to pierce the West Wall, the 80th Infantry Division moved at night, in a convoy, to help stem the tide of the Wehrmacht offensive.  As we moved northward, the temperature kept dropping, and we experienced the first snow of winter.  Arriving in Luxembourg City about dusk, lo and behold, the streetcars were running and no blackout was in effect.  What a strange scenario!  Artillery and machine gun fire were audible in the distance.

 

Proceeding to an area near Mersh, Luxembourg, we halted for a few days.  The ground was almost too frozen to dig in but the snow was deep enough for insulation at night, enabling us to get a warm night’s sleep.

 

Somewhere about the 20th, we moved northeast toward Diekirch and Ettelbruck.  On our way, we encountered our first Nebelwurfers - the "screaming meemies" - multiple rockets fired at us with an eerie sound that was terrifying.  At the same time, the walking wounded of the 28th Infantry Division was moving to the rear while we were advancing to take the positions they had held.

 

We passed by a typical guardhouse, the same type you see in old movies with guards in their comic opera uniforms.  As we approached the guardhouse, the Nebelwurfers came raining down and the sentinels disappeared: "tout de suite" in the direction of the castle of the Grand Duchess in Colmar-Berg.

 

Proceeding to our designated area, we dug in our guns.  Although an infantry company, the Cannon Company had six 105-millimeter howitzers designed to give the infantrymen ahead of us close support.

 

We set up our command post in an abandoned farmhouse and started to run our telephone lines to gun platoons.  The weather for days had been miserable - poor visibility for our air force.  This was probably the greatest advantage the Wehrmacht had, since they moved so rapidly on terrain they knew so well.  Somehow (maybe a break in the clouds) our position was revealed to the German forward observer and we started to get hostile fire on our headquarters.  Glass and mortar through the window made it expedient for us to retire to the potato cellar below the house.

 

Lo and behold, as we peered into the darkness, a mother, father, and a tiny baby was huddled there, terrified.  We could only communicate with sign language.  Their native language was a patois of French and German hard to understand.  We shared cold rations with them for several days until our kitchen truck could move up to a safe area and provide us with hot chow.

 

Mail finally caught up to us and I had a package from one of my sisters in Cleveland, OH.  She had read about how the little children in war-torn France, Holland and Belgium would not have gifts of any kind for Christmas.  She didn't even know that I was in Luxembourg at the time.

 

Christmas Eve came.  It was cold, no stars, and cloudy weather.  Despite legends to the contrary, guns were still audible, both sides.  I finally opened the package and it was an assortment of small, cheap trinkets.  I believe my sister hoped I would distribute them to some orphanage.

 

By candlelight, I started to give the little boy "Edie," the name I best remember.  At each gift, the mother and father would cry and thank me with gestures.  Was this reenactment of the "Holy Night" in Bethlehem many years ago?

 

I know now how the Wise Men of old must have felt, since this tiny babe also lay in a bed of hay, smiling.  Perhaps the Angels were smiling from on high.  I like to think so.

 

Before falling asleep, we said our silent prayer, "Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward Men."”

 

Return To Mr. Murrell’s Main Page

 

The Book Contains Much More Of The Stories Of The Men

Of The 80th Infantry Division World War Two

Order Your Copy Today! 

To Order Send $25.00

(US postage paid.  Add $5.00 per book outside the US)

To

Robert T. Murrell

630 Penna. Ave., Oakmont, Pa. 15139-1574

412-828-7651 Fax: 412-828-7651 E-mail: divinf801@verizon.net

 

Please Note:  All proceeds from the sale of this book go directly to the author.  This website, and it’s parent company Opinicus Publishing Company are in no way involved, nor profit from this book.  We offer it here only as a public service to our readers.  If you have any questions or comments, please direct them to the book author.

 

 Return To TheTroubleshooters.com Main Page

 

By visiting this site, you agree to the terms and conditions

of our Visitor Agreement. Please read. Privacy Policy

© 2005 Opinicus Publishing Company-All Rights Reserved

Email: webmaster@thetroubleshooters.com