In 1975, Sam and I, newly married, lived in a small village in West Germany called Hefersweiler. It lay just north of Kaiserslautern, a city that had the largest concentration of Americans outside the continental United States at that time. This was due to the huge American Army base, Vogelweh, and other auxiliary bases in the region.
Our apartment was the bottom floor of a large new 3 level home built by our friends, Mijo and Bezika Malovic. Originally from Croatia, they had established a successful timber company. Sam and I did not really know our German neighbors very well, so we invited a couple over for coffee one evening. One memory of our conversation remains vivid in my mind. Our neighbor described how, as a young boy in 1945, he watched soldiers approaching in the distance. He said,
It was a happy day when we saw the Americans coming down the road.
The soldiers he saw that day were carrying out Operation Undertone, a massive
assault by the American and French armies in March 1945. Coming over the hill were men from XX Corps commanded by Major General Walton H. Walker, part of General George S. Patton’s Third Army. Operation Undertone was significantly assisted by operations of the Third Army that overran German lines of communication, cleared Wehrmacht defenses, and pushed to the Rhine within 10 days.
There have been untold numbers of people in this world over the past 100 years who have been thankful, so very thankful, to see American soldiers coming their way. Today is the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day. It was originally established to commemorate the end of World War I – the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. In 1954 it was renamed Veterans Day. And I thank God with all my heart on this day for all those who have served this blessed country. And I pray for the men and women who continue to stand on the wall and defend our liberty.
Here is a moving 5 minute tribute posted by a high school student I think will touch your heart.
First published 11/11/18