We traveled the road towards Bastogne and passed the exit to Disneyland in Paris. The tour guide noted, sadly, that Disneyland is the most visited place in Paris.
We had some free time in Bastogne, a lovely town. I saw someone with WVU apparel and stopped and introduced myself. He was from Berkeley Springs WV and was also on a WWII tour. His tour was led by the author Ronald Drez and was part of the Stephen Ambrose tours. Stephen Ambrose is also an author and we actually ordered his D-Day book just two days ago.
I also stopped and talked to an Air Force vet and thanked him for his service. He said "Thank you for saying that, but I didn't do anything compared to the men who fought and died here."
We met our tour guide Roger and he was fantastic. He first explained the war that was fought in Bastogne and then spent considerable time discussing the tank that sat in town. He had obviously immersed himself in the cities history and shared very personal stories from soldiers he had met that had fought in Bastogne and in the Battle of the Bulge.
He took is on a bus tour and we stopped at the Bastogne Barracks. They Barracks are now partially used as a museum and it was fantastic. There were so many historical items there including many vehicles from the war. He also told us the stories of SNAFU and nuts!
He took is to Jacques Woods where battles played out and the miniseries "Band of Brothers" is based on.
Roger told us a story of a soldier he had met that entered one village, entered a house looking for food and took a ham hanging over the stove. He said he heard voices from the basement but he took the ham to share with his troop. Roger then told is the man visited Bastogne 50 years after the war and they together met a women from the village that was 14 at the time of the war. Turns out she had lived in the house and remembered that someone had stolen one of their hams while they hid in the basement. The solider introduced himself as the thief, thanked her, and paid her 10 euros for the ham.
Roger then took us to the monument for those killed in Bastogne and told us about the money and supplies donated and now extra money was used to start a maternity hospital in Bastogne. The memorial is in the shape of a star and you can climb stairs to the top to see beautiful views of the surrounding area.
Upon ending our tour Roger told us how he had adopted a soldier that was killed at 19, Robert Allen Fordyce, and thay by adoption he meant that he would card for his grave and his memory. He then ended up buying property on the site that the soldier was killed. He has promises from his son and grandson to care for the grave after he dies. He recently met the man's sister and she has asked that Roger inherit all that the solider left and has sent him all of Robert Fordyce's personal effects.
Amazing stories about love for those that liberated them.
We travelled to the Ardennes Cemetery but it was closed so were not able to enter.
We then moved on to Spa Belgium to spend the night.
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