60th anniversary celebrations, Bastogne, Belgium: 17-19 December

[Hanno Spoelstra]

From: "TANKSINTOWN"
Subject: BASTOGNE 60th
Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 12:21:22 +0100

Hi to all,
Although i am not directly involved in Bastogne 60th anniversary célabrations, http://www.bastogne.be/60eme/eng/home_eng.htm, I receive many demands of informations . If interested, find below informal program :
This program is only for heavy armored tracked vehicles with rubber tracks . Metal tracks are formely forbiden.

Friday 17 december
0h800 to 18h00 : welcome / unloading in Bastogne Heintz’s barracks
18h30 : convoy with escort to the Parc-Expo
20h00 : musical evening with orchestre

Saterday 18 décember
09h00 : formation of a convoy for Bastogne tank’s battelfields
10H00 : starting to Mande st Etienne, Flamierge, Givry, Bertogne ………
12hoo : crew are transorted to the Parc-Expo for lunch
14h00 : crew are loaded for the second part of convoy
18h30 : return to Parc-Expo for lunch
20h00 : Official célebration of the battle of Bastogne

Sunday 19 décember
10h00 to 12h00 : cocktail with musical orchestre
12h00 : lunch
13h30 : formation of the convoy
14h00 : starting of the convoy to the Mardason Mémorial http://www.bastognehistoricalcenter.be
through Bastogne’s streets.
18h30 : coming back to Bastogne Heintz’s Barracks for loading or parking.

f.e.e : 30€/each for lunchs and night’ lodging. Inscription is obligatory.
If you want more informations e-mail me, i’ll try to know more.
Pierre
TANKSINTOWN PRESIDENT

[cmperry4]

AP wire story reports 300 vehicles are expected to take part in the procession. That should be quite a sight.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

From: "TANKSINTOWN"
Date: Mon, 13 Dec 2004 00:08:57 -0000
Subject: [G104] BASTOGNE 60TH INFORMATIONS


For information has been receive from ABC (club responsible)

Find bemow the new( not last)timing for saterday 18 décember .
Due to the fact that Bastogne do not authorise metal tracks on they roads( what would happend if they have the same position in 1944 ) we organise a ride on the west side of Bastogne .The little city of Bertogne is more friendly and propose to offer a free lunch on saterday 13H00.

*This program is only for heavy armored tracked vehicles ( metal tracks are authorised for the ride to Bertogne – not Bastogne )

Vendredi - Friday 17 december
10h00 to 18h00 : welcome : unloading in Bastogne Heintz's barracks
: Accueil / déchargement à la Caserne Heintz à Bastogne
18h00* : convoy with escort to the Parc-Expo
: Convoi escorté vers le Parc Expo
20h00 : musical evening with orchestre
: soiréé musicale avec orchestre

* metal tracks must unload directly at the Parc-Expo
les véhicules avec chenilles métalliques doivent décharger directement au Parc-Expo.

Saterday 18 décember
07h00 : breakfast
08h00 : formation of a convoy for Bastogne tank's battle`s fields
départ du convoi vers les principaux champs de batailles de chars
- Bastogne –Parc Expo
- Hemroule
- Château de Rollé
- Rouette
- Fays
- Bertogne lunch offer(t)
- Lonchamps
- Champ
- Mande St Etienne
- Senonchamps
14h00 : Return to Bastogne for static display (rubber tracks)
- Return to Parc- Expo for metal tracks

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally posted by cmperry4
AP wire story reports 300 vehicles are expected to take part in the procession. That should be quite a sight.

Maurice and I will be there, we'll try to get pictures of the traffic jams

Hanno

[cmperry4]

Reuters/AP didn't move many vehicle shots - some pics of the veterans, memorials were OK. The best vehicle shot was of a WLA and 101AD Jeep with "Wyoming" below the windshield- do you know them? It sure looks like it rained on your parade, though.

[Maurice Donckers]

Yes you are right , it was raining , but the weather over there changes by the minute. It was snowing on the Friday when we went up there , it got even so slippery that you had to be a circus artist to get on top of the Sherman to climb in . then on Saturday it snowed , rained , and even had hail .
Sunday it would freeze one moment , and afew minutes later snow and ice would melt again .
In total there must have been at least 450 vehicles ( I never saw them all together) many of wich were doing trips around the Ardennes rather than being in Bastogne . Anyway the few in Bastogne already created massive trafic jams .
Anyway I had a good time over there , and am sure Hanno as well , Next time he will take a CMP down there , because he didn`t seem to be happy that at some times the snow ( or rain) was drifting from one side to the other in the jeep he was driving.
The only Canadian vehicles I saw were a Ford "Woody", and a Dodge Tipper in Dessert collor , and not to forget some Canadian Weapon Carriers with with 101st AB markings on .

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Here's a newspaper report on the event - more details later:

Belgian King, U.S. Officials Mark 60th Anniversary of Battle That Crushed Nazi Germany's Final Bid to Stop Allied Advance

By Robert Wielaard Associated Press Writer
Published: Dec 18, 2004

BASTOGNE, Belgium (AP) - Amid snow flurries and a chilling wind, Belgium's King Albert II honored U.S. soldiers who died fighting Nazi Germany 60 years ago in the Battle of the Bulge, the largest land battle for American forces in war.
Veterans from across the United States returned Saturday to find this market town that was at the center of the fighting much as it was on that bitter cold December in 1944 - covered in snow and buffeted by wind.

The old soldiers, wearing military berets and caps, were greeted with warm applause, hugs and kisses from a grateful crowd that lined the streets.

"I'm very happy to see so many people come out for this event," said Miasy Dumont, 68, from nearby Ludelange, Luxembourg. "This is the last time I'm sure. In 10 years there will be no more veterans."

The king, joined by Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, R-Ill, led a commemoration and laid wreaths at the vast Mardasson memorial on the edge of town. The ceremony paid homage to the 19,000 American soldiers killed and about 61,000 wounded in the largest land battle for U.S. forces in World War II. The fighting also claimed 120,000 German lives.

"All soldiers memorialized at this monument are part of the greatest generation," said U.S. Gen. James L. Jones, Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.

After the half-hour ceremony which included a U.S. honor guard from the 101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, veterans were driven by bus from the towering memorial back to the center of town.

Once there, they again enjoyed warm applause from crowds lining the main street to the town square and attended a sound and light show and a parade of World War II vehicles.

The day began with a parade of veterans, marching bands, World War II-era jeeps, trucks and ambulances through Bastogne. The vehicles rumbled past the town's central square, named for Anthony McAuliffe, the acting commander of the 101st Airborne division, whose paratroopers repulsed repeated attacks.

On Dec. 22, 1944, MacAuliffe was given two hours to surrender by the Germans or face "total annihilation." His now famous reply: "Nuts!"

A commemorative throwing of nuts was also to take place at the square.

There were guided walks along the defensive perimeter south of Bastogne that was relieved by Patton's Third Army, which rushed north from France to help defeat the Germans. The battle raged for six-weeks across the Ardennes hills of southern Belgium and Luxembourg, but the market town of 14,000 bore the brunt of the fighting.

"The American veterans who have returned 60 years later to the battle site represent those who gave their lives on our soil so that today we can live free," Bastogne Mayor Philippe Collard said in French at a memorial honoring U.S. General George S. Patton.

He added in English: "we will never forget. You are home here."

Rising out of the Champagne fields of northern France, the Ardennes highlands sweep across southeastern Belgium, cover much of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, then flow into western Germany's Eiffel range.

Sixty years ago, their valleys, trout streams and rolling hills were the scene of Hitler's last gamble. His panzer divisions smashed through the forests, catching the Allies by surprise and driving the front westward in a "bulge" that ran deep into Belgian territory.

There was so much destruction that its impossible to know exactly how many people were killed in action, how many went missing and how many were wounded.

The battle drew in more than a million troops - 600,000 Germans, 500,000 Americans and 55,000 Britons - who fought in bitter cold from Dec. 16, 1944, to Jan. 25, 1945.

The Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge in Arlington, Va., says 19,000 American troops died in the battle.

The Mardasson Memorial on the edge of Bastogne is built on the spot where German artillery bombarded the Americans in the town below, honoring the U.S. forces killed and wounded during the Ardennes offensive.

The memorial bears the names of U.S. Army units that participated in the action as well as the names of the then 48 U.S. States in bronze letters. There is also a plaque bearing a Latin inscription saying: "Liberatoribus Americanis Populus Belgicus Memor," or "The Belgian People Remember Their American liberators."

Source: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBWP1IHW2E.html