It Came to Pass

(Source)

Perhaps my favorite carol is the "The Christ Child's Lullaby." This carol comes from the north of Scotland, from a small, remote area called Moidart. Its Catholic priest, Fr. Ranald Rankin, penned the lyrics for Midnight Mass around the year 1855.¹

I first heard it on a CD, Highland Christmas, given to me by my nephew some years ago. Of all the lovely tunes on that wee disk, "The Christ Child's Lullaby" nearly always brings tears to my eyes with its haunting beauty.

On this Christmas Day, I will not write of war and death, but will give you this simple offering of music and scripture. I wish you all a most blessed Christmas and love and peace in the New Year ahead. Please follow that link under the opening graphic, it leads to an article titled, "The Terrible Beauty of His Birth." Something I never really considered, but what the author has to say is profound. At least I thought so.

Now the music, this version is in Gaelic and English -

This version is in English, listen to the words, they haunt my soul.

Christ Child Lullaby - Fr. Ranald Rankin

My love, my pride, my treasure oh

My wonder new and pleasure oh

My son, my beauty, ever You

Who am I to bear You here?

The cause of talk and tale am I

The cause of greatest fame am I

The cause of proudest care on high

To have for mine, the King of all.

And though You are the King of all

They sent You to the manger stall

Where at Your feet they all shall fall

And glorify my child, the King.

There shone a star above three kings

To guide them to the King of kings

They held You in their humble arms

And knelt before You until dawn.

They gave You myrrh and gave You gold

Frankincense and gifts untold

They traveled far these gifts to bring

And glorify their new born King.

(Source)

The following carol I discovered while looking for those videos above. Alison Krauss sings like an angel and Yo-Yo Ma is truly a master. Ladies and gentlemen, "The Wexford Carol" -

Now it came to pass in those days, there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrolment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to enrol themselves, every one to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David; to enrol himself with Mary, who was betrothed to him, being great with child. And it came to pass, while they were there, the days were fulfilled that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son; and she wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds in the same country abiding in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people: for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this is the sign unto you: Ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased.

And it came to pass, when the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing that is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger. And when they saw it, they made known concerning the saying which was spoken to them about this child. And all that heard it wondered at the things which were spoken unto them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, even as it was spoken unto them. - Luke 2:1-20 (ASV)

¹ Source

The "Value" of Christmas

 

We all need Christmas, especially this year.  After a relatively joyless 2020, or at least one in which joy was overshadowed by disease, sacrifice, missed celebrations, and distant families, we need the happiness that comes from the Christmas season even more this year.

But it’s not the lights, the gifts, Santa and his workshop, or some of the other commercialized aspects of the holiday that we need.  It's the center of gravity, the actual reason for the season- Christ himself that we need to help us close out 2020 and begin again with 2021.

COVID infections and illnesses are filling up the ICU beds around the US, with California at 100% of beds filled, and the rest of the country well over 60% use rate on average.  This fact, and the discussion about who should receive the limited number of vaccines first, has again raised the dangerous and evil specter of considering someone’s value to society to determine how we apportion healthcare. 

You may remember it back when Obamacare was being debated, and Sarah Palin was famously mocked for claiming there would be death panels for our elderly.  It was due to the ACA’s mention of end-of-life care*, and the potential requirement for rationing of care in a system which has to allocate scarce medial resources.  While the ACA didn't specifically establish those panels, it makes sense.  Those in charge of the rationing, especially if a universal health care system was to come about, would have to determine who are the haves and have-nots for care.  With people given the power and the responsibility to dole out a somewhat limited commodity of healthcare services, while also reducing costs and improving the level of care, there’s no doubt that someone’s intrinsic value would be a factor in that decision.

And while Palin was criticized, President Obama essentially furthered the idea:

“In 2009, then-president Barack Obama said that “the chronically ill and those toward the end of their lives are accounting for potentially 80 percent of the total health care bill out there.” He called for “a conversation that is guided by doctors, scientists, ethicists. And then there is going to have to be a very difficult democratic conversation that takes place.” The interviewer did not ask him to elaborate, but Obama’s reference to a “difficult” conversation implies his preferred solution to the “problem” of high health spending by chronically ill patients.                                                                                          Source

"A very difficult democratic conversation."  What could that possibly mean?  I can read between the lines with that as well as you can- tough decisions on who we care for.  Fast forward a decade and we have this excerpt from the same article:

“Six years ago, Zeke Emanuel, recently named to Biden’s coronavirus task force (Chanters- he also worked for Obama), famously wrote an essay that The Atlantic entitled “Why I Hope to Die at 75.” In a 2019 interview, he disclaimed responsibility for the article’s title, but not its sentiments. He then asked a provocative question surrounding the elderly: “whether our consumption is worth our contribution.” This naturally raises concerns about the government’s involvement in difficult decisions regarding end-of-life care.”                                                                                                                             Source

He went on to question what the elderly do later in life, in retirement, in their golden years, that is not "meaningful." 

“when I look at what” people over 70 “‘do,’ almost all of it is what I classify as play. It’s not meaningful work. They’re riding motorcycles; they’re hiking. Which can all have value – don’t get me wrong. But if it’s the main thing in your life? Ummm, that’s probably not a meaningful life.” 

 Apparently, he feels that since they aren’t working and paying taxes, or some other completely subjective qualifier, they aren’t of qualitative value to society. 

That’s some of the most BS social awareness PC crap I’ve ever read- a guy advocating for some sort of “Logan’s Run” idea of Carrousel, where folks go for termination after reaching a certain age, himself included.  Not to put words in his mouth, but he’s essentially stating that older people should just die for the greater good of society, or at least not receive required care because they "don't deserve it."

And where does that end?  Sarah Palin was prescient in her warnings, foreseeing a society that no longer reveres and cares not only for its elderly, but the weak and infirm, and the mentally disabled as well.  We already don't care enough about the unborn.  She has her whole heart in this issue, as she has a son with Downs Syndrome.  With my own son being Autistic and dependent on social services, I too have great concerns about such speech.

Who is he to judge?  Who are we to judge?  We’re not.  Not even close, in fact it's just the opposite. 

Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” Psalm 82:3-4

If someone was to advocate withholding care from the elderly, or that a person of limited mental capacity wasn’t living a life with meaning and thus deserving of care, I would immediately characterize them as one of the wicked described above- as Godless humans who have a very cold soul, who are no where near any path to righteousness.  Special place in hell as the saying goes.

In my church, and by that I don’t mean my little neighborhood parish we attend, but the entire Catholic Church in the US, has suffered from declining attendance over the past 10 years or more.  Some of it is due to the clergy sex abuse scandal, some due to the stance on gay marriage, some people just gradually drifted away.  It’s happening in other religions as well, but not nearly so great as among Catholics, with 1 in 3 baptized Catholics having left the church, 79% of them leaving before age 23, and 50% of Millennials raised Catholic no longer identifying as Catholic today.

With that loss, there comes a breach in the very foundation of our society, in the moral fiber that makes up our laws, our behaviors, and in how we look upon others in society.  Now don't get me wrong.  I don’t believe that a person has to have religion in their life to be a good and moral person, but I've found that can help center you, make you better aware of the expectations we have of ourselves, of our responsibility to others we live near and encounter, and our need to help maintain that moral fabric of society.  I would say that the earlier quotes regarding care are not coming from any sense of religion, but one of bean-counting liberal "wokeness" that is truly deaf to the cries of those residing in the portions of society that are not like them.

With COVID numbers spiking daily, and our elderly remaining the most vulnerable to it, having the limited supply of vaccines going to them first, along with our front line health care workers, makes tremendous sense.  It is common sense, unless you are like Pres. Obama or Zeke Emmanuel who would rather pose dangerous questions about their value to society.  Why young politicians like Rep. Ocasio-Cortez are first in line for the vaccine is astounding, hypocritical, and pathetic.  I guess it’s like Orwell’s Animal Farm, where some pigs are more equal than others. 

Yes, we need the Christ part of Christmas even more this year, to help us re-center ourselves on what is most important, on Jesus’s universal teachings (ones that are good even if you don’t believe in him as your savior), and on the joy that is a magnificent baby coming into the world.  We need to trust in the promise that comes from Jesus’s birth, that we need not worry as God has his plan and we only need to look to Him in times of doubt and uncertainty.

I will be celebrating His birth here at home, then rushing up to Southern Oregon to see another new baby, our Great Nephew Declan Randal Logan on my wife's side, born the same day as Sarge's progeny's progeny.  His father is active duty Army so I will enjoy sending some lighthearted ribbing  his way.

Merry Christmas everyone- from Tuna, the Missus, Minnow and the Artist.

*later dropped from the final bill

A Quick Note

Granddog Bear is so excited...

Well actually, she and her sister Kodi were pretty excited when The Missus Herself and Your Humble Scribe touched down in Maryland on Tuesday, 22 December, at approximately 1615 local time.

We're visiting The Nuke and her tribe for Christmas. It's gonna be fun!

Regular posting will resume on Thursday, as for myself...

Time for a Guinness, then a long nap.

Be well.

Cheers!

The Slow Crawl

(Source)

"We're getting slammed L.T., Jenkins has already lost four men, we've got Kraut infantry coming through the woods to our left AND right, and we've got tanks on the main road, supported by infantry in halftracks. Stump wants to know if we should hold or bug out. If we hold, we're dying where we stand." Pvt. Riley Taggert delivered that message in one drawn out gasp. He had run the entire way to the platoon CP which was roughly 250 yards back from 2nd Platoon's road block.

2nd and 3rd Squads were holding that position while 1st Lt. Nate Paddock held Sgt. Jack Wilson's 1st Squad in reserve. Paddock thought for a moment, as he was about to speak, Pfc. John Myerson handed the radio headset to Paddock, "Cap'n Palminteri's on the line L.T.!"

"Charlie One Leader, send!" Paddock was a little more abrupt than usual, he had multiple balls in the air and things were getting way too complicated.

"Nate, head to your rally point, now! 1st, 3rd, and Weapons platoons are getting slammed by SS tanks and infantry south of the lake. If you stay where you're at, you'll be cut off. Move now! Charlie Leader, out."

Paddock looked at Taggert, "Tell Stump and Greg to get the Hell out of there. Fall back to Berg! Go!"

(Source)

Leutnant Stefan Berger in Panzer 111 was low in his cupola, the Amis were supposed to be just up ahead according to former Unteroffizier Oskar Schwarz, whose encounter with the Americans earlier that morning had cost him his rank, and probably his life. Berger remembered well the scene which took place with Major von Lüttwitz, Oberleutnant Köhler, commanding the reconnaissance unit, and Schwartz.

"Is there anyone in your unit who can obey orders, Oberleutnant Köhler? Do they, and perhaps you yourself, not understand what observe, but do not engage means?" the Major was furious, though he kept his voice low, his words were clipped and precise.

Köhler, for his part, did not answer, he knew the Major's question was rhetorical. Instead, he bowed his head and said, "If you wish to have me arrested for this failure, Herr Major, I understand. If my men have failed in their mission, that is my fault, my responsibility."

Von Lüttwitz stood there for a moment, then said, "Oberleutnant Köhler, you are dismissed. Go back to your unit and prepare to move out. You will bring up the tail of the column as your unit's usefulness is somewhat in question. As for this man..."

Von Lüttwitz walked over to Schwartz and ripped the epaulettes from his tunic. "You are under arrest. You apparently cannot obey orders, therefore you should have no right to give orders. Spieß!!"

Hauptfeldwebel Klaus-Peter Keller and Grenadier Günther Löwe came into the room. Löwe had his bayonet affixed to his rifle. Keller spoke.

"The Feldgendarmerie are outside, Sir. They are ready to transport the prisoner."

"Very well, get this man out of my sight. We have a battle to fight! May God have mercy on your soul, Schwartz, I doubt the Wehrmacht will..."

Berger saw the American bazooka team just in time. So did his radioman manning the bow machine gun. A quick burst caused the rocket the Amis fired to streak overhead. On the radio he informed Leutnant Manfred Sauer behind them in the lead halftrack what was happening.

Sauer had his 1st Gruppe disembark and deploy. Unteroffizier Köhler had his men on line and advancing under the cover of Grenadier Hermann Groß's machine gun fire. Köhler and Sauer were both in foul moods. Sauer because his cousin had been killed in action as a result of a man disobeying orders, Köhler because the man who was responsible for Theo Sauer's death was in his son's unit. The unit which now brought up the tail of the column in disgrace.

Shortly after the 1st Gruppe was moving, the vehicle carrying Unteroffizier Wolf Schneider's 2nd Gruppe had moved up, they too quickly deployed and began to maneuver on the Ami's other flank. If the Amis stayed in place, they were doomed.

Sgt. Greg Jenkins yelled for his reduced squad to fall back. He only had seven men on the line and the Germans were starting to turn his right flank. As they moved back, he saw Pvt. Frank Genovese go down, hit while covering his team mate Pvt. Peter Moreno.

"Damn it, Kilpatrick, lay down some fire on those bastards. We're about to get cut off!"

"No shit, Sarge!" As he yelled that, Kilpatrick turned his B.A.R. on a small party of Germans trying to rush up a few yards. He didn't hit any of them that he could see, but he made them go to ground. He was still getting used to the B.A.R. which had been Hank McTeague's until that morning. Now Hank was wrapped in his poncho back at the platoon CP, he and four others in the squad had been killed that morning, one more, Pfc. Harry Mitchell, had been sent back to the aid station as he couldn't stop weeping over the death of the assistant squad leader, Cpl. Hilario Santos. The two men had grown up together.

But now they were in a fight for their lives, tank and machine gun fire was streaking overhead as the Germans tried to kill the rest of Jenkins' squad.

Just when it seemed that it was all over, friendly mortar fire began to impact near the German position. High-explosive rounds, followed by smoke rounds to cover the withdrawal.

Sgt. Jenkins yelled out, "RUN!! LET'S GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!"

Bundesarchiv

Berger knew that the Amis were on the run, so he ordered up the rest of his platoon. As he ordered his driver to proceed, with caution, they rolled up the road to Berg. If he could get his tanks into the town before the Amis got there, he could destroy their transport and bag the lot of them. Then there was a crump, followed by a sickening lurch to the left.

"Verdammte Landminen!¹" he screamed as he realized that he was out of the fight, and his tank was blocking the narrow road.

Unteroffizier Hans Sauer² was leading his 3rd Gruppe out of the trees and into a small field. The field was muddy, so he didn't notice that the ground had been disturbed. Until one of his men stepped on a mine.

Grenadier Kurt Schoenauer had tripped the American M2 anti-personnel mine, the mine's propelling charge blew his foot off and caused the main charge not to rise as high as it should have. The main charge, essentially equivalent to a 60mm mortar shell, detonated around three feet in the air, which killed Schoenauer before he felt the pain of his destroyed foot.

Grenadier Carsten Pfeiffer was nearby, though he wasn't killed instantly, he died before he could receive medical attention. Grenadiers Peter Möller and Harald Koch were both wounded, Koch badly enough to require evacuation to a field hospital.

Shortly after the mine detonated, the cries of "Sanitäter!" began to echo around the field.

Sauer knew that where there was one mine, there were usually more. He ordered his men to freeze in place. He hated the thought that the Amis were getting away, but he hated the idea of losing more men more than anything.

Sonderkraftfahrzeug (SdKfz) 8 - 12 ton prime mover
(Source)

Von Lüttwitz looked at the wrecked PzKw III which had been towed off the road by the big SdKfz 8 heavy halftrack from his Panzerkompanie's maintenance team. "Any chance of fixing this?" he asked the Panzerkompanie's commander, Hauptmann Norbert Sauer³.

"Perhaps, the drive sprocket is destroyed, as is the forward road wheel, we should have those in our stocks. But not before tomorrow afternoon, Sir." Hauptmann Sauer realized that so far, the armor in the Kampfgruppe had accomplished precisely nothing. Other than lose men and vehicles.

"Damn it! Well, best get started then, Hauptman. Orders group in 30 minutes next to my Kübelwagen. It's getting dark and we're still nowhere near our objective!"

"Sir?"

"What is it Günther?" von Lüttwitz asked his messenger.

"Report from the south, Herr Major, the SS have been stopped cold by mines and American tank destroyers."

"Scheiße! The Maas? We'll be lucky to reach Berg by Christmas! Damn it!"

(Source)

Once again, resistance by small groups of American soldiers, often unsupported, have held up the German advance for another day.

The Germans in this sector have been attacking for nearly a week, they have managed to advance ten miles.

Ten miles.

¹ Damned land mines!

² No relation to Manfred or Theo

³ Again, no relation to Manfred or Theo. Yes, there are a lot of Sauers in this outfit...

Link to all of The Chant's fiction.

It's beginning to look a lot like....

 The Juvat Clan is almost completely rejoined from various points around the Globe.  MBD will be joining us sometime this afternoon after she picks up Tallulah (her Goldendoodle) from the breeder.  Once this litter is delivered, Tallulah will be theirs with no further requirements.  SIL will be joining us Christmas Eve, because his employer (Scrooge, I believe) has him scheduled until then.

Little Juvat and DIL arrived safely late Wednesday night, thanks to some heads up work by the United Ticket agent in Kuwait.  They had been booked from Kuwait, to Frankfurt, to Dulles, to Austin.  However, the flights to and from Dulles had been cancelled due to snow.  The ticket agent informed them of that and they were able to reroute their Frankfurt departure to Chicago and then to Austin.  Unfortunately, others checking in with different agents didn't find out that Dulles was closed until arrival in Frankfurt, at which point all the flights to alternate airports were booked.

So, the Big Guy was looking out for the clan.  Since they'd been traveling for 24+ and didn't arrive until 2245 (10:45PM for mere mortals), we had agreed that an evening in the 12th AF HQ building on Bergstrom AFB, built in the mid-70's by Little J's Grandfather, was a wise idea.  (It's currently decked out in a Hilton Hotel uniform.)

Dad was the Red Horse Engineering Squadron Commander at the time.  Red Horse is an Acronym (of course) and I don't recall what it stood for.
Source

 

We picked them up the next morning.  I was impressed.  They made it to almost 8PM that evening before crashing and burning.

But, they have had a few days now to rest, they seem to be regaining airspeed.

Mrs J and I have been busy, as I mentioned last week, and the house is looking pretty Christmas-y.  The old Christmas tree was, indeed, skunkified beyond recovery, but the new tree fits the new house's high ceilings quite well.

Our guest house is fully booked through the Holidays (yes, Beans, with paying guests). So we decided to also make it fit the season.

I actually took this photo of the master bedroom to inform Mrs J that we were ready for our guests and that I had made the bed.  She was in town and the guests had called asking for an early check-in.  The scramble klaxon was sounded and the alert bird scrambled.  I walked out the door as they drove up.

So, despite that short bit of excitement, it's pretty quiet around Casa Juvat.

The sentries are alternating watch/nap duties.

Mrs Little Juvat is recovering from Steak and Egg Burrito breakfast catching up with her friends.

Later this afternoon, they scheduled some "action" activities.

Hey, they had a long trip after a rough year, they have parental permission to chill for as long as they want. So there!

Had a pretty spectacular thunderstorm night before last,  the steel roof sheds a LOT of water.  I'm glad I put downspout extensions on so the water was moved a few feet away from the house.  However, putting the dogs out to do their "business", resulted in foot baths upon re-entry. The ground around the house hasn't completely re-compacted after construction so even a little water turns it pretty muddy.  

Life in the country!

As the saying goes in Texas, "If you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes it'll change."  Yes, Beans, upon uploading the picture and noticing the dangling garland, I'm pulling out the ladder (Again!) and fixing it.  But, at least the lights work now.

So...I know this isn't a deep philosophical/political/other, posting, however, it's the Christmas season and my Family is back together.

Much like this two week old jalapeno plant, time flies and they grow fast.  I'm going to post this and go be with them.

Y'all have a wonderful Holiday Season and  Merry Christmas!

In Principio Erat Verbum*

(Source)

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee. But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this might be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. And Mary said unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God. And behold, Elisabeth thy kinswoman, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that was called barren. For no word from God shall be void of power. And Mary said, Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. - Luke 1:26-38

* In the beginning was the word...

Author's Note: I took the title of this post from this post. The first time I heard the song above, was in this post. Sadly the video in that latter post is no longer available. Pictures of the man and his lovely family. I miss him.

Encounter on a Country Road

99th Infantry Division vehicles withdrawing through Wirtzfeld en route to Elsenborn.
On the right an M-10 Tank Destroyer covers the withdrawal.
U.S. Army Photo

Obergefreiter Dieter Becker's Kettenkrad clattered to a halt in front of Kampfgruppe (mot) von Lüttwitz's temporary command post in a small house on what the locals had told them was called the Enkelberger Mühle, the Enkelberger Mill Road. The CP was roughly a kilometer to the south-southeast of Krinkelt and a kilometer and a half north of Mürringen.

"Herr Major, Obergefreiter Becker with Panzerspähkompanie Köhler! I've been up the road to Wirtzfeld, per your orders, and the town is deserted, the Amis withdrew from that position a day ago, according to the Waffen SS men still in that village."

"The SS are still there? I thought they were driving on Krinkelt-Rocherath?" Hauptmann Hermann Krüger, commanding 1.Kompanie, said while looking at Major von Lüttwitz.

"Begging the Hauptmann's pardon, Sir, the men I encountered were with an SS field hospital. They claim that they had driven the Amis from Krinkelt-Rocherath." Becker explained.

Von Lüttwitz studied the map laid out on the table in the small kitchen. "That explains why the Amis withdrew from Wirtzfeld," which a passing messenger had told them, "they're withdrawing to this ridge, here." The location the Major pointed at was labeled 'der Hinterberg' on his map, the Americans called it Elsenborn Ridge, though von Lüttwitz couldn't have known that.

"Oberleutnant Köhler!" von Lüttwitz called out to the group sitting in the front room. In a moment the young Oberleutnant commanding his reconnaissance element came into the kitchen.

"Herr Major?"

"Send two of your Luchs vehicles and a Kettenkrad to the north of Wirtzfeld, then turn to the west on this road here. Find out what's between us and this town," he circled it on the map, "Berg. Note that there is this lake which will cover your left flank. Be quick but be cautious, tell your men not to engage but to observe. No matter what they find, send the Kettenkrad to this position." von Lüttwitz also circled that on the map.

(Source)

Von Lüttwitz thought for a moment then turned to the Spieß, "Klaus-Peter, how many Kettenkräder do we have on strength?"

Hauptfeldwebel Keller consulted his notebook, then looked up, "Eight, Sir. Four with Oberleutnant Köhler's unit, two with the Panzerkompanie and two with the Sturmgeschützkompanie. All are here with us."

"Hornbach!" Fortunately Leutnant Günther Hornbach, commanding the StuGs was standing in the doorway to the adjoining room.

"I'll send a Kettenkrad immediately, Sir. What's the message?" Hornbach had anticipated the Major's command.

"Have Koch rendezvous with us here," he pointed at the position he had circled moments before, "quickly Hornbach, quickly!"

Von Lüttwitz looked for his panzer commander, he too was standing in the doorway to the front room. "Hauptmann Sauer, I want your tanks up front when we move out, infantry support will be provided by Hauptmann Krüger's 1.Kompanie."

Looking at Krüger and Sauer, von Lüttwitz said, "A good mix of panzers and infantry in their halftracks in support. Klar?"

"Jawohl Herr Major!" Both captains answered simultaneously.

"Reconnaissance and messengers, go! Everyone else be ready to move within the hour! Let's move gentlemen!"

(Source)

"I dunno L.T., but I'm getting tired of marching in this crap." As he said that Sgt. Woodrow Sherman lifted both hands to the sky to indicate the falling mix of rain and snow.

"Well Woody, if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't know just how miserable we had it." S/Sgt. Stephen Hernandez shook his head and laughed.

"This is the infantry pal, sometimes we gotta walk in this slop, we can't always expect a ride." Hernandez continued. "Only you would bitch about riding for two miles, then having to walk a half mile."

"Gee Top, what, the M3s couldn't have gone another half mile?" Sherman asked.

"Knock it off Sgt. Sherman, you know damn well that battalion needed those M3s to get reinforcements down to 3rd Platoon, they're getting hit by SS tanks and infantry. Listen, can you hear it? That's the sound of tank guns coming from across the lake. So zip it Sarge, I don't wanna hear another f**king word!" 1st Lt. Nate Paddock had had enough of Sherman's whining. Yeah, he didn't like walking in this shit either, but it was a call Cpt. Palminteri was paid to make. Paddock liked to think he would have done the same.

3rd Platoon was in the shit, so far they weren't. Paddock turned to Hernandez, "Let's double time, Top. I'm getting a bad feeling about this!"

(Source)

Unteroffizier Oskar Schwarz ordered his driver to halt, something was going on up the road. Engineers? He wasn't sure, but there were men moving around the road. He would bet his life savings, such as they were, that those men were planting mines. He had quite forgotten his orders to not engage the enemy.

"Franz, hold up here. I can see Amis up ahead, looks like they're mining the road. Send Wolff back to the Kampfgruppe, tell them we've made contact with American infantry supported by engineers!"

Unteroffizier Franz Zimmermann, commanding Panzer 116 had hastily written down what Schwartz in Panzer 115 had radioed to him, unfortunately he had left out the 'infantry' part. He handed the scribbled note to Reiter¹ Harald Wolff and told him to report to the Major.

As Wolff clattered off on his Kettenkrad, Zimmermann said to his crew, "Damned Americans are all over the place! Let's move up and take those guys under fire, discourage them from planting their damned mines!"

View from Corporal Santos' position.
(Source)

Cpl. Hilario Santos was covering two of his men planting the few mines they had, a couple of anti-personnel mines and one anti-tank mine which the engineers had given them, "Just in case."

Santos thought he saw something moving up the road. He squinted real hard then barked, "Genovese, Moreno, get off the road, it's one of those Kraut recon tanks."

The three men scrambled into the brush and began to work their way back to the platoon's main line.

"Did you arm those mines?" Santos asked.

"You betcha Sarge, those Krauts will have a surprise if they come up that road."

As Reiter Heinz Groß gingerly moved the vehicle up to get around the bend, Schwartz was standing by on the 2cm cannon. Those Ami engineers were in for a surprise!

What the...

"Driver, halt." The Americans which he had glimpsed through the sparse trees earlier had vanished. Maybe they weren't engineers, Schwartz thought. Then he radioed Zimmermann in 116, "We're moving up, the Amis are gone. Maybe a patrol?"

Panzer 115 rolled down the road, Schwartz was concentrating on looking for the enemy and wasn't watching the road ahead. Nor was Groß. If they had been they might have seen the anti-tank mine which had been hastily placed.

But they did not.

Santos heard the sharp bang from where they had been, he grinned at his two men, "Sounds like we just ruined someone's day."

Schwartz was shaking his head, trying to clear it. The mine had exploded under the left side track, it had torn the Hell out of that track and had killed his driver. He looked down at Groß and shook his head, the kid was slumped to one side with his head resting against the instrument panel. The coppery smell of blood and the stench of high-explosive filled his nostrils.

"Okay, Theo, Karl, dismount and see what the damage looks like, I'll cover you." He said this as he pulled out the crew's MP 40 and then stood up on the back deck of the tank. He had to do that so that Gefreiter Theodor Sauer, his loader, could climb out through the commander's hatch.

He could see that Reiter Karl Weber looked at bit groggy as he levered himself out of his hatch at the right front of the tank. No doubt due to the proximity of the explosion which had killed Groß. As Karl began to swing his legs over the side of the tank, Schwartz yelled out, "Wait!"

But he was too late, Karl jumped to the ground and triggered an anti-personnel mine which blew his right foot off.

"Scheiße! Theo, check for mines on the right side of the tank, then climb down and help Karl. I think, oh no..."

Cpl. Santos had returned with the squad's B.A.R. team and the squad's grenadier, Pvt. Derek Carson. They saw the enemy tank, its right track off, and two of its crew helping a third man onto the road. The guy being carried looked as if his foot was gone.

"Hank, kill those guys, Derek, give me a grenade on top of those guys, we can't let them back in the tank." Santos didn't see the other tank nosing around the corner behind the damaged vehicle.

As soon as he could see around 115, Unteroffizier Franz Zimmermann opened up with his 2cm cannon. There were five Americans that he could see. His first burst toppled three of them. The other two rolled off into the ditch. At the same time, an American rifle grenade detonated nearly on top of 115. He couldn't see 115's crew at the moment.

There, that's Schwartz, and he's dragging somebody!

"Rainer, jump out and help Oskar. The Amis would be crazy to pop their heads up!"

The Americans weren't crazy. Reiter Rainer Arnold, 116's radioman, helped Oskar Schwartz pull a badly wounded Karl Weber onto the engine deck of 116. As he did so, he heard Unteroffizier Schwarz order Zimmermann to head back to the Kampfgruppe. They weren't supposed to get into a fight, but they had.

They had to abandon 115 and they left the bodies of Reiter Heinz Groß and Gefreiter Theodor Sauer where they had fallen. Groß in his driver's seat and Sauer on the road where American light machine gun fire had cut him down. Schwartz had multiple superficial wounds from the rifle grenade explosion. Weber had lost his foot.

It was a somber ride back to the Kampfgruppe.

Privates Henry McTeague, Rick McCarthy, and Derek Carson lay dead in the road where the Kraut cannon had killed them. Pfc. Harry Mitchell was holding a badly wounded Cpl. Hilario Santos in his arms. One look had convinced him that the corporal was a dead man, he just hadn't died yet.

"Hang on Hilario, you're gonna be okay, just hang in there pal." Mitchell looked again at Santos' belly, it was torn up and Santos was bleeding badly. He doubted whether the battalion surgeon could have saved him.

"Man, it hurts Harry, it hurts something bad. Did we get the tank, did we kill it?" Santos asked, he was delirious from the pain

"Yeah buddy, we killed one tank and drove another one off."

"There were two of 'em?" Santos quivered, then muttered, "Oh Deus, isso dói...²"

Mitchell was holding tightly onto his friend, they had grown up together in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Though Mitchell had an Anglo family name, from his Dad, he was half Portuguese, his mother's maiden name was Amaral. He knew that he would have to write to Hilario's mom and let her know what had happened to her youngest son.

"Geez, Harry, is it snowing again? It's getting awfully cold." Santos muttered, he was losing a lot of blood, he was slipping away and there was nothing Mitchell could do.

"Yeah buddy, it's snowing, hang on, just hang on, you're gonna be okay, buddy. Hang on Hilario." Mitchell was nearly sobbing.

"Mamãe onde você está?" were the last words Cpl. Hilario Santos, United States Army, uttered as he died, "Mama, where are you?"

The rest of the squad found Mitchell cradling his dead friend's body, sobbing uncontrollably. He would be evacuated to the battalion aid station that evening as a non-combat casualty. Though he would be back, he was never the same again.

¹ Cavalry/reconnaissance term for a private.

² Portuguese, "Oh God, it hurts..."

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