December 16. It marked the 75th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge in Germany in WWII. I was there. It was the largest battle ever for the U.S. Army. We had 80,000 casualties.

Besides the hazards of war, the weather was also bad. It was cold and we were not prepared. I had only one blanket. It was overcast and no military planes were flying. And it was snowing.

But there were also some goodies. Our kitchen crew kept us well fed even in these terrible times. And we had mail call every day. I even subscribed to Time magazine.

But I was cold. I sent a V-mail to my mother asking her to send my some warm shoes.

Christmas Day. The sun came out. Military bombers came out and Patton’s Army came up form the south. The tides of war changed. The war ended on May 8. My warm shoes arrived later that month!

Leo Thoennes

Federal Way