69th Annual Reunion of the 106th Infantry Division Association
Charleston, SC
Crown Plaza Hotel
September 16-20, 2015
As a member of the 106th Division Association (through my father-in-law, 422/C veteran and Battle of the Bulge POW) I read with great interest in the Association magazine, The Cub of the Golden Lion, the information about the reunion in Charleston this year. I met with the executive board of the Assn.and pitched putting up a display, as all I'd hoped to accomplish via email in the months leading up to the reunion date failed with aplomb. The Division Adjutant and the committee all agreed to permit me to stage a display of military vehicles, uniforms, and equipment of WWII set up in the hospitality room of the hotel where the veterans of this group could "see and feel" it all.
On Friday morning I left my house with Lucille and Dopey, having had to wait until at least some light sneaked through the sky. In Charleston traffic it took an hour and one half to get to the hotel, and I began setting up. Don loaned me his whole arsenal of weaponry, and as soon as I got there, some of the sons of the veterans appeared to goggle the jeep. I found out that one has a 43 GPW, so we yakked about that the whole time. A few of these guys helped me carry stuff into the room too, all very nice guys. Somewhere along the line I finally crossed paths with my email buddy of almost 15 years, John Schaffner, who I had never met in person, and warm greetings were exchanged. He is, along with many others who were in attendance, were featured in this 5-hour long YouTube video:
First Seven Days of the Battle of the BulgeBefore I'd even finished setting up, John, who has travelled several times to Belgium to celebrate the 106th role during the Bulge with towns and villages there who pay tribute every year to these men, invited me along on a jeep ride. That's right - at a spry 92 he took MY JEEP with me in the passenger side on a cruise. Talk about a thrill, for ME and HIM. He told me that the feeling he had was "better than my first solo flight, that just meant so much to ride with you in your jeep after all these years we've been in contact". Worth more than money -I was ecstatic. About six others took a ride too - some guys with canes and walkers getting up into my jeep was a sight to see - still willing to gut it out for a nostalgic ride. This day was too cool to believe.
I have corresponded with many of these men via email and phone, and it was a thrill finally meeting them and their families in person. Many of them have written extensively about their wartime experience, life as a POW and survival of captivity under the Germans. Setting up this display was such an honor to help bring back memories, and -as one of the sons (Tom, lives in PA and goes to FIG every year as a corresondent) put it- 'bring out the stories about their experiences we all long to hear'. He thanked me for changing the bumper designation on my jeep, too - and I painted a new sign for the back: St. Vith 8km
which he told me was a very sensitive gesture on my part. St. Vith was the town in which the 106th was to rendezvous, but almost every man in two regiments (including many of those veterans in attendance) was captured and spent the rest of the war in POW camps.
Our good buddy Ssg Floyd Hennessee was also there, and it was great to see him interacting with these other WWII veterans and sharing stories about their experiences. Many of the sons of these veterans spent a lot of time talking with him too, and one guy who lives in Florida actually has a house in the mountains in the SAME TOWN where Sarge is from, and even had some apples from his home county that he shared. When I say it was a great day, it doesn't touch the surface of how it actually went.
Bo came up after work with his jeep, and though no one took a ride in Warren Peace, there were several Vietnam veterans (also at the hotel for a reunion) who were out in the car park gawking at the jeeps. They were also very nice, and paid very nice compliments to us both for keeping history alive. They would have loved to have a Mule to ride, but alas we didn't plan well enough in advance to have the Columbia guys down. Maybe next time - the new sales manager (and group coordinator for the hotel) is very open to advertising for the American Military Museum and hosting more military reunion events in future, and she promised to stay in touch and get us involved. Stay tuned!
Neither Karl Wouters, the Belgian who is considered the official historian of the Association, nor author of "My Gandfather's War" Jesse Cozean made the trip for the reunion. My father-in-law was also unable to come, however several many of the veterans in attendance signed my 106th Passes in Review book and asked me to extend a special invitation to attend the next reunion and "get involved, he won't be greeted as a stranger - rather as a brother". I was also able to get Russ Lang to sign his newly published POW Diary for me.
In summing up, this was a lesson in so many aspects of life that I don't face: I was never in combat, never imprisoned, and have never legitimately feared for my life. I am not dependent on a wheelchair or walker, never suffered the loss of a spouse or child, and in truth have never faced true any real adversity. These guys who have experienced all of these physical and emotional wounds were welcoming, charming and truly appreciative of the small display -and especially the jeep!- installed in their meeting room. One guy, who had to labor to get into the jeep, stood contemplating another ride. As his eyes welled up he just had to admit that he couldn't do it again, but I left her engine running with him just holding his hand on the hood lost in thought. I left that day, believing that something truly special happened, and something I will always treasure. To have these true heroes thanking ME ... after all they'd seen and survived ... well, it isn't often that I can feel truly proud of something I did, but this is one of those rare moments. I didn't take too many pictures, but it's not likely I will ever forget what I did on this day.
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Bo is right about me not tooting my horn. I might not know "Juliet-Sword" about fixing a jeep, but the smiles on these guys' faces told me all I needed to know for this day. I don't do any of this for me, and the more I do it, the more often I want to do it, and the further I want to travel to do it for these "boys" to be able to go back in time -the good times and bad- for as long as they are willing to share their stories with me. I certainly don't deserve THEIR thanks for anything I do!)
Incidentally, I'll try to get some photos up eventually.
