A Veteran Remembers Cherbourg & the Cotentin Peninsula Like many true combat veterans, my father didn’t talk much about the war—in his case, World War II. We knew that he had served in France and Germany with the 79th Division, the famous “Cross of Lorraine” division. He carried his blue-and-white shoulder patch in his billfold, where he could see it every time he opened it. But he didn’t show it around, and the only time we ever saw the patch was when we asked Dad specifically to show it to us. Because he was so reticent with details about the war, we treasured the few times Dad opened up a little about his experiences. He told us once about being drafted and sent to Fort Hood, Texas, for basic training. There was a military stockade on the base where prisoners from Rommel’s vaunted Afrika Korps were confined behind a barbed-wire fence. Dad said the sun-bronzed German POWs exercised in unison every morning, and he remembered wondering how he and his comparatively rag-tag buddies were ever going to defeat such tough, disciplined soldiers. Somehow they found a way. Read the Full Article Online:
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 15:54:04 +0000
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