Band of Brothers - Bastogne 2016

Welcome back readers (and, hopefully, fans) for my blog...

I am writing this post on the 26th of December which is somewhat appropriate as it is just a few days past the 72nd anniversary of the 'Battle of the Bulge'. This post isn't a tour of Bastogne that was covered a few posts back, in 2014, when I toured the area with my friend, and author, Ian Gardner (from the 3rd Battalion perspective mainly). This post covers an opportunity I had to join in the celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Band of Brothers being released. Being a big fan, as anyone who knows me will tell you, there was no way that I was going to miss the chance to meet some of the actors from the show!!!

As this was a 'quick' trip, that meant an early (0-dark thirty) departure for Luxembourg City and the drive to Belgium. Given the popularity of the anniversary, on top of the normal celebrations that the town put on every year, it was always going to be busy. That being said, we managed to book a room at the Hotel Du Commerce which is in Houffalize. 

Those of you who know the history of the battle of the bulge know what occurred in Houffalize and the pivotal role it played. It was also very convenient in that it was a 15 minute drive straight down the N30 to Bastogne, passing through Foy. For those fans of BoB you'll, no doubt, remember the scene where Speirs charges through the Foy.

 

 

 

 The photo above is the view of the church from the bridge on the N30 in the town.  The Tiger, in the following picture, was recovered from the river after the battle.

After checking in to the hotel, and the compulsory Belgian beer (be warned, 8% very strong)...

We headed for Bastogne and some quick sightseeing. We managed to have a quick coffee in the 'Nuts' café (Icon for all Bulge history fans) and took in a few of the town center sights.

The evening was dedicated to a VIP reception hosted by WW2 Foundation head, Tim Gray, honouring the vets of the battle of the Bulge and celebrating the 15th anniversary of Band of Brothers. The event began with a Q&A session involving the BoB actors and two vets of the battle, Vince Speranza and Bob Izumi. hearing the vets, and the actors, speak about what the battle meant to them was a unique opportunity that will stay with me for a very long time...

Following the Q and A session, we had a chance to meet the actors and to get some pictures and autographs...Obviously, some of us were better at getting the chance to meet and greet the guys than others. :-)

Nadia with Doug Spain...

Nadia with Rick Warden and James Madio....

Nadia with Rick Gomez and Ross McCall...

Although Nadia was more successful with the photos, I didn't walk away empty handed! I managed to meet the legend that is Captain Dale Dye. The Captain was a seriously nice guy who spent a lot of time with the fans..

The night was also about meeting some of my Facebook friends (Yes, some of us actually meet those we connect with on social media).

The photo above is me with Linda Cautaert and Chris Langwah. What is great is that Chris is the grandson of Doc Roe, played by Shane Taylor in BoB, and an all round really nice guy. I am honoured to have been able to meet both Linda and Chris. I also had the chance to catch-up with, and say hi to, a few other friends that I've met before including Joey Van Messen. Now Joey is definitely worth knowing as he produces one of the best WW2 history VLOGs out there, specialising in metal detecting across Europe, the kids a star!

The following day, we decided to take a break from Bastogne and head out into the countryside. We drove North from Houffalize for about an hour or so into the Netherlands to visit the American cemetery at Margraten. The cemetery is the final resting place for over 8000 American soldiers and airmen, many of which were killed during Market Garden.

Whilst visiting the cemetery we paid our respects to an Easy Company member killed during Market Garden...

After paying our respects, we drove East for 90 minutes into Germany. We found ourselves at Remagen. Specifically, the bridge at Remagen where US were arguably the first to cross the Rhine in force. The Western remains of the bridge have been converted into a museum which houses some interesting relics from the battle.

After visiting the museum, we drove back past the Eiffel Forrest skirting Luxembourg and back to Houffalize, Belgium...three countries in six hours which has to be a new record for me!

The following day, our final day of the trip, saw us heading back to Bastogne. The first stop was at the Bastogne war museum which is co-located with the Mardasson memorial and is a few kilometres from the town. The museum is a new, modern facility with interactive displays and three cinema style shows. The museum has quite a few displays including a battle damaged Sherman and a Jagdpanzer. I would definitely recommend a visit if you are in Bastogne.

The war memorial is just outside of the museum. The memorial is imposing and gives a fantastic view of the surrounding area including Bastogne....

After visiting the museum we headed to the Bastogne barracks. The barracks are an active Belgian army site which also contains two museums and a vehicle refurbishment center. The barracks are a must see, containing one of the finest collections of military vehicles I've seen. The collection includes a British centurion tank, a number of panzers, armored support vehicles, etc...go see it before they succeed in closing it for good.

We were also pleasantly surprised to run into some of the BoB actors again...

After visiting the barracks, we headed for our last stop which was the Hamm American Cemetery in Luxembourg, just a few kilometres from the city airport. The cemetery is another fine example of the memorials erected to the losses of American forces during the war.

We also had the chance to pay our respects to three Easy Company members who were killed during the Battle of the Bulge...Alex Penkala, Skip Muck and John Julian.

 

 

The final part of the visit was to pay our respects to the most well known of those buried at Hamm, general George S Patton.

It is a common misconception that Patton was buried at the head of his troops. However, the reality is that his gravesite originally had so many visitors that it was causing the surrounding graves to be desecrated. An agreement was reached between the government of Luxembourg and the family to move his grave hence it's current location.

All in all, another great trip with a number of firsts. I hope that this brief glimpse into it entertains you and encourages you to get out and search for history...