On a visit to Belgium’s Ardennes Forest last month, I walked the high ground above the twin Belgian villages of Krinkelt and Rocherath, where reminders of December 1944 and the Battle of the Bulge are everywhere.
German forces assaulted the US Army’s 99th Division here on December 16, 1944, opening their final counter-offensive of World War II. The 99th held its ground in what became known as the Battle of Elsenborn Ridge, named for the high ground the Americans occupied.
The ground still tells the story. This preserved stretch of battlefield north of the two towns is marked by soldiers’ foxholes, entrenched command posts, and shell craters from German and American artillery.
Walking through the war-ravaged landscape was eerie. The only sounds were wind in the trees and birds singing. The forests stretched miles into the distance in every direction.
I thought about the Pennsylvanians who fought along Elsenborn Ridge, one of the fiercest engagements within the larger Battle of the Bulge.
One of them was Private First Class Fred K. Lewis of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Lewis served in the 99th Signal Company and was 20-years-old at the Battle of the Bulge. He received the Bronze Star for his actions at Elsenborn Ridge.
The citation reads, in part:
PFC Lewis displayed extraordinary service in the maintenance of communication lines between the division command post and during the month of December 1944, he laid new wire and spliced breaks during artillery, mortar, and small arms, fire, thus keeping communications between the two headquarters intact.
The courage initiative and devotion to duty displayed credit by PFC Lewis reflects great upon himself and the military service.
The young man from Luzerne County did not live to see a world at peace. He was killed in action on April 18, 1945 in Germany, just weeks before V-E Day.
His remains returned home to Pennsylvania in 1948 and were interred at Oak Lawn Cemetery in Hanover Township, just blocks from his childhood home on Regina Street.
Read more about the Battle of the Bulge
The Battles for Elsenborn Ridge – National WW2 Museum
Podcast – A Pennsylvania soldier in the Battle of the Bulge
Williamstown High School football star killed in the Battle of the Bulge in 1945
Joe Toye | A Coal Region soldier in the “Band of Brothers”
Lieutenant Harry Welsh of ‘Band of Brothers’ – Wounded at Bastogne on Christmas Eve, 1944
Letters From War – The Battle of Dom Bütgenbach, December 21, 1944
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A sobering story that is a good reminder of sacrifices made by young men and women. The more I age the more I feel the courage and loss of a generation of Americans. Thank you for sharing this story.