Hughestown, PA native Joe Toye enlisted days after Pearl Harbor, jumped into Europe with Easy Company, 506th PIR, and was gravely wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. He came home to Pennsylvania, built a life at Bethlehem Steel, and later was portrayed by Kirk Acevedo in HBO’s Band of Brothers. Read the full story.
In this special episode of the Public History podcast, we share the story of Irvin Schwartz and his experiences during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. Schwartz, a native of Pine Grove, Pennsylvania, served as an anti-tank gunner in the US Army's famed 1st Division. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for heroism during the battle. Listen to the full story.
Harry Welsh's wounding during the Battle of the Bulge was portrayed in gory detail in the HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers."
In May 1945, the West Schuylkill Press-Herald published a photograph taken during the Battle of the Bulge showing a tank destroyed by Sgt. Irvin Schwartz.
A letter from the front lines in Belgium as the Battle of the Bulge raged in January 1945.
A 1990 study by a defense contractor details the experiences of Irvin Schwartz and his comrades in the hellish Battle of Dom Bütgenbach in 1944.
In as much detail as he could get by US Army censors, Irvin Schwartz describes his unit's action in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944.
Irvin Schwartz's letter home to Schuylkill County in January 1945 explained the bleak holidays he spent on the front lines of the Battle of the Bulge.
A letter from Corporal Irvin Schwartz from December 1944 is excerpted in the West Schuylkill Press-Herald.
Private Joe Cooper died in combat on January 4, 1945 near the village of Flamierge, Belgium.