Cal and Virginia Ann headed to Belgium for a tour of the WWII battlefields of the Ardennes forest
where the Battle of the Buldge took place 75 years ago in the winter of 1944. Because Virginia Ann
was not real keen on touring a battlefield in the snow we added a few days up front to visit
the Christmas Market in Strasbourg, France.
Our trip to Strasbourg was coordinated with help from Mosaic Safaris and travel agent Crisney Lane. The tour to the Battle of the Bulge was a group tour with Beyond Band of Brothers Tours
Look for Virginia Ann's comments in italics, like these, on the pages.
In this trip we journeyed across four countries some of the same paths that soldiers took as they waged war during the Battle of Bulge. Those boys from towns and cities across our great nation were banded together, many for the first time, in small units with the mission of stopping the Germans pursuit to control Europe and to free France from Nazi German control. Several in our traveling group were the adult children of fathers or grandfathers who had fought in the battle. It was especially somber for these family members who were on a mission to honor their parents and their time during this war as they struggled to survive. Those young soldiers witnessed so many of their friends die whether crossing the battlefield or while holding a wounded friend in their arms. Our group included a large contingent of veterans as well as people with a love of military history and an incredibly strong pride in American patriotism. As our traveling group began to bond, one could not help but reflect what it must have been like for these young men to assimilate in their units walking across farm fields, through dense forests dug into their foxholes and across small villages in the bitter cold of winter with snow, rain and fear for their lives.
The Battle of the Bulge is considered one of the greatest acts of American heroism.
Our trip to Strasbourg was coordinated with help from Mosaic Safaris and travel agent Crisney Lane. The tour to the Battle of the Bulge was a group tour with Beyond Band of Brothers Tours
Look for Virginia Ann's comments in italics, like these, on the pages.
In this trip we journeyed across four countries some of the same paths that soldiers took as they waged war during the Battle of Bulge. Those boys from towns and cities across our great nation were banded together, many for the first time, in small units with the mission of stopping the Germans pursuit to control Europe and to free France from Nazi German control. Several in our traveling group were the adult children of fathers or grandfathers who had fought in the battle. It was especially somber for these family members who were on a mission to honor their parents and their time during this war as they struggled to survive. Those young soldiers witnessed so many of their friends die whether crossing the battlefield or while holding a wounded friend in their arms. Our group included a large contingent of veterans as well as people with a love of military history and an incredibly strong pride in American patriotism. As our traveling group began to bond, one could not help but reflect what it must have been like for these young men to assimilate in their units walking across farm fields, through dense forests dug into their foxholes and across small villages in the bitter cold of winter with snow, rain and fear for their lives.
The Battle of the Bulge is considered one of the greatest acts of American heroism.
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