Sunday, December 16, 2012

Eternal Gratitude For Being Spared From Death At Age 19 In WWII

From article written by Seymour Toll, Philadelphia Inquirer, Currents, Page C1, Sunday, DEC. 16, 2012.  He was a U.S. combat infantryman involved in the Battle of the Bulge.  He writes (and I paraphrase):

Today is December 16.  December 16, 1944 was the first day of the Battle of the Bulge, the US Army's largest land battle of WWII.  More than 200,000 German troops, supported by nearly 1,000 tanks attacked 75,000 American soldiers defending an 80-mile front in the Ardennes forest.  It was 14 degrees and the U.S. Army was underdressed.  He was injured by shrapnel.  "Although fate had a perfect opportunity, it refused to end my life.  As a result of its arbitrariness, I was wounded, but several squad members who deserved to live as much as I were killed.  My lifelong gratitude for having been spared death at the age of 19 has remained in force."

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