Bloodiest Battle Of WWII for American Troops (23,000 M.I.A.!)=Battle of the Bulge

It was on this day in 1944 that the Battle of the Bulgebegan in the Ardennes forest, a snowy mountainous region of Belgium, France, and Luxembourg. It went on for more than a month. It was the last major German offensive, and it was the bloodiest battle of World War II for Americans troops. While estimates about the number of American casualties differ, the U.S. Defense Department lists 19,000 killed, 47,500 wounded, and 23,000 missing.

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."