German-American Veterans meet:
(Margot, my wife, and I are pictured at a War Museum in LaGleize, Belgium.) In September 1995 I assembled fourteen 106th Infantry Division veterans, with wives and guests, for a visit to the Ardennes battle area on the German/Belgium border where we of the 106th Infantry Division fought in The Battle of the Bulge. There, in the little village of Auw, Germany we met with 45 German veterans, with their wives and guests. The Germans were veterans of the Volksgrenadier divisions that succeeded in trapping our 422nd and 423rd Regiments on 16-21 December 1944. There were nearly 100 people, at that three day meeting who met at the delightful Backes Gasthaus in Auw, Germany. During these meetings we held two joint German-American ceremonies at military cemeteries, one ceremony at Auw at a small German cemetery that held 189 German soldiers that were killed during The Battle of the Bulge. The other at Henri Chapelle - an American military cemetery, where over 7,700 American soldiers still lay buried, most all were casualties of the Battle of the Bulge. Traveling by bus the German and Americans veterans toured the World War II battlefields in the Ardennes area. Both the German and American veterans were able to understand the battle from the view of the other side. We each learned much about what happened through the individual stories of the opposing veterans.

(Note: In May 1999 I assembled thirty-two 106th Infantry Division veterans and re-visited the Germans. With wives and guests there were 64 in our group. We flew Icelandair to Frankfurt, rented autos and drove to the Ardennes in a downpour of rain. There were 32 German veterans, plus a like number of wives and guests from the same units that fought against us in this area. The meeting was suggested by the German Bundeswehr Military Reserve unit from Gerolstein. The same feelings and emotions surfaced in this meeting as they did in the first meeting in 1995. New understandings and new friends were made.)

To continue describing the 1995 meeting -- I have been asked, many times since I returned, how I felt about meeting with the German soldiers that captured me. All I can say is that they are all much like me, most all are grandpas and grandmas and in 1944, they like me, were hoping for the madness to stop. As the meeting progressed and we grew better acquainted there seemed to develop a certain closeness between us. What was the key?

I feel that it is because We survived a World War and are still here to talk about it....

Today we, both German and American veterans, are all thankful that we are alive. I felt, after the meeting, as if I had closed a chapter of my life. I no longer see the German soldier dressed in a green-gray uniform, but as old men who like me, have led a gentle life for the last 50 plus years. We found that the German veterans were our age at the time we fought, with many of them much younger. I was 19 years of age during the battle. When I look at my young grandsons I see myself as a young soldier, and wonder how they would act in the same situation. I think they would do as well as me. I hope they do not have to prove it. I thought I was a good soldier, even though I was young and not experienced in battle. My training had been strenuous and accelerated, but very thorough. I do realize one thing:
In 1944 I was in the wrong place at the wrong time - The Battle of the Bulge.

I realized at the cemetery in Auw during our joint German-American Memorial Service - that behind me as I spoke, lay 189 German youth ages 17 to 19 that had not had the opportunity to live the life that I have. They had no children, like me; they had no grand-children like me, they had no life like me. At the same time I also realized that they, like me, had been doing their duty to their country, the same as me.

The Germans that we met at the three day German-American meeting had to return to bombed out homes, and cities, many to find that their families, parents, wives and children were dead. All of them spent time in British, Russian or American Prison Camps. Some returned to ordinary life two years later, some four years. Those that were Russian prisoners: some of them returned home ten to fifteen years later, but many died in the Russian Camps. Statistics show that over 7 million people died in Germany, of starvation, "AFTER THE WAR." I returned, as an American soldier, to a warm home, to a young wife (I had married in 1943) and to a ten months old son. My life rapidly returned to normal and I have lived a good life since, raising three sons. The German veterans that I met had also raised families and lived a good life since the war, except it took them many more years to recoup and get back on their feet. I did learn that many of us, German and American alike had many problems during our life that was related to our War and Prisoner of War experiences. Much of this has been recognized (in the USA) in recent years by studies made of combat veterans and former prisoners of war by the Veteran's Administration Hospitals.

Former U.S. 106th Infantry Division Sergeant John Kline, shaking hands with former German Major Fritz Blum, 62nd Volksgrenadiers at a joint German-American Memorial Service at the USA Henri-Chapelle Military Cemetery near Leige, Belgium where 7,765 American graves are still being cared for. Yes, I very well understand that the Germans were the aggressors and we the victors, but I also realize that they were ordinary men, like myself, who had nothing to do with the political issues at stake in their country at the time. Germany has been, since World War II, been a strong ally of the Americans. I have a grandson in the U.S. Army, with three others that would be eligible to serve should we have another world wide war. They would most likely fight side-by-side with a German soldier. The Germans like me, were also apprehensive about meeting with the "former enemy." Those fears soon were forgotten, as we became better acquainted.

Dr. Richard W. Peterson, Ph.D. formerly a Weapons Company Sergeant with "I" Company, 423rd Infantry Regiment, 106th Infantry Division, who was captured the same day as me, and held prisoner at Stalag 9-A, Ziegenhain, Germany, prepared the following. In a touching ceremony at the 1995 German-American meeting he presented each of the German and American veterans a beautifully rendered certificate (each in their own language) in memory of the meeting. He wrote:

To the Memory of All Men Who Fought For Their Country 

* * * * * *
Combat veterans hold a secret about life so deep within them
that not even they comprehend the power of it's mystery.
This great secret cannot be understood
by anyone who was never there.
They do not know the secret exists.
So they cannot comprehend the strength it gives to those who do.
* * * * * * * * * *
We are a part of a charmed circle that we keep tightly closed
Praying that no more will ever enter.
* * * * *
From the men of the 106th Infantry Division
Army of the United States
with respect and many thanks to our German hosts on this
Special Meeting of Old Soldiers, September, 1995

Ardennes Forest, Schnee Eifel, 1945-1995 

We first met in War. Now we walk together in Peace
* *

Henri-Chapelle U.S. Military Cemetery, Leige, Belgium, September 1995.
Sergeant, John Kline ('44-'45)
"M" Company, 423rd Infantry Regiment, 106th Infantry Division
placing wreath at the graveside of his Company Commander,
Captain James Hardy, Mississippi, Killed In Action 19 December, 1944.  

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Installed 3 April, 1996
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