Following the Band of Brothers (Part 1 of 3)

Today was our first full day in Bastogne, and it was a rainy, amazing, and emotional day. We saw so many beautiful and moving memorials to American troops fighting in the Battle of the Bulge (Dec. 1944-Jan. 1945), and several were specific to the 101st Airborne, which Easy Company was a part of. (The picture to the left is one of these. It's located outside the Mardasson memorial which I describe below.)

On the way up to the Mardasson Memorial, we passed this "Liberty Road Marker." I can't remember if I've mentioned these before, but these white markers are located all over the route that the Americans took from Normandy all the way through to Bastogne, Belgium as they liberated the French and Belgian towns. They mark the victorious route of the Allied forces. The first one (kilometer #1) is in Sainte-Mere-Eglise and the very last one is #1147 here in Bastogne. (There were several routes the Allies followed, but the route the markers follow is that of Patton's 3rd Army.) The idea for these originated right at the end of the war and they began to be installed in 1947.

 

 

The first place we stopped was the huge and awe-inducing Mardasson Memorial. It was built in 1950 by the people of Belgium in honor of the American troops who liberated them from the tyranny of the Nazis. (The pic to the left is from the internet. I wanted you to be able to see an aerial view of it.) The memorial is a huge five-pointed star that includes the names of all 50 states, as well as the principal military units that took part in the battle.

 

Inside the star are 10 panels which tell the story of the battle in eloquent detail. I will space out these pictures of the text in this posting so you can read the story exactly as it's told in this powerful memorial. (I've said this before, but my puny pictures just do not do justice to the magnificence of this structure.)

 

 

It's absolutely incredible to walk through the trees and see this gigantic stone structure rise up in front of you. It's so beautiful and shows such honor to our country. We both choked up as soon as we started walking through and reading all the inscriptions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That is the whole story as it's told on the stone pillars inside the memorial. I think it's beautiful and eloquent and far better than anything I could've written for you.

On to our next stop in Part 2 . . .

 

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