90th Infantry Division Pic of the Week: Bavigne, Luxembourg
February 28, 2011
Posted in 90th ID - Pic of the Week, 90th Infantry Division, Battle of the Bulge
Tags: 90th ID - Pic of the Week, 90th Infantry Division, Battle of the Bulge, Bavigne Luxembourg, World War II
Although the phrase is probably overused, some pictures do “say a thousand words.” Case in point, this 90th Infantry Division photo from Bavigne, Luxembourg, and the Battle of the Bulge.
Temporary grave markers protrude from the snow at Bavigne, Luxembourg in the 90th Infantry Division Sector of the Battle of the Bulge - January 1945. (U.S. Army Signal Corps Photo, Courtesy National Archives)
Moving pic to say the least. ‘The ultimate sacrifice’.
I have read that even now, remains from that campaign are still found in the Ardennes. With DNA evidence, I hope they will be identified. About five years ago, a Texas A&M Senior Ring from an officer killed in that campaign was returned to his family. The ceremony was at half time of an A&M football game. The ring was returned by a soldier from the German Army whose relative had fought for Germany in the Ardennes campaign.
Joel,
Very interesting story. I have seen several pieces over the years about dog tags being unearthed or rediscovered in the battle area, but I had never heard about the Texas A&M ring being returned.
Hello Mike,
I was wrong about the location. Here is the story:
November 27, 2000
Lost Texas A&M Ring Returned to Family of World War II Soldier
Excerpts from Texas A&M’s “The Battalion On-Line Newspaper”
A piece of Aggie history has returned to Texas A&M after being forgotten in Germany for 56 years.
Medal of Honor recipient 1st. Lt. Turney W. Leonard’s Aggie ring came home in a private ceremony. The ring was presented to Turney W. Leonard’s only surviving sibling, Mr. Douglas Leonard of Dallas, TX. The ring was returned by German Lt. Volker Lossner, who obtained the ring from his father-in-law, Alfred Hutmacher.
Lossner said Hutmacher found the ring after helping American forces locate the graves of Americans killed during the battle of the Hürtgen Forest and had virtually forgotten about the ring’s existence until Lossner expressed an interest in the battle.
Lossner said he didn’t immediately understand the significance of the ring, but knew it might be important to someone, so he contacted US Army Col. Thomas Fosnacht to arrange for the ring to be returned.
Contact was made with Texas A&M President Dr. Ray M. Bowen, who arranged to bring Lossner to Texas A&M for the presentation. It was then that Lossner heard of Turney W. Leonard’s story.
1st. Lt. Turney W. Leonard was with the 893rd Tank Destroyer Battalion. His heroism in a fierce 3-day engagement near Kommerscheidt, Germany won him the Medal of Honor. He was last seen at a medical aid station and is believed to have died on November 7, 1944.
Joel,
Wow! Wow! Wow! Great story! I’m going to have to check into this one a little deeper, and maybe even do a future blog post on it.
Thanks.
Great! Get after it.
joel
I was there from day one. I can remember the bitchy cold and snow. How I survived the battle I will never know. I was an infantry. platoon sargeant award a silver star ,2 bronze stars and two purple hearts.It was the worst experience of my time in combat. Normandy was bad enough but, the Bulge was much worse..