[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 84 (Thursday, May 26, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3282-S3283]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          THE MALMEDY MASSACRE

  Mr. TOOMEY. Mr. President, today I wish to honor the sacrifice of our 
soldiers at the Malmedy massacre.
  As we prepare for Memorial Day, it is important to remember the 87 
Americans who were killed in action during the Malmedy massacre and 
honor the brave few who survived this terrible ordeal. One of the 
survivors of this massacre, Harold W. Billow, is a proud resident of 
Pennsylvania.
  On December 17, 1944, Mr. Billow and Battery B, 285th Field Artillery 
Observation Battalion were riding in a convoy of vehicles towards the 
Belgian town of St. Vith. The convoy was attacked outside of Malmedy by 
a Nazi SS unit called Kampfgruppe Peiper.

[[Page S3283]]

While a few soldiers were able to escape the initial attack, the other 
130 Americans were forced to surrender to the SS troops.
  Given orders to take no prisoners and violating the rules of war, 
German tank gunners lined up the Americans and gunned them down in cold 
blood. Worse yet, these Nazi troops searched for anyone showing signs 
of life and shot them repeatedly at point-blank range.
  However, 40 men, including Mr. Billow, were able to play dead and 
escape the massacre. Many of these survivors traveled to Nuremburg 
after the war to testify in the war crimes trials and demand justice 
for their fallen brothers in arms. Today Mr. Billow is one of only two 
men from the 285th Battalion known to be alive.
  Mr. Billow dedicates his life to remembering his comrades who did not 
survive this massacre. Every Fourth of July, Memorial Day, and 
Veterans' Day, Mr. Billow decorates his front lawn with 87 American 
flags, one for each man who fell on that terrible day in 1944.
  Today I wish to remember the ultimate sacrifice made by those killed 
in the Malmedy massacre and also to honor and thank the survivors, 
including Mr. Billow, who keep the memory of their fellow soldiers 
alive.

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