[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 189 (Thursday, December 19, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1315-E1316]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ADDRESS OF BRIGADIER GENERAL ANDREW SASLAV
______
HON. JOE WILSON
of south carolina
in the house of representatives
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I was grateful to
participate in CODEL McCaul for the 80th anniversary of the Battle of
the Bulge. An inspiring speech was delivered by Brigadier General
Andrew Saslav at the Bastogne War Museum, Belgium, on December 13,
2024, confirming the professionalism and dedication of the American
military freedom and democracy.
Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, friends and
family, the brave men and women who fought here 80 years ago,
and most importantly, our veterans. It is my honor and my
privilege to be with you here today. It's 05:30. It's the
16th of December 1944, the ground in the air around the men
and women of the 12th US Army Group begins to shake. The air
begins to burn. It is the start of a 90-minute barrage by
1,600 artillery pieces. It's the start of the last offensive
the Germans would launch in the Second World War. Their
objective of this fight was to shatter the front lines to
separate forces. It was to reach the vital port of Antwerp
and ultimately to break the alliance that had landed here in
June. To this end, the Nazis had assembled three veteran
armies. They were led by their most proven and battle-
hardened commanders. They were offered the newest equipment
available and the most technologically advanced capabilities
the Nazis had. They were fighting their proven play. It had
taken them across what Europe lightning fast in 1940 and
standing in their way. Standing in their way were American
divisions that were actually brand new to the front or had
been pulled out of the brutal fighting in the herd and
forest. Each of those divisions covered an area that was over
twice the size we expected a division to be able to defend.
The numbers were simply in the Nazis favor. Any war game done
then, any war game done today, would have told you that they
had all the advantages. But what we must remember here today,
what this battle should always remind us of, what my 27 years
in uniform has taught me is that machines and tools of war
increase the brutality and the lethality of war, but that
training matters, Experience matters, heart and esprit de
corps are essential, and they will upend the results of any
war game ever done. The Battle of the Bulge had begun. The
Nazi army slammed into US lines, and while our men fought
hard under overwhelming force, those lines began to break.
Regiments were separated, regiments were surrounded, and the
allies were in trouble. At Eisenhower's headquarters, they
quickly realized what was happening and the gravity of the
consequences of this attack. First, they called for the 18th
Airborne Corps. It was down in bases in France after being
pulled off of a bitter fight in the Netherlands during
Operation Market Garden, the 82nd 101st Airborne were rushed
north. The 82nd would make its way north of here to a portion
of the fight where they would stop the lead elements of the
first SS Panzer Corps. This was not our fight alone. Field
monitor, Montgomery's, 21st Army Group was rushed from the
north, and Patton's Third Army would make a heroic and simply
amazing 48 hour drive to turn itself and move towards
Bastogne and the Battle of the Bulge, our alliance was
focused and it was moving towards the fight. But ladies and
gentlemen, this is a human endeavor. It's the story of humans
that made the difference here 80 years ago in the North. The
furthest the Nazis would get was within five commit five
kilometers of the Meuse river. You see there. They
encountered the Third Royal Tank Regiment of 30th British
Corps, and they encountered Sergeant Frederick Prover
operating a lone Firefly Sherman tank. He engaged the lead
elements, destroying a mark four, a half track and a German
fuel truck. His actions would allow the allies in the north
three group and counterattack the next day, ceasing the
Movement West Patton's Army advanced to Bastogne in it
private. James Hendricks, only 17 years old at the time of
the fourth Armored Division came under attack from two Nazi
88 he got out of his vehicle, and he rushed shows with his
rifle, forcing both of the crews of those guns to surrender.
In the meantime, two of his fellow soldiers were wounded. He
fought off those attackers, and he recovered those two
wounded men. The column began to move again, and a fuel truck
exploded after being hit. He rushed forward and pulled the
driver to safety and put out the flames on that driver for
his actions that day, Private Hendrix would earn the Medal of
Honor. Sergeant Lester Courts, Private Ralph Ellis and
Sergeant George Carroll were all separated from their units
during the fight. They would survive the battle of the bulge.
They survived because the heroic actions of French, Belgian,
and Luxembourg citizens who came to the raid, Marician and
Elise Goble, Louis Stein, Martz and Mr. and Mrs. Jean,
Pereira, and Baltashier. They hid, they cared for, and
eventually returned these soldiers to friendly lines, all at
great personal risk. This fight was about people. It is
people that make up our alliances. It is the soldiers and the
citizens that we came here to liberate, that all came
together in the cause of freedom. But today, ladies and
gentlemen, we stand in Bastogne, the landing ground of the
troopers of the 100 and first airborne. They were offered the
simplest instructions for their mission, hold the vital
crossroads and don't let that stone be taken. They arrived
here not by not by parachute, as they'd arrived at every
battle before Europe. But they arrived here by truck. But
they arrived with the same determination that they had been
at Normandy, the same fighting spirit that had carried them
into the Netherlands in the face of overwhelming German
forces, they accomplished their mission. The siege of
Bastogne pitted these high these lightly armed paratroopers
against the armored might of the 47th Panzer Corps. But
[[Page E1316]]
war is a human endeavor, and while the Nazis had lots of
armor, the troopers of the 101st had a rendezvous with
destiny. Now most of history will tell you that that siege
was eventually broken on the 26th of December, at 1650 hours
as Cobra King, the lead tank of Patton's Third Army reached
Bastogne. I think the troopers of the 101st would tell you
that the only thing those tanks allowed him to do was
continue the attack. War is a human endeavor. It was then,
and it is now. What the world witnessed 80 years ago is what
happens when the cause of freedom is led by valiant action, a
coalition and Alliance built on freedom and liberty, not
conquest. In the words of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the
Battle of the Bulge was a great and glorious victory. But it
is also a reminder that freedom is not free, that the price
of freedom is paid in the blood and the sweat of those that
defend it. Today, we are joined here today by veterans of
that fight from 80 years ago. And gentlemen, it is my great
honor to be in your presence. Thank you. Your legacy is what
makes our Army great today. Thank you.
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