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Battle of the Bulge veterans share their history with Joint Base community

  • Published
  • By 621st Contingency Response Wing Public Affairs
  • 621st Contingency Response Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKHURST, N.J. --  Nearing the 66th anniversary of the end of the Battle of the Bulge, three veterans of the battle discussed their involvement with members of the Joint Base community here, Jan. 14.

During the discussion panel, hosted by Airmen from the 621st Contingency Operations Support Group, Capt. Pat Markey, an operations officer with the 819th Global Support Squadron, asked the men questions about their experiences during the war. The three Army veterans, Master Sgt. Lloyd Orth, Cpl. John Saal, and Sgt. Arthur Goldschmidt, took turns sharing their stories.

Lasting from Dec. 16, 1944 to Jan. 25, 1945, the Battle of the Bulge was a major, "last ditch" German offensive that attempted to split the Allied line in half in order to surround and defeat the Allied armies. While resulting in an overall Allied victory, more than 89,500 Americans were killed, wounded or captured during the offensive.

Prior to the war, Mr. Orth, who served as an ambulance driver for the 68th Medical Regiment during his tour in Europe, said that there was a national sense of patriotism.

"Everybody wanted to go, women, children, everybody, after what they did at Pearl Harbor," said Mr. Orth.

Mr. Saal, who served as a radioman for the 1st Infantry Division and acted as a communications runner during the Battle of the Bulge, joined the Army in 1941 at a pay rate of just $21 a month. However, the meager pay did not deter Mr. Saal from continued service.

"When the war broke out in Pearl Harbor, I stayed in for the duration," said Mr. Saal.

Mr. Goldschmidt, who served with the 87th Infantry Division as a gun crewman and received the Silver Star, Bronze Star and a battlefield promotion while in Europe, discussed the military ramp-up once the U.S. joined the war.

"When [you] turned 18, you were supposed to go register with the draft board. After a few months they'd send you a questionnaire, and it would be many months after that before you'd go in," said Mr. Goldschmidt. "When I went in to register, they handed me the questionnaire. It was something like two or three months later, and I was in."

While discussing the draft, Mr. Orth took the opportunity to have a little fun at the expense of the military members in attendance.

"Talking about drafting, you guys all volunteered. Wow," said Mr. Orth. "You've got nobody to blame but yourselves."

Once the three men were in the European theater in their different capacities, they each encountered rough terrain and harsh living conditions.

According to Mr. Orth, the Soldiers would sometimes light fires under the vehicles to heat up the oil enough to start the engines. When the ground was frozen, they would pour gasoline and light it on fire to melt the ice enough to dig foxholes.

Mr. Saal described, in vivid detail, the typical hygienic practices of his unit during portions of the war.

"After spending weeks in the mud, rain and snow, I hadn't been able to bathe in 33 days and was filthy and freezing," said Mr. Saal. "Eventually, the supply guys set up three large tents for us to take showers."

According to Mr. Saal, in the first tent the Soldiers were told to remove their dirt-covered clothes and were handed a "cake of soap" in exchange. In the second tent, they were told the water would be on for fifteen minutes, and they took every second of it to scrub the mud off. In the third tent, they were handed brand-new uniforms. He still marvels at the experience.

"I have no idea how they knew our sizes, but it all fit perfectly," said Mr. Saal. "I think I was colder afterwards because I had scrubbed off all the insulating dirt."

In addition to insulating dirt, Mr. Goldschmidt described another non-traditional method to staying warm.

"In one of the battles, a town was being attacked by three [German] King Tiger tanks, and one of them was bore sighting me....It was so cold, I had on a wool-lined field jacket, under that was a wool sweater, and under that was a woolen shirt. I had them all open, and I was sweating like a pig. You know, that's what adrenalin can do for you."

In addition to sharing stories about the harsh operating conditions, the men also discussed their experiences with combat, bombings and fallen Soldiers.

Mr. Goldschmidt was injured in January of 1945 when an anti-tank mine hit his vehicle convoy, killing 16 of the 19 soldiers in it. He described the stress of combat and the bonds it formed.

"It was important to stay alive to count on the person you were fighting with," said Mr. Goldschmidt. "You had no choice, you had to get along."

Mr. Orth agreed with his fellow vet.

"All of you here today share a special bond," explains Mr Orth. "For the rest of your lives, you will share your service and understand each other's sacrifices."

When it was time to close the discussion, despite being the honored guest, Mr. Orth chose to recognize those serving at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

"I said one time at a talk I gave, that we had the greatest generation, us guys here," said Mr. Orth. "I've been coming to McGuire and Fort Dix for about 15 years, and I know what I'm talking about: you guys are the greater generation as far as I'm concerned. I can see it."

"I think you would have done good in the Bulge too," said Mr. Orth in closing.

At the conclusion of the panel discussion, Col. Patrick Owens, commander of the 621st Contingency Operations Support Group, made the three men permanent honorary members of the 621st COSG.

"The opportunity to hear directly from our Battle of the Bulge veterans is a unique privilege that deserves the widest possible audience," said Colonel Owens. "It is important to acknowledge our lineage and reinforce our commitment to our own service."

At one time there were more than 90 members of the Ft Dix-McGuire Chapter of the Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge. Today, there are 26. They meet at Pudgy's Sports Bar here every first Tuesday of the month at noon and welcome guests to join them and discuss their experiences.

The 621st CRW has been involved with the Chapter for a number of years. The 816th Contingency Response Group incorporated the veterans group into their unit activities until its inactivation this past summer. Soon after, the 621st COSG adopted the group as its own.

"These men served honorably in a cause much bigger than themselves," said Colonel Owens. "Nothing has changed. We are called to serve in the same way today."