European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 15, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Quot whenever i come to one of these things i Wear this Mcclernand Butler is still called Quot col. Butler Quot by the veterans although he left the service after world War ii. Now 80 and retired from the Telephone company in Ottawa iii., he recalled the defense of Hofen where he commanded the 3rd in 395th inf. His men were Well dug in. They had been there since Early november. But they were few in number and forced to occupy a 3.7-mile front. Quot squads were taking platoon areas. Companies were taking battalion to attack the position the germans had the idea of shining spotlights on the enemy to illuminate them. It worked in reverse. Quot instead it silhouetted the germans. We were Able to literally speaking Slaughter them. The artillery wanted to take the searchlights out. I said despite this Blunder that favored the americans several German attackers reached the american line and fell dead in Foxholes of the men who killed them. Quot that night we had liquidated 250 Quot we did t give any ground. That gives men Pride and belief that the commanding officer knows what he s doing whether that s True or Butler s battalion later moved into Germany when the German Advance failed in Belgium. In All he said his men spent 97 straight Days in combat. Quot i would guess that Between artillery fire mortar fire and Small arms fire a Well the g-2 reports sent to us indicated we killed two thirds of a that would be about 10,000 men. Quot that could be High or Low. I know we killed a lot of # with Butler at Hofen was pfc. Thor Ronningen now a retired travelling salesmen from Chester ind. Quot the first Day of the Battle of the bulge i was in a Hole. I woke up with screaming Mee Mies Nebel Werner rockets coming in and it was like a bowl of Jelly. The whole Earth was in some places relics of the War Days became gathering places for groups of men who fought there. Across from Ronningen s position was a junkyard filled with old cars. As the germans came across it american artillery landed among the old cars. The americans heard the screaming As car parts flew like shrapnel into the attacking germans. You can imagine artillery going off in a junkyard. The poor bastards. They got it every which one Day during the Battle Ronningen fought from 4 . Until 3 . Without stopping. He did t eat the entire Day. At 3 ., he was leaning against a building with another Soldier who pulled a Large sugar cube from his pocket. Quot he gave me half. God it was the 99th inf div had Given up Many of its men As replacements. Before coming to Europe its ranks were filled with men from service units and the army specialized training program Asp. The Asp was designed for special training for men with High is. Quot that s one of the things that helped in the Battle of the bulge Quot said Robert Ward one of the men from the special unit who is now retired from the faculty at Northeast Louisiana University in Monroe la. Quot the men were Able to take Over and do it when the officers were . But brains sometimes did t help. Ward tells a Story in which he is the butt of the punchline. He was making his Way through the dark night by following a communications wire. In the dark he stepped into a Hole filled with icy cold water. Quot would you believe on the Way Back i stepped in the same Hole. At least i was wet on both Ward was captured in the Early Days of the bulge. His release came at the end of the War in april. Quot we did t change clothes. We did t take a Shower. Continued on Page 12 in Lanzrath. Quot there was a lot of commotion. I thought this might be a command Post. People were looking at at Midnight a clock in the cafe sounded 12 times. It was dec. 17. Bouck s 21 St birthday had just begun. Also at Midnight is troops barged into the cafe. Bouck heard the grinding of tanks and heavy vehicles on the Road. An officer entered the cafe. I did t know it at the time but this was Salt col. Joachim Peiper was in command of the 1 St is Panzer regt known to historians As Kamp Gruppe Peiper. He Nad More than 100 tanks 25 self propelled guns and tank destroyers 80 Hal tracks Arious other machines and thousands of Here. It was a Convoy that stretched for 1 is through the belgian Countryside. All a a s1�rt suy but he was doing e talking. I could Tell he was Latuf Fer was and by Bouck Learned years owl cause his entire column had been the o but to Fri i7 me oui in Naa Dee Hnnry l?6jroac ent re Day and was am a schedule for its assault on Tibo a ia31 a Hans. He was supposed to he Hari Meuse River by now b and not yet left his departure area. Actionr8ason or a was Bouck s oort Fca Epe per and other officers is trying to finc infantry Giitl. Thev thought was opposing them. S regiment that was supposed to be Lyle Bouck was a lieutenant in 1944. There was these 18 Guys there in the room with them we had such accuracy they were Bouck did t know this during the first minutes of his 21st birthday. In fact he did t find out until 1965, when John Eisenhower who was writing a Book about the bulge uncovered the significance of Bouck s action. But in that cafe on that Early morning Bouck was angry. Quot i was angry because i thought we had failed. I Felt i had t performed my duty As Well As i should looking Back Bouck said he wishes he had done it differently. He should have moved onto the Road ahead of the Convoy and fought Short delaying actions shooting the Convoy s Lead elements and then pulling out As the germans deployed for action. The mistake Bouck now says he made Cost the army the use of his specially trained platoon. Quot we were lost to the regiment for the rest of the War. And we were highly trained. They could have lost a Rifle platoon and replaced it was t so easy to replace an i and r platoon. In fact Bouck recently met his replacement who told him the platoon was ineffective because it lacked the proper training. Quot i m not saying we were that important. I m saying we were different. And i Felt it was my fault this happened to in 1977, Tsakanikas who had survived the War and undergone More than 30 reconstruction surgeries on his face died. A newspaper Story about him was read by new York Yankee owner George Steinbrenner who decided to Honor the new York native. Tsakanikas widow and family Bouck and several other survivors and their families were invited to new York to throw out the first Ball of the 1979 baseball season at Yankee stadium. This increased interest in the efforts of Bouck s platoon. Congressmen began to petition the army to award the men medals. The survivors sent their personal testimony to the Pentagon. Some testified at a congressional subcommittee hearing. On oct. 26,1981, the 18 men were awarded four distinguished service crosses five Silver stars and nine Bronze stars for valor. Bouck who had asked not to be honoured was Given the distinguished service Cross. William . Cavanagh an author of a Book about a portion of the Battle of the bulge called Quot Krinkels Vocherath the Battle for the twin villages Quot said Quot they were in a sense Lucky. They were Lucky the 1 St is did t come up that it was not a numbers game he said. The is were just better troops who would have probably overrun Bouck s position much sooner. As it turned out the delay caused a Chain reaction Cavanagh said. Quot that held up not Only the element that attacked Bouc but the main spearhead of that attack which was Peiper Quot he said. Forty six years later Bouck is still upset that he made what he thinks is a tactical error. It was such a narrow margin he said that gave him the Success. Quot if they had decided to walk by and keep going Quot he said Quot they d have made november 15, 1990 stripes Magazine 11
