This is not necessarily a political posting, but one I still wanted to make.

One of the advantages (sort of) of living for a fairly long time is the memories you accumulate. Along with that comes the ability to recall where you were 10, 20, or 30 years ago. One of my most significant memories is a trip I took 30 years ago (along with my first late wife and my oldest daughter) over Labor Day weekend to Holland and Belgium.

I was commanding a mechanized infantry unit in what was then West Germany. This was a car trip and the distance was somewhat like going from Kansas City to Chicago, then south to St. Louis and back to Kansas City.

The first place we went was Arnhem in Holland. If you ever saw the movie or read the book A Bridge Too Far, then you know Arnhem was the city with the bridge that was too far. Operation Market Garden in October of 1944 came very close to establishing a crossing of the Rhine River. At the time I was there the town had an incredible museum of the battle. I bought a print depicting the battle that I framed and hangs in my office today.

This was our 3d trip to Holland. I was always impressed with the courtesy and intelligence of the Dutch people. Europeans love American Country Music. One of our trips was to see a Country Music extravaganza with 10-12 major acts, including Merle Haggard and a resurgant Kenny Rogers. The top act at the time was Don Williams, whose music included rather intricate lyrics in English. Yet, at one point in his show, Williams stopped singing and the hall was filled with the sound of the Dutch people singing along with him in perfect diction.

I also loved the food. The Dutch have the most amazing variety of breads. We stayed at small guest houses, what we call Bed and Breakfasts here in the states.

I don't know how it is today, but my experience in Belgium was how very welcome I was made to feel as an American. The Belgians saw Americans as liberators and were grateful to them.

We went to Bastogne, St. Vith, the site of the Malmedy Massacre and a Battle of the Bulge museum in the area. The museum was even more impressive than the one in Holland with terrific artifacts, photographs and film exhibits.

The surprise about Bastogne was the size of the town. Bastogne, even 34 years after the Bulge, was a village. Yet Bastogne sits astride one of the major intersections in eastern Belgium. That intersection was what made Bastogne so vital to the battle. In 1944, paved roads were few and far between. The German tanks could by-pass Bastogne and continue to the west at normal speed. Their fuel trucks, however, needed those paved roads. When the fuel trucks  were delayed, the German attack was slowed and the Allies were able to respond.

I remember standing in the town square of Bastogne and marveling at how the denial to the Germans of the hundred square yards I saw before me by a dedicated group of men from the 101st Airborne was the deciding factor in the battle and was a significant factor in the outcome of the war.

We owe a tremendous debt to those people who gave us the life and the opportunity we have today. To those of us with memories of those who actually fought, I think we have a responsibility to the next generation to teach them about their sacrifice and achievments. Now, we face a challenge that is different, but no less dangerous to our future. I wonder if we will have the resolve to recognize where our own hundred square yards are and if we will have the will to defend it successfully.

I've always been fascinated by this battle. I strongly recommend reading John Toland's Battle: The Story of the Bulge.

Thanks for indulging me this trip down memory lane.