Recorded Books Inc. - The longest winter: the battle of the bulge and the epic story of World War IIs most decorated platoon

PRAISE FOR

THE LONGEST WINTER

A heroic, inspiring story that deserves to be told.

Washington Post Book World

Americas enemies would do well not to underestimate this [platoons] sense of courage and duty.

Wall Street Journal

Gripping and unsentimental.... shows that valor comes in many forms.

New York Sun

A concise and winning account... Those interested in military history will find much here that is pleasing and heretofore uncelebrated.

San Francisco Chronicle

A good read.

Booklist

This book is a must-read for anyone who wants a renewed sense of patriotism.

Roanoke Times

Kershaw recounts the story of the I&R Platoon in dramatic fashion... [and] puts a personal face on the action.

Military.com

Hitlers last desperate gamblethe Battle of the Bulgemight have changed history if not for the do-or-die heroism of eighteen brave American boys. General Eisenhower called their actions the most outstanding tactical maneuver in World War II. The Longest Winter is their incredible tale. I highly recommend [it].

James Bradley, author of Flags of Our Fathers and Flyboys

The Longest Winter is a gripping saga about raw courage and superhuman endurance. Alex Kershaw recounts what it was like to fight against Nazi aggression at the Battle of the Bulge.

Douglas Brinkley, author of Tour of Duty

OTHER BOOKS BY ALEX KERSHAW

The Bedford Boys

Blood and Champagne

Jack London

THE

LONGEST WINTER

The Battle of the Bulge
and the Epic Story of WWIIs
Most Decorated Platoon

ALEX KERSHAW

Da Capo Press

A Member of the Perseus Books Group

Copyright 2004 by Alex Kershaw

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Cataloging-in-Publication data for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

ISBN: 978-0-30681-596-6

First Da Capo Press paperback edition 2005

Published by Da Capo Press

A Member of the Perseus Books Group

http://www.dacapopress.com

Da Capo Press books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the United States by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, or call (800) 255-1514 or (617) 252-5298, or email .

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For veterans of the Bulge

and those who sacrificed their lives

defeating the Third Reich

CONTENTS

T HANKS MUST FIRST GO to my astute and hugely supportive editor at Da Capo Press, Robert L. Pigeon, who wondered whether I would be interested in writing a book that focused on a small unit but that also gave a broad overview of the Battle of the Bulgethe greatest battle in U.S. history. A call to longtime supporter Michael Edwards at the Eisenhower Center led to my discovery of the Intelligence and Reconnaissance platoon of the 394th Infantry Regiment of the 99th Division. Edwards outlined a fantastic story and said that the commanding officer was still alive, as were others from what is thought to be the most decorated platoon of the entire Second World War.

The commanding officer, Lyle Bouck Jr., was indeed still alivevery much so. An author could not have hoped for a better relationship with the main character in his book. I would like to thank Lylea true American officer and gentlemanand his wife, Lucy, for their hospitality on several occasions. Without Lyle Boucks assistance, this book would have been impossible. I was especially lucky because Lyle also handed over years of careful documentation, press clippings, and many remarkable written accounts by platoon members who were deceased.

The following platoon members also provided generous help, and some suffered many hours of questioning: Vernon Leopold, who spent days checking over the manuscript and directing me toward new information; James Fort; Louis Kalil; Risto Milosevich; Samuel L. Jenkins; Robert Lambert, who sadly passed away during the writing of this book; Joseph McConnell; James Silvola; and Robert Preston.

Helga Druxes, a professor at Williams College, did an outstanding job of translating colloquial German from the 1940s into pristine English. Once more, Lindsay Sterling provided crucial advice and help with the manuscript. She has no equal.

The following relatives, experts, and veterans also helped a great deal: John Creger Jr., Delfina Fernandez, the Silvola family, Kurt Vonnegut, James Fort Jr., Bill Meyer, Will Cavanagh, Peter Gacki, Emma Sue Creger, Lt. Warren Springer, Hans J. Wijers, Bob Thompson, William H. Merricken, Paul Tsakanikas, Larry McBreyer, Abe Baum, William Nutto, Barbara Anderson, Bill Slape Jr., Mike Slape, John Lambert Jr., Ward Silvola, Roberta Catlett, Jean Silvola, Jim Price, Agnes McGehee, and Anna Tsakanikas.

My wife, Robin Loerch, acted as researcher, picture editor, technician, and transcriber. The book would have taken twice as long to complete without her amazingly good-natured help. She and my son Felix have allowed me to pursue my fascinations far more than most writers could hope for.

My agent, Derek Johns, and his colleagues at AP Watt again provided all the assistance they could. The superb team at Da Capo Press was yet again also a delight to work with. And without the late Peter Burchard, there would have been little joy in endless weeks of library research at Williams College.

At the village of Lanzerath, Belgium

First Lieutenant Lyle Bouck, commanding

Private Robert Adams

Private Robert Baasch

Private John Creger

Sergeant William Dustman

Private Clifford Fansher

Technician Fourth Class James Fort

Private Bill James

Corporal Sam Jenkins

Private Louis Kalil

Private Joseph McConnell

Corporal Aubrey Schnoz McGehee

Private First Class Risto Milo Milosevich

Private First Class Robert Mop Preston

Sergeant George Pappy Redmond

Private First Class Jordan Pop Robinson

Private James Siv Silvola

Sergeant Bill Slape

At regimental headquarters in Hnningen, Belgium

Private Vic Adams

Private First Class Carlos Fernandez

Private First Class John Frankovitch

Technician Fifth Class Robert Lambert

Private Vernon Leopold

Private First Class Elmer Nowacki

Private Sam Oakley

Es geht alles vorber

Es geht alles vorbei

Nach jedem Dezember

Gibts wieder ein Mai.