Peace on Earth, for a while
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There was no peace in Belgium's Ardennes Forest on December 24, 1944. But 9 people found an unlikely peaceful "Silent Night" as the WW2 Battle of the Bulge raged around them. Just 8 days earlier, the Allies were surprised by a massive German counterattack through the lightly defended Ardennes area. In the confusion, 3 Americans, Ralph, Jim, and Harry got lost. After wandering for 3 days in the freezing weather they came upon a cottage. There was a light inside.
Hubert Vincken had sent his wife Elisabeth and 12-year-old son Fritz to a hunting cottage in the normally quiet Ardennes forest after their home in Aachen Germany had been bombed. Fritz recalled his dad's instruction: "In the forest you will be safe. Take care of Mother. You are a man now." That Christmas Eve they were alone; Hubert remained in Aachen. Fritz remembered what happened next; quotes are from his "Christmas Peace" story.
At dark there was a knock at the door. Who could that be? Elisabeth cautiously looked out. Two haggard soldiers stood there in the snow; a third lay wounded. She realized they were Americans and invited them in. "They hadn't shaved, but still…looked merely like older boys. And that was the way Mother began to treat them."
"'Go and bring Herman,' Mother said to me, 'and some potatoes…' Herman was a fat rooster named after Hermann Goering, for whom Mother had no sympathy. Soon the smell of the cooking filled the room. Then there was another knock." Fritz expected more Americans but was stunned to see 4 German soldiers. He feared the worst. His mother was shaken but invited them in, warning that there were other "guests" inside. "Americans?", the German sergeant asked brusquely. Elisabeth addressed them sternly, "Listen, you could be my sons and the Americans in there too. One of them is wounded and is fighting for his life and his two fellows are lost and hungry like you." She addressed the sergeant, lifting her voice, "this Holy Night we do not think of killing." Elisabeth clapped her hands, "put your weapons there on the wood pile - and hurry before the others eat everything up."
Inside, it was tense and cramped, though the warmth and aroma of cooking took the edge off. Americans and Germans sat awkwardly side by side on her bed. Two of the Germans, Heinz and Willi, were only 16; their sergeant 23. Jim helped with cooking. One German had medical training and examined Harry's wounds. He said there was no infection, but that he needed fluids and nourishment because of blood loss. At dinner "Mother said grace...there were tears in her eyes as she said the old, familiar words, 'Komm, Herr Jesus, be our guest.' I saw tears, too, in the eyes of the battle-weary soldiers, boys again...all far from home at Christmas."
The next morning they made a crude stretcher for the wounded American. The German sergeant showed the GIs how to find their unit and even gave them a compass. Odd, Fritz thought, that he knew so much about American positions. They shook hands and departed in opposite directions. End of story? Fritz Vincken, who emigrated to the U.S., tried for decades to find the soldiers. His story ran on national media, including "Unsolved Mysteries" in 1994. Finally, he located and in 1996 met Ralph Blank, the guy who was wounded. They relived that magical night. Fritz was elated, "I can die in peace. My mother's courage won't be forgotten."
Three Mariettans (that I know of) fought in the Battle of Bulge: Sam Cook, Jim Starner, and Ed Hamilton. I think of them this time of year.