Hello,

Last month I traveled to Luxembourg City, Luxembourg via Frankfurt, Germany to attend the US Veteran Friends of Luxembourg Tour. Luxembourg is a tiny country of approximately 400,000 in population which is tucked in between Germany and France with Belgium bordering on the north. 

During WWII, Luxembourg, which was a neutral country, was invaded and annexed by the Nazi forces. The major trade unions in Luxembourg responded by going a nationwide strike. As a result, the Nazis rounded up and summarily executed the chief officers of the unions and also instituted mandatory conscription into the German Army of all the country's young men. Many young men hid in cellars and in woods to avoid conscription. They were aided by citizens who risked their lives to hide them and to form resistance groups. The citizens of Luxembourg looked upon the coming of the American soldiers as their deliverance. The American units liberated Luxembourg twice - first in September 1944 and then again in December-January 1944-45 after very bitter fighting in extreme weather conditions (15 inches of snow, 18 degrees below zero) during the Battle of the Bulge. As a result, the Luxembourg people have never forgotten the American veterans who crossed an ocean to come to their aid. They warmly welcome back all veterans and their families and are most kind, generous and hospitable. They love Americans! The veterans and family members of those lost in battle were honored and treated like royalty. 

A very kind member of the Vet Friends, Denise Thill, whose parents were active in the resistance during WWII, drove me from Luxembourg to eastern France. As a result, I was able to visit the graves of my two uncles who were killed in action in Luxembourg and Austria. One uncle is buried at the Luxembourg Cemetery which is located in the town of Hamm, a suburb of Luxembourg City. The other uncle is buried an hour and twenty minutes away by car at the Lorraine Cemetery in St. Avold, France which is in the Moselle area of eastern France. Some members of the tour had lost their fathers during WWII and are members of AWON (American War Orphans Network). It was evident how much they have been affected by not having their fathers in their formative years and are still affected by their loss to the present day. 

We were accompanied on our tour by members of the US Army 80th Training Command headed up by Major General John McLaren, formerly a commander in Iraq. These members of our military acted as honor guard for the numerous ceremonies at monuments commemorating battles and the units involved during WWII. Each town would then host us for lunch or dinner. In addition we were honored to have Helen Patton-Plucszyk, the granddaughter of General George S. Patton, spend time with our group on several occasions. Helen is married to a German pediatric surgeon. She and her husband and two young sons reside in Saarbrucken, Germany. Helen cares greatly for the veterans and greets visiting groups of veterans whenever possible. She has established the Patton Trust to further her work in this regard. 

There were two incidents that occurred during the trip as I spent time with the veterans which I would like to share with you. At the town of Dudelange, Luxembourg, one of the veterans who helped liberate that town spoke at the ceremony held there. He mentioned that the military forces of the United States come as liberators and not as conquerors and once the mission is accomplished, the country was returned to its inhabitants and rightful owners. Then on June 22, we visited the beautiful town of Vianden and were taken to view SEO, a hydro-electric plant on the Our River. I was in a van with several veterans which descended into a dark tunnel hewn out of rock so that we could view the nine turbines which generated the electric power beneath the Our River. As we descended deeper into the tunnel, one of the veterans said, "This is like descending into the bowels of the earth." Another veteran said, "More like descending into the bowels of Hell." Slowly and solemnly another veteran at the back of the van said, "No guys, we've already been there."

I would like to invite you to view some of the pictures from the tour which include scenes from Luxembourg including the Luxembourg Cemetery, the Lorraine Cemetery in St. Avold, France, and Bastogne in Belgium where the 101st Airbone "Band of Brothers" were surrounded and defied an ultimatum for surrender by the German forces.

You may double click on the first picture icon to enlarge it. The explanation of the picture will appear above the picture. On the right-hand side of the screen you will see a panel of three small thumbnail sized pictures. You can double click on any picture you wish to enlarge to view or simply advance through the thumbnails by clicking on the arrow.

Click on this link to view the pictures:
http://cid-863e7caa81174907.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Public/2009%20US%20Veterans%20Friends%20of%20Luxembourg%20Tour

I hope you find the pictures interesting.

Judy Bezjak