Today is December 18th. 75 years ago, Dad was having another active day up on the northern Hürtgen Forest front sitting opposite the Roer River, with the company firing 131 HE and 3 white phosphorus (WP) rounds. More about the WP later.
Dad wasn’t aware yet, but word was filtering to the Battalion command of a large Nazi counterattack further south through the Ardennes. The Company C daily diary for December 19th, 1944 says “This sector was quieter today than at any time since we came here. Everything seems to
be concentrated on the Luxembourg offensive, details of which are still lacking.” It would be 2 more days before the battalion received orders to reposition and join the fight in the Ardennes.
Since this was a quiet day in the history we’re retelling, let me take a little time to explain a writing quirk of mine. Some of you have noticed that I almost always refer to the enemy combatants as “Nazi forces” or “the Nazi Army” and not as the German army.
This is a very conscious choice of words. I’ve mentioned previously that Dad ‘s parents and younger brother died in the Shoah/Holocaust. What I haven’t mentioned is that over 100 adult members of his extended Broniatowski family were murdered.
While this history is incredibly painful, he and I both recognize that genocide can be perpetrated by any country – Rwanda, Cambodia and many others tell that tale. But, despite that family history, Dad found a way to return to Germany
and collaborate with German scientists in the 1970s and formed strong friendships. We know that few countries have worked harder to understand their past and keep from repeating history. That leads us to distinguish what happened from 1932 to 1945 from the present day
with this deliberate choice of words. The picture below shows a 4.2 inch mortar and its 3 man crew. Dad was in one of these crews from June 6, 1944 until the end of the war. 
Correction: Today is December 19th. I’m glad Dad’s memory is better than mine 🙄
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