Life returns to normal and I return to my genealogy world with
time to breathe, think and write!
My last post of December 16, 2011, focused on my Uncle
Robert Meyer. I am always struck by coincidences. December 16 marked my uncle’s birth date, the
beginning of the Battle of the Bulge and his participation in that battle.
December 16 was most certainly a significant date of his life!
Family lore can be very interesting. My uncle was present
during the Battle of the Bulge and was a credible witness to the event. He told
his story to the males of our family. In turn, I heard the stories from my father,
my brother and my husband. Unfortunately, my uncle passed away and I lost my
primary informant.
This presented a problem. Initially, I wrote the post by
telling the story I had heard from my father, brother and husband. It was a
good story! Just prior to posting I gave my cousin, Robbin, a call asking him
for details of his father’s war experience.
Robbin became my secondary
informant. While he was not present during his father’s war experiences, he did
hear the war stories from his father. My secondary informant supplied me with
details of his father’s battalion, battles he fought in and the story of the
birthday cake. He told the personal side of his father’s war experiences.
Here is the story I heard from my father, my brother and my
husband.
On December 16, 1944
my uncle slept on the second floor of a German farmhouse located in the
Ardennes Forest of Belgium. There was a knock on the farmhouse door. The
sleeping soldiers knew Germans were at the door as no American would ever knock.
They immediately rose, grabbed their gear and jumped out the second floor
window. They ran for their truck, and sped away throwing grenades at the
Germans. The Germans had come in the front door as my uncle jumped out the
window!
Uncle Bob’s battalion
was missing in action. At the end of the war, my uncle was in Austria busy cleaning
up pocket of resistance. He continued fighting until someone informed him that
the war was over. There was no need to fight any longer.
With his whereabouts
unknown my grandmother began writing letters to newspapers and Congressmen
asking for help in locating her son. He eventually returned home due to her
letter writing campaign!
Please compare this story with my December 16 post.
Genealogical research strives to find accurate information from informants who
were as close to the event as possible. My cousin, Robbin, provided greater
detail of his father’s war experience.
Robbin does not know exactly where his father was sleeping
that morning of December 16. While possible, he could not confirm that he slept
in a German farmhouse. The
Ardennes Forest is a thick forest and this suggests that he most likely slept
in trenches.
My version comes from stories told by my uncle to my father.
My father told my brothers and my husband. I heard them but did not pay close attention. With each retelling and my poor listening skills, details may
have changed.
My grandmother most likely wrote letters looking for her
son’s safe return though I doubt her letters were the sole reason for his
return. To my knowledge no letters exist.
Most likely a combination of events occurred both here and in Europe.
With the desire to provide accurate information, I rewrote my post.
