Remains of the Easy Company Foxholes
It was a short but wonderful jaunt through Belgium towards Germany on the last leg of our history trip, but I’m really glad we made time to stop here. Situated on a hill overlooking the town of Bastogne was an incredible Belgian museum as well as a touching memorial dedicated to the American soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Bulge. We also made an unplanned visit to some of the preserved foxholes of Easy Company from the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. Truth be told, they were just humble dents in the ground, but these foxholes were still a physical legacy from the fighting that engulfed this region and that merits some amount of introspection.
Remains of an American tank damaged in the fighting over Bastogne.
In the museum we were treated to a general timeline of the war as it played out in Europe. What immediately impressed me was how the curator chose to narrate the history through the voices of four different characters, two Belgian citizens and two soldiers – one US and one German. It gave a great personal touch to the exhibits, especially when it was revealed that the characters and narrated events were actually real. I found a much more emotionally stimulating experience in this museum than others, but the final exhibit was the highlight of Bastogne to me. For the war’s 75th anniversary, able veterans made their way back to Bastogne to pose for a portrait and give a small interview. I only wish I had remembered to take some photographs of the exhibit for the blog, but it was a truly moving gallery and one I will remember.
A memorial to the 101st Airborne Division who made up half of the town’s 22,000 defenders.
The imposing memorial just beyond the museum was also a show of the overwhelming gratitude of the Belgian people. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the Bomber Command memorial in London, but it pales in comparison to the Bastogne monument in scale and commitment to dedication, at least in my eyes. The sheer gratitude towards the American servicemen who fought in Belgium initially caught me off guard, but it was awe-inspiring to see. The humility and gratitude of the Belgian people have been a fascinating cultural tone to see and experience here in Bastogne.