Lemberg--Maurice Lloyd's Monument

The red clay road was wet but firm and the trees broke the wind so that the rain just drizzled steadily on us as we walked along. Since this was the woods that our fathers walked through, I think the progeny in particular were grateful for the opportunity to get out and walk. Of course, as Bill Moseley pointed out, picture this with shells coming in and no warm bus at the end. Bob Hamer pointed out that a grove of trees was the place to be. The bombs could explode in the tree tops and turn wood into projectiles, but there was cover.

We were glad the cars went by to provide us with a trail. There was a lot of selective logging going on in the forest, piles of logs waiting to be removed lined the road, but there were no gaps among the trees. A completely different idea of forestry.

I was particularly interested in seeing the railroad cut at Lemberg since somewhere near here, Dad put charges in the stone bridges in such a way that the stones dropped down (instead of blew out), cutting off roads and railroads ahead of the German advance in Operation Nordwind. He was always glad because he did it against orders.

This is the bridge I was standing on for the previous photo. It's the view to the left from Maurice Lloyd's foxhole.

We gather in the pouring rain for the wreath laying and speeches.

Left to right: Bob Hamer, John Sommer, Armer Alcorn, Ed Carrell, Virginia Gattinella, Nat Gattinella, Bill McNutt, John Alcorn

A local man sculpted the memorial. On the side, next to Bob and John Alcorn, it reads,

VII ARMEE

US CENTURY

Lemberg

So at 11:30 or so we arrived in Lemberg itself, little realizing that a ceremony had been planned at 11:00 and these poor people had waited for us at the town hall for nearly half an hour in the driving rain. The mayor read a speech, which Lise translated for us.

The black plaque that we are standing around is the Lemberg war memorial "To Our Dead." It lists World War I, World War II, and at the bottom, the civilian casualties as the fighting raged through the town.

I couldn't get over that the band stood out in that bitterly cold rain and wind to play the Marsellaise and the Star-Spangled Banner in honor of V-E Day and us.

After the speeches and the wreath laying, we were welcomed at a champagne reception in the town hall. Bill Glazier and Bob Heller were talking to this older local man. I wondered whether he'd been in Lemberg in 1944. The rest of us regretted that we had so little French and that no one there spoke English. We so wanted to thank them for their warm welcome and their willingness to brave that cold driving rain.

As I was there, I got talking to a man who had five words of English, so I tried out my five words of French. He explained that he was 11 when the American arrived and he knew that because when the first soldier had arrived to check their house for Germans, his mother had told him that her son was 11. The American soldier disappeared for awhile, then came back with 11 pieces of bubblegum, 11 pieces of chocolate, and 11 spanks.

Lunch in Baerenthal

We had lunch at L'Arbre Vert in Baerenthal--a restaurant that earns the name unique. The owner/chef has decorated every square inch with nearly anything he can think of--especially free form plaster, painted and gilded, in ornate patterns everywhere you look.

Lorraine McNutt enjoys the scenery!

It was another three hour lunch, but we certainly had plenty to look at between courses! George Byrnes gets his camera ready.

The food though was fabulous--we had the local specialty--choucroute. This picture is from a postcard of Alsatian specialties.

I found one description of it--sauerkraut pickled with juniper berries and cooked with goose grease, which forms a landing pad for several types of pork: knockwurst, thick bacon, a foie quenelle. We also had boiled potatoes and a lovely mushroom soup--puree of course.

The chef came out to see how we liked it, which we did, we did, on such a cold rainy day.

Dambach

After lunch we headed out again on the bus--I for one had no idea what was next other than some kind of ceremony. I certainly didn't expect the array of World War II vehicles and French re-enactors that awaited us!

It was particularly fun to see that some of them wore the Century Division patch.

But the open jeeps don't make for dry seats.

Someone pointed out that it took more than putting on the uniform to create a GI. But how unexpected that there are Frenchmen even interested in doing this kind of re-enactment.

The town of Dambach is surrounded with Maginot fortification (on the right), just casually cropping up in fields and in town. The Century Division didn't fight in Dambach. During the war this became a no man's land, caught between the forces as the attack and counterattack moved back and forth. We were there at the invitation of Lise Pommois to help inaugurate their new museum and to honor V-E Day.

The cause of the celebration--the new museum in the Maginot Line. The map below is from the guidebook that Lise Pommois gave all of us--Ligne Maginot: Vallée du Schwarzbach--Dambach-Neunhoffen Circuit of Discovery

The book is a guide through all the fortifications between the two towns, with pictures and explanations. With some time and my dictionary, I'll get more out of it, but for now, here's the map and a sense of how the fortifications crop out of the ground wherever one looks.

Liz and I arrived back at the rec hall with various townspeople--once more really frustrated by the lack of French to talk with them and thank them. And gradually getting a bit worried since no one else from the tour was showing up. We laughed about the fact that we had no idea where we were and no real ability to communicate. Now that would be an adventure if the bus had left us.

We hadn't realized that the buses had stopped at the new museum for a quick look.

Eventually, the room cleared and tables were brought in for supper--along with a famous accordion band on the far end of the hall. We had a grand time, drinking the local wine and beer and eating tarte flambee, another local specialty--of which there was an endless supply from the outdoor open fire kitchen. Lots of clapping and singing, and a few brave people danced.

We were sorry to leave such a wonderful town, but also tired at the end of a long day.

Here's a picture from a post card of Tarte Flambée. The post card has a recipe. Here it is in my shaky French:

Prepare a bread dough with 500 grams of wheat, 20 grams of fresh yeast, 1 pinch of salt, 1 glass 1/2 lukewarm water. Spread out this dough in a round and fold the edges in 1 to 2 cm. Top it with thickened cream, minced onions, and lard "en dés."

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