78th Anniversary of the Siege of Bastogne

Photo By 1st Sgt. Jacob Connor | Vincent Speranza, a Battle of the Bulge veteran that was in the 101st Airborne Division, observes his portrait in Bastogne, Belgium on December 10, 2022. The Bastogne War Museum recently put up his portrait to thank him for his contributions to the defense of the town 78 years ago.  

BASTOGNE, BELGIUM

12.20.2022

Story by Pfc. Matthew Wantroba 

101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)

Hundreds of soldiers from the 101st Airborne (Air Assault) were present for the 78th commemoration of the Battle of the Bulge or “Nutz weekend” from Dec. 8-10, 2022.

In Winter of 1944 one of the last major German Wehrmacht offenses on the Western Front would commence in the Ardennes region of Belgium and Luxembourg and encircle the city of Bastogne, a critical road junction that would be used for further German offenses. The 101st Airborne Division would be one of the divisions that would defend the town from Dec. 20-27. The division’s mission laid upon the defense of the town against the capture and possible slaughtering of its populace by the hands of the German army and the Gestapo, which was Nazi Germany’s secret police during World War Two. Outnumbered and outgunned, the 101st Airborne was able to fight and defend the town for 8 days before General Patton and his Third Army was able to relieve them.

Vincent Speranza, a World War Two veteran in the 101st Airborne Division during the Siege of Bastogne was present during the Commemoration Parade. He would travel with the 101st Airborne Division formation as they went throughout the town of Bastogne, laying wreaths for General McAuliffe and General Patton who are considered saviors of the town. Later in the day he would be presented a portrait of himself in the Bastogne War Museum.
“On May 7th (1945) we had finally reached Berchtesgaden” said Vincent Speranza after being asked to speak at the Veterans’ Portrait unveiling. “Berchtesgaden was the first town we weren't being shot at,” Speranza said. Speranza and other soldiers of the 101st Airborne would then go on to inspect Hitler’s “Eagles Nest” building at the summit of Kehlstein near Berchtesgaden. “I looked on the wall, and there was a map, a map color encoded, brown with Germany, green with Italy, and red with Japan, there it was on the wall what was going to happen if those dictators had succeeded,” said Speranza. “Germany was to get all of Europe up to the Mediterranean, all of Ukraine up to the Ural Mountains, Canada and the United States. If anyone ever doubted why that war had to be fought and why it had to be won, there it was on the wall,” he said.

Soldiers like Speranza and battles like the Siege of Bastogne stopped the Axis Powers’ takeover of the Free World. These Soldiershonor the footsteps taken to liberate Europe 78 Years later as the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) is back on the continent ready to face an increasingly dynamic regional security environment on NATOs eastern flank. The 101st is one of the most recognized Divisions in the U.S. Army, being able to launch any combat Air Assault mission anywhere in the world. Just like in today's time and back in the 1940’s, the soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division are ordinary people ready to defend and protect the freedom, security, and liberty of the United States and its allies.

• Date Taken: 12.20.2022
• Date Posted: 12.21.2022 02:50
• Story ID: 435510
• Location: BASTOGNE, BE