‘Nuts!’

CAPE MAY – Each place setting at the luncheon at the Mad Batter Restaurant, in Cape May, to honor Battle of the Bulge veterans, included a single walnut on a stark, white plate.
The odd appetizer was to commemorate the answer to the commander of the German forces, who had surrounded American forces in the forest in and around Bastogne, Belgium, and sent a letter asking for their surrender or face annihilation.
“Nuts!” was the answer sent back to the Germans by U.S. Army General Anthony McAuliffe, who was the acting division commander of the 101st Airborne Division troops during the battle.
The Germans were unsure of the meaning of the response until an interpreter said it is an American version of “go to hell.”
The famous blitzkrieg that ensued after that answer occurred between Dec. 16, 1944, and Jan. 25, 1945. It involved American, French, British, Canadian, Belgian and German troops.
When it was over, the official list of American casualties was 80,987, including 19,000 killed, but the Germans were unable to advance, and the tide of the war was turned.
It’s been 75 years since 18-year-old Elmer Umbenhauer and his division pushed through France and arrived in the heavily forested Ardennes, where the Battle of the Bulge was fought.
John Crosby worked in communications for the 7th Army, and nearly lost his life when mistaken for a Nazi spy during the infamous battle. He suffered another close call when he was nearly strafed by a German dive bomber.
“I thought he had his sights on me, but he was zeroed in on a gas tanker and hit it, sending flames 40 feet in the air. I had my camera, so I took a picture,” Crosby said.
He also took a picture of a crashed German jet he passed. He believes it may be one of the very few photographs of a German jet that was operational.
The Nazis were experimenting with jet-engine aircraft near the end of the war, but poor availability of materials thwarted practical use of the aircraft.
Both Umbenhauer and Crosby remember the siege like it was yesterday, and so, they gather every year, close to Dec. 16, the start of the Battle of the Bulge, to see fellow soldiers, World War II veterans, family and friends, as guests of Mark Kulkowitz, owner of the Mad Batter Restaurant, whose father, Harry Kulkowitz, fought in the battle when he was 19. For his exceptional bravery, Harry Kulkowitz was awarded the Legion d’Honeur Medal by the government of France.
Kulkowitz said the fact that only two members of the Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge South Jersey Chapter LXI organization and two other World War II veterans, including Vincent Pale, a prisoner of war, who survived the infamous German camp Stalag 17, attended the yearly luncheon, “It’s sad.”
Johnnie Walker, adjutant, Disabled American Veterans, Department of New Jersey, said the numbers of attendees has dwindled over the years.
“When I first came to the luncheon 25 years ago, there were 40 veterans here. Last year, there were 16, and this year there are two Bulge veterans here,” Walker said, before calling for a moment of silence for members who had passed. A rendition of “Taps” played as the veterans saluted.
In addition to the luncheon, the veterans were treated to a variety of Christmas carols sung by LaNetta Hammill.
To contact Carl Price, email cprice@cmcherald.com.