CAPE MAY – According to former rifleman Pfc Elmer Umbenhauer, of the 8th Armored Division, “this is for the Christmas we missed.” Umbenhauer was referring to the annual Christmas luncheon that Mad Batter owner Mark Kulkowitz hosts for the dwindling number of survivors of the World War II Battle of the Bulge that occurred over the Christmas holidays of December 1944.
Kulkowitz’s father, Harry, is a veteran of that epic, last-ditch offensive that the German army launched near the town of Bastogne. This year’s event marks the 72nd anniversary of that battle that sealed the defeat of Germany as the Allies closed in on the German heartland.
Umbenhauer was an 18-year-old rifleman stationed in England at the start of December 1944 when the battle began. As soon as his unit landed in France, they rushed toward the battle area where Gen. George Patton was mounting a relief effort to reach the encircled troops of the 82nd Airborne Div. that refused to be overrun by Germany’s superior forces, in the dead of winter.
87th Infantry Division mortar squad veteran and Battle of the Bulge historian Gus Epple described the battle that began Dec. 16, 1944, when 1,000 Panzer tanks with 250,000 German soldiers surged through the Ardennes forest that had been designated as an “R & R” location for exhausted American troops.
The area was lightly defended by tired U.S. forces and the Germans “blew into our weak defenses” before anyone realized that a major German offensive was underway.
Epple spoke of frost-bitten feet that resulted from one of the coldest winters in that region’s history; hip-high snow and piercing winds made everyone miserable.
Finally, relief forces under Patton arrived to lift the siege and save countless lives, including some participants of the luncheon.
Epple read the ceremonial roll call of members who died.
Then, the event’s guest speaker U.S. Coast Guard TRACEN Cape May Commanding Officer Capt. Owen Gibbons addressed the veterans. Everyone sang Christmas carols in the warm glow of good fellowship. Veterans, families, and friends spent the afternoon getting reacquainted, expressing the hope that all of them will be able to return to Cape May again next year.
To contact Jim McCarty, email jmccarty@cmcherald.com.
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