As Veterans of World War II it is an honor to be recognized as such. Yet in our "Twilight Years" it is often difficult to admit that we are nearing "The End Of The Road". After some 63 odd years our "Memory" may start to fade and the many details of our "WAR TIME ACTIVITIES" may be lost forever. I hate to admit this but my "MEMORY" is about like my hair "SHORT". Each of us in our own special way, throughout our lifetime, has probably experienced a series of events that will be forever etched in our memory. For most of us we define an ANNIVERSARY as the date on which some event occurred in an earlier year. In general, most anniversaries are happy occasions such as birthdays, weddings or graduations that we all look forward to celebrating with family and friends. Some are not so happy that we will never forget. It is with a heavy heart that I relive the events of one such ANNIVERSARY for me. Just 63 years ago today, 7 JANUARY, 1945, I was seriously wounded in action during the Battle of the Bulge near Milmount, Belgium. This is one of those DEFINING MOMENTS IN TIME that I will carry to my grave.

I joined the 17th Airborne Division, (Co B 194th Glider Infantry) in May 1943 as a 2nd Lieutenant. After training for some 18 months we shipped over to England in August 1944. In late December, 1944, the Division was moved across the English Channel to be committed to the Battle of the Bulge. In late December we moved up to the front. In early January 1945 our Company was in a Reserve position. The weather was terrible. There was about 8 inches of snow on the ground and the temperature hovering in the mid 20s. On the morning of 7 January 1945 we crossed the Line of Departure on our first combat attack. The results of this attack were horrific. Of the nearly 180 men committed to battle only 20 remained with the Company. Less than one half of the enlisted casualties were due to battle wounds. The major culprit was the cold weather. Frostbite and frozen extremities took its toll. This was a very sad day for me as Company B, 1^st Battalion, 194^th Glider Infantry Regiment suffered major casualties. Three of our Officers were killed (Capt Jack R. Klinger,1st Lt John D. Jennings and 1st Lt Robert E. Wright) and three of us were wounded (1^st Lt Edward A. Thayer Jr, 2^nd Lt. William H. Supon and myself.

Now for my DEFINING MOMENT IN TIME. We started the attack about daylight. Lt Ed Thayer's Platoon and my Platoon were the lead units while Lt Supon's Platoon was in Reserve. Lt (The Mouse) Wright led the Weapons Platoon. By 10:00 AM the forward movement was stopped cold by a German tank some 300 yards to our front. Lt Thayer had been wounded and we had possibly 10 men killed. Due to the cold weather our radios would not work. Lt John Jennings, our Company Executive Officer, was some 600 yards behind us but not in radio contact. Wright and I decided that one of us had to run back up the hill, some 600 yards, to get some help. Lt Wright did not want to go so I volunteered. I told the crew to watch me and if I fell and did not get up to send another volunteer. My run back up the hill was not pleasant. I would run about 10 yards then hit the ground. The machine gun bullets from the German tank were falling all around me and kicking up the snow. My run to the crest of the hill was successful. I found Lt Jennings to relay the situation in person.

At the crest of the hill, possibly 15 yards behind a small beet pile, I was explaining to Jennings our situation. I was prone on the ground and Jennings, some three feet away from me, was up on one knee. I kept telling Jennings to "get down". A few moments later a mortar round exploded possibly 10 yards in front of us. Jennings was killed instantly and I was seriously wounded. The irony of my story is that Lt Wright was killed that night at nearly the same spot where I had left him that morning.

Lt Jennings had two small sons, ages 5 and 7, as I recall. Lt Wright and I were both bachelors. My question that only the good Lord can answer is "Why was 1^st Lt Townsend spared that fateful day, 7 JANUARY, 1945, and Lt Jennings and Lt Wright taken away"? I am sure that we have all asked ourselves at one time or another WHAT IF? My story of "Just A Moment In Time" is just one of the many reasons that I am so proud to be an AMERICAN. I have done nothing more or nothing less than you or any other American would have done in the same situation.

While I am eternally grateful for being spared on that fateful day on 7 JANUARY 1945 I am especially thankful for another ANNIVERSARY ON 7 JANUARY. This one on 7 JANUARY 2002. On that date I completed my 39th radiation treatment for prostate cancer. Subsequent tests indicate the treatment was very successful. On 7 January 1945 I was wounded at approximately 11:00 AM. On 7 January 2002 at approximately 11:00 AM I completed my last radiation treatment. At the completion of my treatment the Georgetown University Hospital Radiation Staff presented me with a very nice Certificate. Now you know why 7 JANUARY is so important to me.

Needless to say I have been on an emotional roller coaster the past few days. I have been in touch with several members of my unit who were with me on that fateful day some 63 years ago. We have relived those very painful details many times. If my communications and actions seem a bit erratic please forgive me. My plans for tonight are very simple. I plan to say a special prayer then attempt to go to sleep.

Please join me in a very special prayer for those who paid the SUPREME SACRIFICE, for our Distinguished Veterans and Valued Comrades who have passed on since that fateful day and FOR THOSE OF US WHO ARE NEARING THE END OF THE LINE. GOOD NIGHT and GOD BLESS YOU.

Delbert L. (Del) Townsend

Co A & B 194^th Glider Infantry Regiment

17^th Airborne Division

May 1943 to Jun 1945