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The U.S. Army suffered more than 100,000 casualties during World
War II’s Battle of the Bulge, a last-ditch attempt by the German
army to split the Allied forces in northwest Europe in December
1944.
Claude Hodges, a resident at the Virginia Veterans Care
Center, was serving with the 99th Infantry Division in the
Ardennes Forest when the battle broke out; although captured and
interned in a German prisoner-of-war camp, Hodges lived to tell his
story to future generations.
Eager to hear that story was
Maj. Gen. Troy D. Kok, commanding general of the U.S. Army Reserve’s
99th Regional Support Command, who visited Hodges and other veterans
at the center April 28, 2017.
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April 28, 2017 - Maj. Gen. Troy D. Kok, commanding general of the
U.S. Army Reserve’s 99th Regional Support Command, presents framed
artwork from World War II to Claude Hodges, a 99th Infantry Division
veteran who served during the Battle of the Bulge and is currently a
resident at the Virginia Veterans Care Center in Roanoke, Virginia.
Kok visited Hodges and other veterans at the center. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Shawn Morris)
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“Our history is so very important to remember,” said Kok
during a previous visit with veterans. “It’s all about
service, and it doesn’t matter when we did that service –
it’s a matter of being willing to do the service.”
Hodges service began when he enlisted in the Army in
December 1942. Two years later, he found himself serving as
a machine gunner in the Ardennes Forest.
“We were dug
in on a bank,” recalled Hodges in book, “Battle Baby at the
Bulge: The POW Experience of Claude Hodges,” by Col. Greg
Eanes. “We had two-man foxholes covered in pine. We were
only about 300 feet apart and could see the Germans coming
in and out of their bunkers.”
On Dec. 15, 1944 – the
day before the German army launched the Ardennes Offensive –
Hodges was sent to Honsfeld, Belgium, for a brief respite
from the front lines.
His rest was short-lived as the
German Army entered Honsfeld on Dec. 17, 1944, and Hodges
and his fellow U.S. Soldiers were taken prisoner by the 1st
SS Panzer Division.
Hodges spent the next
three-and-a-half months in Stalag 13, a prisoner-of-war camp
in Hammelburg, Germany, before being liberated by U.S.
forces in early April 1945.
“I have to give God all
the credit for our survival,” Hodges said.
Although
the 99th RSC’s mission to provide facilities, logistics and
administrative support to 44,000 Army Reserve Soldiers in
the 13-state northeast region of the United States is vastly
different than that of the 99th ID, Kok and his Soldiers
continue a legacy of service that Hodges and his comrades
started 75 years ago.
“It’s just such an honor to be
able to shake the hands of these men and women,” said Kok.
“I watch the expressions on their faces as they remember the
importance of their service and what they did.”
By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Shawn Morris
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2017
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