War memoir of John L. DeGroot

Last week marked the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp. On one hand, I don't care to be reminded of the Holocaust; on the other, I can't help but feel it's wrong to forget.

In this short wartime memoir, Mr. John L. DeGroot, an Orange City native, narrates his experiences. After the war, Mr. DeGroot was known as a school administrator at two area Christian high schools--Southwest (MN) and Western (IA). 

In 1995, at Dordt College, I taught an evening course in the literature of the Holocaust. One night, members of the community who had opened up camps during their tours of duty in the military remembered together what they had seen and never forgotten. One of those veterans was Mr. John L. DeGroot. 

Recently, I asked his son if I could run that short memoir. Mr. DeGroot is no longer with us; his son Larry, an old friend, gave me permission to use it here. 

No one enjoys reminiscing the Holocaust, but the stories should not be forgotten. Towards the end of her life, Diet Eman, who also spoke to the class, stopped talking to adult audiences. She said she would only speak to high school age kids because they couldn't know what the Holocaust meant to humanity. 

In that spirit, I hope you will take to heart the war story of John L. De Groot.

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Even though our task of conquering Germany began on the Normandy beaches, where our troops landed beginning at H hour on D-day on through the next several days (my platoon landed on D-t 4 on Utah Beach.) The account of activities wish to relay really begins with The Battle of the Bulge in Belgium. 

At the beginning of the thrust the Germans made into Belgium, later called-''The Battle of the Bulge," our group was stationed at Aachen, Germany, just a few miles or kilometers from the Netherlands. The day of the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge found us just a few miles north of where the northern perimeter of the German army broke through, in all directions. 

[The circle to the left marks off the D-Day landing beaches the Allies took on June 6, 1944. The circle to the right surrounds Aachen, Germany, where the Allies first entered Germany itself. Note how close it is to both Belgium and the Netherlands. Once they were off the beaches and had fought terrible battles in some of the small towns like St. Lo, the movement of Allied troops was quite remarkably smooth and easy. Hitler's grand last stand at the Battle of the Bulge was, in fact, a long shot. Soon Mr. De Groot says he and all the Allied troops who'd already made it into Germany, had to leave because of the huge incursion the German army had made into Belgium to begin what would become the Battle of the Bulge.]

Early the next morning we were on the move, a move that eventually brought us back to near Namur and Liege, Belgium. We camped in a schoolhouse near the little town of Houffalize, near Bastogne, Belgium, very near to the American unit that was commanded by the Germans to surrender. They responded with the shortest response in a war in history with the lone word "N U T S!" The Americans were eventually able to pernitrate the German lines and rescue and relieve the troops at Bastogne. 

We were very near that beleaguered Belgium city at the time. We had a ringside seat to the entire thing. The Americans ran many, many sorties of bombers over the city and bombed it unmercifully. A bit later, the Americans sent many planeloads of parachutists, who landed and joined the troops already there. The bombing, strafing, and shelling lasted two to three days, and then the back of the German thrust was pretty well broken. It was then that we were able to advance some and begin the cleanup of all the damage that had been done. 

I remember we encountered cold weather and a lot of snow. The group I was with had the task of cleaning all of the supply routes in and out of this. area, often pushing landmines, grenades, and other materials 0ff to the side of the road. Had this material not been covered with snow and then frozen to ice, I believe we would not have been able to move it without multiple casualties above and beyond what we did encounter. It took us several weeks to get back to our earlier position near Aachen, Germany. This is where we were stationed while we were being equipped and outfitted for the final entry into Germany.  

After the "Bulge," the war continued as well. We slowly but surely were able to advance. It has been said that the effort extended by the Germans in the Battle of the Bulge would also prove to be their undoing, and that pretty well proved to be true. 

However, the Germans did not give up easily or lay down on the job. We had one last big battle facing us. This was the Battle of the Rhine, the rich industrial valley of the German's homeland. They defended this with everything they had left, but it proved to be insufficient to hold back the growing force of the Allies. The Battle of the Rhine really was finished when we were able to cross the Rhine River, and when we did we found one bridge left intact, enough to gain us a foothold into the heart of the "Vaderland." 

It is when we had crossed the Rhine that the account I wish to relate really begins. 

As we had on two previous occasions when break-throughs occurred, (1-when we broke through the Normandy defenses and advanced on to St. Lo, France, and 2-when we broke through at St. Lo and made our advance across France, Belgium, and into the Netherlands and into the border towns of Germany itself) [we were successful.]

We now formed the entire 1st Army, 7th Corp into groups. Some of these groups were not large, but advanced on every available road, path, and highway that offered us a way to go ahead. These groups were again divided into three smaller groups, and this became our method for advancing. We would each get our day for advancing, having spent two days waiting for and getting our supplies, (gas, food, ammunition, and whatever else thought we would need). On the third day it would be our turn. We would be on our way very early in the morning. We would advance, overtaking the two previous groups and get into new territory to become the spearheading group once again.

[more DeGroot memoir tomorrow]