Thank you, and please give him my heartfelt best wishes.
Here is another story about Christmas 1944 in the snows of Europe:
Christmas Eve in an Old Barn
We left Metz, France, and drove all night to stop the German attacks. The weather was one of our enemies and the snow made it hard to move our jeeps, trucks and tanks. The roads were covered with ice and snow and when we arrived in Luxembourg our company was also billeted in an old barn.
It was Christmas Eve and there I was standing guard duty; it was better cold and I can still remember the full moon shining down the landscape.
Many Christmas Eves have gone by however my thoughts still go back to the old barn and Christmas Eve in 1944. Moving on we had to cross the river at Diekirch in Luxembourg and this is where I lost a great friend, Donald Ickes, from Chicago. He was wounded and died (January 18, 1945) there on the riverbank. Each year the townspeople of Diekirch, Luxembourg, reenact this river crossing that resulted in the liberation of their town.[...]
Al, I'm sending this to you, not to remind you of something that happened in 1944 just before the march from Metz to the Bulge; but to let you know again how grateful I am for the lasting effect of your service under Patton. You cannot have forgotten the account given here:
http://www.pattonhq.com/prayer.html
The True Story of The Patton Prayer
by Msgr. James H. O'Neill
(From the Review of the News 6 October 1971)
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The above was posted on the Free Republic forum, and here is my note to the person who spotted it:
< snip > (I sent Al my post #7 which was to you)
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Al's response:
"I'm Sending this to all on my mailing list and to the secretary of the YDVA and I'm sure it will be published in the Yankee Doings Magazine. Thanks, I remember the prayer card but I don't remember what happened to mine. Merry Christmas!"
Al B
*****
It looks like the whole of 26 Div. veterans will get this.
Thanks for your thoughtfulness! God bless you!