Fred and Bill connected with the tour group a little bit after it got started. We joined the tour group as it was arriving at Luxemburg. Luxemburg is the country to which the city of Bastogne is a part; where the main part of the Battle of the Bulge took place.

Here, Fred and some friends we met with the group, Vince and Sue, took a cab to a local Luxemburg golf course (in the city of Clervoux) for a round of golf. Fred and Sue are trying to get the ball into the hole... and struggling it appears.

The Bastogne area is were the forests of the Arden are. Here we see a fellow golfer, Vince, searching the Arden forest, not for Germans, but for golf balls.

Here is Sue teeing off. Notice the beatiful area of Luxemburg in the distance. War pictures I've seen show the whole area a wasteland from the fighting and shelling during WWII.

A blessing of nature how it turns to the beauty it once had, once man stops messing it up.

Area around our hotel in a village on the outskirts of Luxembourg City. Very nice little river and houses and a community. Very peaceful. Our trip was in June so the weather was wonderful also.

I believe the river is the Alzette river.

Another pic of the bridge near our hotel over the Alzette river. And, the dos amigos. Who's that in the middle? Private First Class William Sabatine Sr. With us in spirit and in our hearts.

A picture of a bridge around the area of Luxemburg City.

The streets of Luxemburg City. Nice city. Nice people.

Dispite political views, the "regular" people of France love the U.S. They know it was predominetly America that rescued them from Facism.

Here, in Luxembourg (bordering France) they have named a street after Franklin Roosevelt, U.S. President during most of WWII.

Downtown area of Luxembourg City. The guy on the horse is William II, the Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1840 until his death in 1849. Aapparently he's pretty popular.

Downtown, tourist-ee and "old town" kind of place, in Luxembourg City. Nice place to visit. Probably nice place to live, After WWII, that is...

There was a soccar game in Europe (Spain I think) during our visit, with the Luxembourg team playing. The entire area was filled with fans, TV monitors, and plenty of beer.

Yes, they know how to party in Luxembourg! And root for their team.

Here is a birds-eye view of a portion of Luxembourg City.

Notice the bridge in the distance that an earlier picture also showed, much closer up.

Now as I say, the locals love the U.S. for their role in WWII and liberating the people of Europe. In almost all towns, there are monuments dedicated to the liberating Army groups.

Also, Mayor's and other officials had speaches, there were articles in local newspapers, and "mixer" socals at almost every city. Of course, the stars of the show are the Vets. They get (and should get) the red carpet treatment.

Notice the guys that looks like WWII GIs. They are Reactors that dress in period uniforms and escorted us all over Europe. More on them later.

Local, beautiful church in Luxembourg area. There are many beautiful churches in Europe. Most were in bad need of repair after the war, and were rebuilt to their original look.

The backround is downtown Bastogne. This is where the decisions and the commands related to the Battle of the Bulge happened. The bust is General McAuliffe. It was this General that told the Germans "Nuts!" when they asked the 101st Airborne GIs to surrender at Bastogne, during the Battle of the Bulge. The 101st don't surrender to anybody!

Another view of downtown Bastogne, as it is today. Life is peaceful and the people wonderful. And very grateful to America (and of course, American tourist money).. but what the heck!.

Monument by the grateful city of Bastogne for the heroic defense of the city from the onslaught of the SS during Hitler's final big offensive in Europe; the Battle of the Bulge.

The words speak for themselves. The Eagle is in the picture below.

The eagle, symbol of America and American might, is fitting for this very solemn statue and monument by the grateful citizens of Bastogne for the sacrifice - many with their lives - in the defense of this city from the German offensive of December 1945.

U.S. (two story structure) built and maintained monument to the troops, from every state in the union, who defended this area. God bless every one of them!

Here we are visiting the Arden forest, outside of Bastogne in the surrounding area. It was here that much of the fighting occurred, in the snow and dark of the forest.

Here I am in an actual fox hole from WWII. I'm sure it was deeper at the time, and protected someone (American, German, or both) from mortor and artillary fire.

It should be noted that the Battle of the Bulge lasted from the first part of December, 1944, to the first part of January, 1945; through both Christmas and New Year, and during one of the coldest winters on record to that time.

Here we are at the American cemetary in Hamm, Luxembourg. Most of those that lost their lives in the Battle of the Buldge are buried here.

These men are indeed the finest generation. These men gave their lives for our country and those in Europe. God Bless every one of them!!

Memorial in the Hamm, Luxembourg cemetary of those that are MIA and whose bodies that have not been found or identified.

Hamm Luxembourg is also the site of the grave of General George Patton. He died in Europe a year after the war in a car accident. Patton particpated in the Battle of the Bulge by driving his mechanized columns (tanks, artillary, and of course troops), hundreds of miles in about a week to in an effort to releave the 101st Airborne Division pinned down in Bostogne.

History notes that the 101st pretty much took care of the job before Patton's Army arrived. But his arrival, I'm sure, was very much appreciated.

Once the Germans were pushed back, Patton lead the charge east into Germany, basically being the U.S. General liberating Luxembourg. So his burial here is very fitting.

Now back to the Reactors that was mentioned earlier. These guys collect GI gear from the war (some are found, some traded, some bought at surplus or online stores..) and dress in the period uniforms.. have personal museums in their homes in many cases, and love the history of the time.

Here we have a renovated Army Jeep. Beautiful. Wonderful guys, those Reactors!

Now here is a Reactor in uniform. Check out his red patch. THIS is the 70th Infantry patch. This is my fathers Army division. It was the 70th Infantry Division that liberated much of northern France, and southern Germany. Also, some of Luxembourg, but many of divisions were involved because of the Battle of the Bulge.

The group of Reactors that accompanied us as we toured. They look like real GIs, don't they?

Recognise the guy on the right and the blond in the middle? Yup, that's Vince and Sue, our friends from the golf course in earlier pictures.

Now we are in Forback, France. Forback was our base of operations for the second half of the tour. But more importantly, the liberation of Forback was a BIG operation for the 70th Infantry Division, and the major battle that Bill's dad was involved in during the war.

In this picture is the castle of Forback. This castle was forward observation post of the Germans during the initial allied offensive to take the city. It was a big fight to take the Castle. Pictures after the war showed the castle to be in bad shape from all the artillary. It has of course, been restored and looks original and magnificant again.

Another pic of Forback castle; a side view. It's a big tourist attraction for the city. No more Huns or Germans to repel any longer, thankfully.

Now this is a view from the top of the castle tower, looking down. Can you imagine being a GI and having to "take" the castle. The Germans had the entire area zero'ed in with morters and machine guns, rifles and hand gernades, and other nasty weapons.

But the U.S. had artillary, long range machine guns (which Bill's father shot during this engagement), gernades, mortors, and heavier weapons too.

Wasn't a good place for a GI to be, but wasn't a good place for a German either.

Here is a view of the castle and castle tower from a bottom forest approach. This was a view that the American GI's would have seen from this angle, when attacking the castle.

Only problem is that the engagement in March had lot's of snow and the trees did not have leaves. Little place to hide.

Here is a view of the downtown Forbach area from the castle tower. Again, with all the fighing, artillary/morter shells, etc., most of these buildings were flattened and few places to hide from the German observers directing artillary on the heads of the GI's.

Another general view of the city of Forbach, France, from the castle tower.

This picture looks uneventful, but it's very important for Bill and his bro, Fred. Bill and Fred's dad was in a heavy weapons platoon, firing motors and machine guns from about 1/4 mile away from the "front".

The heavy weapons platoom would fire their weapons over the heads of the rifle companies so as to keep the Germans pinned down, and allow the rifle companies to move up into position.

Looking out from the castle tower, we can see on such area that the heavy machine guns would have been stationed. Bill's father might have been on that very hill at some point of the month long engagement.

Here is a picture, taken from a "home museum" (more on that later), that shows what Forbach looked like during a lull in the fighing and "chow" time for the GI's.

Another example of a celebration at the local French villages when the Vets come to town. This one had a lot of attendees and even a color guard.

This picture was taken in 2010 and I see a solar panel on the roof of a nearby building. Most homes didn't really start getting using solar panels in the U.S. until a few more years. Very progressive, those French.

The dos amigos getting their picture taken at a monument of a village celebrating and documenting the liberation of the area from the Germans by the U.S. 70th Infantry Division.

Those reactors, as mentioned above, have a lot of old U.S. Army gear that they've found, bought, traded, or purchased in surplus stores, etc.

This one was restored very nicely. Looks like we're looking at a new one just shipped in on troop ships for European Theatre of Operations duty in WWII.

Look a this. One of the dos amigos going for a ride in a jeep. Away to the front with this one, to fight the good fight later. Get those Krauts, Fred!

A WWII period short wave radio that the GI's used to use to contract HQ. A solder would carry it on his back. Wow! Now, everyone has a radio with 100 times the capabilty in their pocket. Of course, a cell site needs to be present. But military mobile phones today would be satellite phones, and just as small as civilian mobile phones.

The other dos amigo going for a ride to the "front" to fight the krauts.

Wait.. the front is in the other direction.. where are you going! Turn around!

Lining up the site of a WWII carbine rifle. Heaver than I would have expected, but a sturdy gun. The reactor's weapons do not operate, and thus, are only for show.

Here comes one of the dos amigo dudes on his jeep ride. Heading to the front, heading maybe, to a meeting with "The Brass".

Now check this out. This building, in the town of Alsting.

Check that vertical "spot" below the window in the middle.. what is that? (See next picture)

That "spot" is a WWII artillary shell! U.S. shell if I'm not mistaken. Embedded where it landed, dug into this building. A dud (apparently).

It's an interesting thing to view. The reactors showed it to us. But.. no one seems to care. This building is occupied. Oh well.. I guess, it hasn't blown up yet...

In the U.S., they would have evaculated the entire city until it was removed.

The plaque put up by the city of Alsting, comemmorating the libration of the city - compliments of the 70th Infrantry Division.

Alsting celebration as the Vets arrived. Speaches, shaking hands. Very thankful people for what the Vets did for them so many years ago.

Now to the city hall of Alsting. Wine, cheeze, mingling. Language can be a problem, with most of the visiting Americans not speaking French, and probably half the French city officials not speaking English. But the warmth was totally understood.

On our way again... uh oh... the Military Policy (or is it the reactors)? Maybe we had to much French wine at the social. The view looks right out of the 1940's. See what wine will do to you?

As mentioned previously, a number of the reactors (or their parents or grandparents) have "home" museums, with all kinds of WWII gear. Most of it found in the ground, our purchased from others or surplus organizations.

I ask about ordinance and danger of explosion, and most say that a father or grandfather showed them how to disarm the exploses. Disarm them? In the U.S., the city would be evaculated.

Best advice I can give if you go view these. Look, DON'T TOUCH! But.. Grandpa showed these folks how to disarm these bad boys. So all is OK.. yes?

Here is a pic of Fred and Bill and others in the tour group, visiting a Reactor home with a home museum. See following pages. Wonderful collection and work to setup the displays!

German uniform display. Officer, airman, army "grunt" in winter garb.

U.S. uniform display. Regular GIs, in winder and summer field uniforms.

Wow! German hand gernades. The Germans used gernades with sticks, which gave them a longer throw range. GI's called them Potato Mashers.

Armed? Not according to Grandpa...

Here is the U.S. Army hand gernade display. GI's called them Pinapples.

... where's grandpa? I think I'll keep moving.

Now this is a nice piece of weapondry. This is a calibur 30, belt fed, recoil operated, water cooled, automatic and/or semi-automatic, machine gun.

This was the gun used predominetly by our father during the war. His assignment was to place the gun about 1/4 mile behind the front lines and lay down suppressing fire on the Germans, keeping their heads down. This would allow close quarters rifle companies to move up without too much opposing fire, to engage the Krauts close up.

The catch? German 88 artillary fire. The first round shot at your machine gun position would "usually" miss (bad luck if it didn't.. Cemeteries in the area are full of the guys with bad luck), and was used to calibrate the ranging of the German gun. The next round was on your head, so you were someplace else (or dead) when that second, and subsequent, artillary shell arrived.

Dad could pack up that gun and move out pretty quickly, he says.

Here is a picture taken at a different place and time that I've inserted here, showing a GI using the gun.

This picture was a motivational and buy-bonds poster, but it sure does give a hint at what it was like to be on the front lines with this particular weapon.

Also as part of the home museum, were pictures of the period on display. You can see various scenes in the greater northern France area (where we were) and the state of buildings, bridges, etc.

Another great pic of GIs in the Forbach area, taking a break in the action for chow. Notice the city in complete ruins. Most cities and villages in this greater area were like this after the war and all needed to be rebuilt.

Here is a good shot of a group of buildings and their state following shelling, artillary, gernades, rifes, and hand-to-hand, as the GI's had to do, in almost all city libration offensives, until the wars' end in Europe.

One more example of the state of things. Snipers and booby traps were a common occurance in such ruins, where it's not easy for a person to understand the geometry of the building by looking at the ruins, and thus, there might be people hiding or zero'ing you in with a rifle, for a kill shot.

More ordinance that grandpa dispositioned. These are land mines. Varous pressure and switch mines.

Many guys lost their limbs and their lives with instruments of mame and death like these.

A dos amigo with an artillary shell. Gives you a good idea of the size (and weight) of these guys.

Good thing grandpa disarmed this baby!

Now this picture is shown here, but it's not the same home as the one with the museum. This sub-basement was used during the siege of Forbach and tens of people lived down here for days and weeks at a time while artillary pounded the surface above.

I've read stories of lack of air, stench, people getting histerical, no food or water for days at a time. And little sleep with war raging over head day and night for days at a time.

A very nice display honoring the 70th infantry and their liberation of the communities in the Forbach area. Not sure who has signed the beautiful covering cloth, but the display is wonderful! Notice the German army helmet on the left and the U.S. army helmet on the right.

Honoring the dead and sacrafices on both sides. Keep in mind that troops to the military at that time were, for the most part, drafted in both armies.

The dos amigos in downtown Forbach; where Bill Sabatine Sr. saw so much action during the war and libration of the town. Nice outdoor shopping and restaurt area in downtown Forbach.

Have beers.. but look.. three glasses and three seats. And the dos amigos. The third? Private First Class William Sabatine Sr., with us in spirit. A drink to one of the greatest fathers and one of the greatest generation!

Now down to some business. Fred and I brought some dirt from dad's grave in San Diego, to bring it to Forbach, so as to bring some of him with us here to his solemn place. Here, Bill deposits the dirt brought with us in this quiet park area in Forback.

We also bring some Forbach dirt back with us for delivery to Dad's grave in San Diego, when we returned home. Loop completed. Honor and respect given.

Here we are in a special place; Saint Avold. A big city turnout and visit; speaches and great words. In the background of this picture, you can see some of the open spaces in this area that the GI's had to cross to attack pill boxes and bunkers behind the picture (see also pictures below).

Saint Avold was also part of Hitlers "Sacred Ground" that Hilter told the German SS to hold at all costs. Lot's of fighting. Lot's of casulties on both sides.

Behind the picture above is a forest area with a number of bunkers that the the GI's had to capture. This is one of them. A number of Vets with us were part of the operation to take control these 70 years ago and could tell us about the advance and the situation.

Remarkable that anyone survived the assault, with that open field with exposed GIs, and the Krauts hidden and protected, with high power machine guns, in these concrete bunkers.

One pic inside the bunker above. Not much to them. A few bunk racks like in this pic and holes and space for guns and observers.

Of course, there would have been a lot more gear in a fully occupied bunker during the war. Was probalby cold during the winter.

Another point.. with the enclosed space, you can see that if the GI's were able to get a gernade or a bazooka shell into that bunker, between the explosion, shrapnel, and the concussion of the blast, not much would be left of the solders inside to fight.

In the same area as the bunkers, on display, is a WWII U.S. Sherman tank. These were also used in the assault, and so is worthy of notible mention and display in the area.

Quite a number of GI's, I'm sure, were saved by walking/hiding, behind these as they advanced forward.

Another bunker a little ways down the forest trail for the prior one.

This entire area of Saint Avold is close to the French/German border, and is part of Hitler's "Sacred Land" area, so you can see why the Germans would have spend so much money, manpower, and effort, to defend this area.

View looking out from the bunker above. You're not going to get close to that bunker unseen!

Once we visited the war sites at Saint Avold, we attended a social at Saint Avold city hall. More wine and cheese. Ah, the life! And wonderful, and greatful to the Vets, people.

Having a drink with the Mayor. I guess that makes him my drinking buddy. Too bad he doesn't speak english and I don't speak french.

Example of another monument to the liberation of villages along the way in the area of Forbach and Saint Avold. The local French people are so greatful.

It's a shame that the politics of the big cities, and the news organizations, report the bad stuff and these quiet, wonderful, grateful people, are seldom reported in the news in the U.S.

Here we can see a map of the general operating area of Bill's dads squad and Battalion. THe green areas are Germany, and the white at the bottom (and so named) is north eastern France.

The bottom arrow coming from the left is the location for Forbach, where most of the fighting with the 70th Infantry Division, that Bill's dad was part of, took place.

Now later in the war, in March of 1945, Bill's dad's squad were operating north, in Germany, where the second arrow coming from the left is. This is Bingen, Germany.

This picture is one of a few we have of Bill's dad during that time (they didn't take a lot of pictures when on patrol, you know). Bill's dad is fourth from the right in the picture, sitting on the fence, behind the guy squatting on the right.

Look in the background. A castle and a river behind. Took quite a bit of detective work to figure out where this picture was taken.

It was at Bingen. The castle is Klopp Castle.

And so you know we just needed to find that picture location. In th 2015 trip, we rented a car and sought it out. Here is a picture of the castle today, from almost the same perspective and area.

Took us a long time to find the spot. But it was well worth it, getting us closer to our a departed father.

We actually climbed the castle tower and here is a picture, taken by my lovely wife Adelina, of myself, my brother Fred, and his daughter Stephanie. The angle of the picture above is a few miles away off of Stephanies right shoulder.

Here Fred and I are, at what we believe is the spot, or very, very close to it, where the picture of our father with his squad was taken. Castle is in the background. Camera perspectives make distances appear differnt, but we're just about on the spot.

But distance between Fred and myself. Why? Because Private First Class William Sabatine, Sr., is there will us, in a three person picture. In spirit and in love.

The WWII Museum in New Orleans offers familes of Vets the opportunity to have bricks placed in the sidewalk, outside the museum on the street, to honor our vets. We were privilaged to commission such a brink for Bill and Fred's father and here it is.

This brick is located near the museum display of an example Victory Garden popular during the war in the U.S. to augment food supplies.

It is a beautiful place for the brick and a wondeful tribute to a grand father and patriot.

We love you dad!

If you look at the pictures of the Philippines that we've taken (they have been posted on this site, and may still be), you will see some pictures of the Baatan area, where the Battan Death March occurred. Adelina's father, Gaudioso, was a prisoner at that time, but was very furtunete enough to be pulled out of the prisoner columns by a civilian hiding in the jungle just off the road.

It is my understanding that Gaudioso was suffering from Malaria and a head wound from the fighting. Had he not been pulled out, it doesn't seem possible he'd have made the 100 mile march, and would have thus, been shot, by the Japanese.

Adelina and I had a brink created for Gaudioso also, and we are honored and privilaged to have know this brave man, yet another is a long line of men and women of the finest generation.

We do indeed, love you dad!