1/2/2006:
Today is the 85th birthday of Robert O. Feland, who was born the second day of January, 1921, in Almont, North Dakota. Bob grew up on the Feland ranch south of this Morton county town not far from Bismarck-Mandan. He was out of school and working on the family ranch when the U.S. entered World War II, and he was soon drafted into the Army.
Following basic training, Bob was assigned to the 540th Combat Engineer Battalion as a Medic bound for North Africa. He would return home three years later with a silver star pinned to his uniform, and seven battle stars representing the five amphibious landings and two land battles he participated in.
This is Bob Feland’s story from one of those seven battles, as told to Scott Nelson of Solen. The Battle of the Bulge was raging during the holiday season 61 years ago. By then, the 23 year-old North Dakota cowboy turned Army medic had over two years of combat experience behind him, including numerous close calls. As a medic, even though he worked near the front lines, he didn’t carry a weapon. The only time he ever carried a weapon was the first landing at French Morocco, and he never fired it. He said it just got in his way when he was trying to take care of the wounded. He refused to carry one from then on.
Bob and the 540th were in southern Belgium on December 16, 1944 when the Germans launched a counteroffensive to the north and west of them. What would become known as the Battle of the Bulge began at 5:30 that morning with a heavy artillery barrage. By the end of December it looked like the Allies were regaining the upper hand with reinforcements coming in. The Germans momentum had slowed.
Then in the early morning of New Year’s Day, the Germans launched another offensive. This time Bob and the 540th were facing Panzer tanks speeding across the snowy landscape in the valley below them. The tanks were piled high with German troops wearing white battle dress. Initially, the Germans struggled against the American machine guns positioned on the slopes. But they just kept coming, wave after wave, supported by armored units. Finally it was realized that the Americans could no longer hold the line. The order was given to fall back. Everyone started running for the hills. It happened so quickly that all was left behind — trucks, jeeps, tents, rations, and equipment.
Bob lost everything he had that day — except for the clothes on his back and his aid kit. He was in with seven other guys, and as they climbed higher up into the wooded hills they could see the Germans moving in through the valleys. They were now behind enemy lines. They walked all day in the snow, avoiding the Germans and trying to get back to their own army.
By late evening they were cold, wet and hungry. They were walking along a rock wall next to the main road when they came to a house and met a Frenchman. He invited them into his house to warm by the fire, and served them bread and wine. The eight Americans tried to get some sleep, but all night they could hear the German tanks and trucks going by. They also heard hundreds of enemy soldiers marching past the house. The next morning they got bread and wine for breakfast. There he was, the cowboy-medic from Almont, North Dakota, unarmed, sipping French wine for breakfast with his comrades in a Belgian farmhouse behind enemy lines. This would be an unforgettable day — January 2nd, 1945, Bob Feland’s 24th birthday.
Tune in tomorrow for the conclusion of Bob’s story.