They can Die thus Soldiers are Special

 By Mortz C. Ortigoza

When I rode the Lockheed made C-130 Hercules for countless of times when I was a teenager -a privileged of being an air force service man’s son – I saw inside black clad soldiers with screaming panther badge’s Scout Ranger, red ranger's badge beret Special Action Force, and camouflage donning Marines jam packed inside the 92 passengers 40 thousand pounds capable flying behemoth.

Compared to other military men, I have a grudging admiration to these young men who were Grunts and Lieutenants ready to fight and die for the Mother Land.

 These people could die in my island Mindanao fighting the brave Moros – the Tausog and Maguindanaon Tribes (who fought with intrepedity the Spaniards and the Americans ages ago) and the perennial Commies in the provinces of Davao, Agusan, and Surigao.

Photo credit: When Trumpets Fade

After I watched the Battle of Hurtgen Forest – through a 1998 HBO television movie’s When Trumpets Fade - and the German’s 42 minutes film documentary’s Hürtgen Forest and the End of World War II, here’s the reason why we should laud the exemplary sacrifices of how soldiers die for the Mother Land during that time and the present Filipino infantry men particularly to perish for either the pay check (many ain’t patriotic, many fight for their and family’s stomachs) or the country.

The Battle of Hurtgen Forest was a series of fierce battles fought from September 19 to December 16, 1944 between American and German forces on the Western Front during World War II in the Hurtgen Forest , a 140 km2 (54 sq mi) area about 5 km (3.1 mi) east of the Belgian–German border. It was the longest battle on German ground during World War II and was the longest single battle the United States. Army has ever fought (Wikipedia).

The U.S. commanders' initial goal was to pin down German forces in the area to keep them from reinforcing the front lines farther north in the Battle of Aachen, where the US forces were fighting against the Siegfried Line. The Line was  a network of fortified industrial towns and villages speckled with pillboxes tank traps, and minefields.

“What is this?” A wide eyed neophyte Private asked his Sergeant with curiosity those reverse positioned huge concrete cone like barriers hundreds of kilometres long in the Siegfried.

“They are the dragon’s teeth. They can stop our tanks in attacking Germany,” a poker faced Sarge told him in the flick’s When Trumpets Fade.

An estimated 25, 000 American and German soldiers died in that forest.

A then young German soldier who fought for the Third Reich (Third Empire) and that devil Fuhrer Adolf Hitler – who brought Germany to ashes - quipped to an interview on the German documentary’s film I mentioned above.

“I was in a combat there for ten days. At the height of the Battle I was trembling practically the entire ten days. I knew I could die of course and I was terrified”.

An American soldier said there too: “To survive the Hurtgen forest was a miracle. But here I am. I don’t know how I survived”.

Photo credit: When Trumpets Fade

In that 1998 HBO's flick there was an incident in that gruesome battle where 200 men sent by their commander (through a whistle while they descended from the “dragon’s teeth’ anti tanks barriers Siegfried Lines constructed by the German on its boundary with Belgium) and returned later with 50 survivors – sus with 150 died either mowed down by the Krauts machine guns and turned to smithereens by artillery fire and explosion.

This how I reacted at my comment at the Facebook board after I saw the movie on my laptop with my amplifier (I used for my electric guitar) making the sounds especially of the guns more real:

“Glued on this Battle of the Hurtgen Forrest (along the border of Belgium and Germany) while pumping dumbbells and later eating my dinner.

It was about a Private who was promoted to Sergeant and later Second Lieutenant in World War-II whose men died in every assault he had on the German in the Hurtgen Forest. Damn, bloody body parts exploded, flying in the air, and landed at the trees after the Germans hit the Yanks with their 88 mm guns/howitzers".

Here’s what the review in Wikipedia of that war film directed by John Irvin that could be or almost at par with my favorite war movies directed Oliver Stone’s Platoon, Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket, Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, and Rod Lurie’s The Outpost:

“Private David Manning is a soldier in the 28th Infantry Division, and as a result of the horrendous fighting in the Battle of the Hürtgen Forest, he is the sole survivor of his platoon. Manning is assigned to lead a squad of green (rookie) reinforcements and promoted to sergeant. He tries to get out of it, saying he is unqualified for the position, but his company commander, Captain Roy Pritchett, thinks otherwise. Manning then tries to back out of responsibility by asking to be discharged under Section 8 (designating him mentally unfit due to combat stress), but his request is denied”.

The operation costs the lives of all but Manning and Private Warren Sanderson, and Manning is severely wounded. While being carried back to friendly lines by Sanderson, the Private-turned-Sergeant-turned Lieutenant loses consciousness from his wounds.

An epilogue states that after three months of heavy combat, the Allies eventually took the Forest and that the battle itself was overshadowed by the Battle of the Bulge soon afterward. 

 Battle of the Bulge was another ugly battle I saw and read committed by a desperate Hitler as the U.S, British, and Soviet prepare to invade Germany after the latter wrought havoc in Europe in the late 1930s to early of 1940s by killing millions of people especially the Jews.

READ MY OTHER BLOG/COLUMN:

U.S Military Rescue Operation: Things Filipinos Could Learn

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MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

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I am a twenty years seasoned Op-Ed Political Writer in various newspapers and Blogger exposing government corruptions, public officials's idiocy and hypocrisies, and analyzing local and international issues. I have a master’s degree in Public Administration and professional government eligibility. I taught for a decade Political Science and Economics in universities in Metro Manila and cities of Urdaneta, Pangasinan and Dagupan. Follow me on Twitter @totoMortz or email me at totomortz@yahoo.com.