During WWII, I served in the 9th Armored Division. History notes that we were the unit with the most fire-power in the Battle of the Bulge. Winter 1944, the Germans had already occupied Northern Luxembourg. For about 3 months, I was billeted in a castle in the village of Schoenfels in Southern Luxembourg. A small village of about 10 homes, where I made friends with the warm and wonderful Straus family. Mary Louise was 7, Fernan 11 and Lucien 16. They immediately became my extended family. We left Shoenfels with Patton and I had no further contact with the Family Straus. When sending out Wedding Invitations in 1950, I asked Gloria, my bride to be, to send one to my friends in Luxembourg. They thought I had been killed and were surprised and happy when they heard from us. Further contact was Greeting Cards, Birth Announcements, Death Announcements, and Invitations to special Family events and of course the X-Mas letter along with current photos of the families.
In 1980, in celebration of our 30th, anniversary, we traveled back to Luxembourg for 4 days. We traveled Eurail with over night stops along the way, no reservations, no set schedule and all was wonderful. I did not tell the Straus’s we were coming. We just fell in on them. Lucien, 52 at the time, welcomed us to his apartment in the city of Luxembourg, with hugs, kisses and many tears. He brought us in and said, "BROTHER IRVING – WHEN YOU CELEBRATE YOUR 25 YEARS, I MAKE FOR YOU A GIFT AND SAY TO MY WIFE ALICE, SOME DAY BROTHER IRVING WILL RETURN AND TAKE THE GIFT HOME WITH HIM." Behind the door was a framed painting of the Castle of Schoenfels that Lucien had painted. As I write this, Lucien is still a very fine artist in Luxembourg. His paintings are shown throughout the city. I carried that painting under my arm the rest of the trip. It now hangs on Gloria’s "CELEBRATE IRV" wall in our home along with the many gifts and honors received from the Straus Family and the country of Luxembourg.
The end of May 1999, we traveled back to Europe and to Luxembourg for 4 days. This time, Lucien expected our visit. We wrote him in our 1998 X-Mas card that we will visit in the spring. We received his card and no mention was made about our visit. We mailed him again in the end of January and still no reply. Thanks to the miracle of the Internet, Gloria put in WWII/Luxembourg and came up with a page about the CEBA in Belgium. This group has honored all the Divisions that helped to liberate Luxembourg and Belgium. We E-Mailed Henri Rogister who in turn E-Mailed us the names and addresses of the President and Vice-President of CEBA in Luxembourg. No E-Mail number was indicated. We wrote both men and received an E-mail within a few days from President Camile Kohn. Through contact via E-mail, we now communicate with Lucien with the aid of Mr. Kohn’s E-Mail. We had in the past attempted to call Lucien and always got a wrong number. Turns out we had the wrong number for Lucien. We sent our itinerary and what time our train from Paris would arrive in the city of Luxembourg.
The train chugged along taking us back to Luxembourg and to Lucien. Suddenly the conductor came up to us, and in broken English, he informed us that the French Railroad went on strike and that we must change to another train to continue our journey. That train was scheduled to reach Luxembourg 1 hour later than the original schedule. We panicked and hoped that Lucien would somehow get the information about the strike and the delay. We had no time to figure out how to make a phone call to Lucien (In France – Long Distance – many confusing numbers). We settled on the correct train to Luxembourg and saw there was only 1 stop in Luxembourg. Made sense, as the City of Luxembourg is the main part of the Country.
I suddenly felt compelled to speak with a gentleman sitting in the rear of the train. I asked him "Do you live in Luxembourg?". He answered "Yes. I’ve lived here all my life." I continued, "I was here in 1944 as a US Army soldier and got friendly with a family. We are here to visit the son." What is his name?" he asked. I said "Lucien Strauss". He came back with, "Luc, I worked with him 42 years for the Luxembourg Rail Road". I told him of our concern about the 1-hour delay. He told us his name is Jean Kohl and handed me his cellular phone and had me telephone Lucien. The line was busy and we then redialed. Lucien answered and told us he had gone to the train station 2 hours earlier to meet our train. When we did not arrive, Lucien returned home, called both his daughter and his sister to tell them that Brother Irving was not coming. He returned immediately to pick us up. Just for your information, there are 2 stops in Luxembourg. Had I not spoken with the gentleman, we would have gotten off at the wrong station, miles from the City of Luxembourg.
The next 4 days were very emotional. Lucien, together with organizations that honor WWII soldiers that liberated their country, prearranged receptions where I received a medal, a medallion and Gloria was given the Key to the City. We met and took pictures with the Straus ‘children’, Mary Louise 62, Fernan 66, Lucien 71 and me, still the big brother, age 77.
The greatest surprise was when Lucien showed me a book written by my Army buddy George McAvoy. George visited the Straus Family in November 1998 and left Lucien a copy of "A CITIZEN-SOLDIER REMEMBERS" Lucien had 3 pages marked. My picture is on those pages mingled with a perfect review of our days in Europe. I have been in touch with George and hope some day to have him visit our fun city of Las Vegas.
55 eventful years have gone by yet, the memories of those days remain fresh in our minds and hearts. George’s quest is to get our 9th. Armored Division recognized and rewarded for our role in the Liberation. I’ll keep you informed as to his progress. Thank you for taking the time to read my review.
My wishes for peace, good health and many loyal friends
PS I have included a list of those special people that gave their time to present me with honors during this 1999 visit to Luxembourg. Also listed is information to Geroge McAvoy, should you want to order a copy of his book "A Citizen Soldier Remembers".
IRV BRANSKY
WWII 1942-1945
LUXEMBOURG
George McAvoy
PO Box 235
Littleton, NH 03561
603-444-5804
E-Mail: crawford.press@connriver.net
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© Copyright 1999 by Ben Weider.
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