Christmas was not so merry in 1944 for hundreds of thousands of American families. The reason was because the United States was in a war for freedom and two million of our citizens were overseas fighting.

It was December 1944. The temperature was sub-freezing. The location was the Ardennes forest in Belgium and the battle was called "Bulge." The clash would be recorded as the largest land battle of World War II for the United States and certainly one of the most bloody. The Germans brought 500,000 soldiers, the Americans 600,000, and the British 55,000. If Germany wins, then the entire Allied force would be severely weakened and the rule of Hitler would both extend and expand around the world. The stakes were very high. America had to win!

The Germans attacked first catching the Allies by surprise. They pushed deeply into the thinly held American front creating a "bulge." Because of a number of factors including weather, the execution of 87 American POW's, the death of thousands, and the lack of adequate supplies, things were not looking good for the Allies.

Late on the night of December 23rd, Sergeant John Banister of the 14th Cavalry Group found himself separated from his unit while defending a city under attack. The Germans were closing in and the Americans were in retreat. Not having a ride out, a tank destroyer rolled by and Banister climbed on. As they were fleeing the burning city, somebody told Banister that he was riding with Lieutenant Bill Rogers. "Who's he?" Banister wanted to know. "Will Rogers' son," came the answer.

An hour later they reached the main highway running west from Vielsalm. There they found a lone soldier named Martin digging a foxhole. Unshaven and filthy, armed with bazooka and rifle, the stoic soldier went about his business with a focused determination. They pulled up to him and stopped. He nonchalantly stated while never stopping his work, "If yer lookin for a safe place," he said, "just pull that vehicle behind me. I'm the 82nd Airborne. This is as far as [they] are going."

The men on the tank destroyer hesitated. After the ferocious combats and constant retreats of the last week, they didn't have much fight left in them. But the paratrooper's determination was infectious. "You heard the man," declared Rogers. "Let's set up for business!" Twenty minutes later, two truckloads of GIs joined their little roadblock. All through the night, men trickled in, and their defenses grew stronger.

The single paratrooper would ultimately form the nucleus of a major strongpoint for the Allies as they came back to defeat the Germans at the Battle of the Bulge.  

On this December 23 day, I hope that you have gained inspiration from the story of Private Martin just as we at the University of Mobile's Center for Leadership have.

Learn more about what we are doing to transform America by visiting www.twelve23.org. If you have not already done so, we invite you to become a part of the twelve23 movement by signing the twelve23 contract. Information is on the website.

Also, here is a video to an inspiring video entitled, "A Soldier's Night." Thank you United States soldier for your sacrifice and fight! You are an American hero!