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December 25th 1944 Monday-V-Mail home-Lu-Cliff Hope from his book




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Interactive Map for 12/25/44


This vintage postcard posted on a German site for sale may well be the Villa/Chateau Lu and his buddies stayed in on Christmas. If not, it is from the same area. 


Dec 25th 1944
Dearest Mom,
Just a note to let you know I'm safe well and happy. I'll write again soon but right now my eyelids are drooping.
Leona can tell you about the beautiful mansion I'm staying in for the night. I just finished another V-Mail to her. Christmas turned out pretty nice after all. A beautiful home to sleep in, a chance to wash and shave and to top it off, thirty bags of mail-mostly Christmas packages came in so we're all eating fruit cake, candy, etc. and toasting our chins in front of a roaring fire in the fireplace. I got a letter from Leona (Dec. 1) but I guess any packages etc. will come soon.

Mom, I certainly wish you could see this place. The paintings themselves would make you love the place. And talk about the chinaware. The royal houses of any country wouldn't be ashamed to serve state dinners on the sets they have here. Of course a place like this would take a retinue of fifty servants to keep up the place, but I'd certainly like to try that kind of life for awhile.

I hope all the family is having a wonderful Christmas and I hope the New Year brings us all together again-my love to all-Lu-



Here is another vintage postcard from Redange of a nice big Chateau that might have been the one.


1940 era generator flashlight. Pumping the handle provided the power. It must have had loud gears!





Cliff Hope from his book:

We awakened early Christmas morning to the sound of a generator flashlight carried by the old man of the house as he walked through our room. Bruno said he thought a motorcycle had passed among us. Compared to the days that had preceded it, Christmas Day was not bad at all. The counteroffensive by the III Corps was going according to plan. The 101st airborne Division stillheld Bastogne, and it appeared probable that the III Corps would soon relieve them and drive into the city. The weather was clear, giving the Allied air forces an excellent opportunity to destroy the German armor.

"Very tasty," I noted in my diary about the powdered eggs we had for breakfast. Where had my complaining gone? My party ran traverse from two kilometers below Hostert to Oberpallen in the morning. In the afternoon our command post was closed at Oberpallen and moved northward to Redange Attert, Luxembourg. (Attert was the name of a small river) This was only a short distance northeast of Oberpallen, but it was an advance, however small.  Installations were set up and survey went out gain. On the outskirts of Redange there were several chateaus. Bruno, Okie, and I along with several others made ourselves at home in the living room of one of them. There was a large fireplace with Chinese pottery on the mantel. good copies of old masters hung on the walls. The place had class. it was a real change from what we had become accustomed to.
"What a lot I have to be thankful for this Christmas." I wrote in my diary. "I only hope the folks at home have not had their Christmas spoiled by undue anxiety."

There was bright moonlight on Christmas night. I noted the contrast to the eerie fog we moved in when we were holding the line at Chaplon. The artillery fire shook the windows of our cozy chateau, a reminder of the war that did not stop for holidays.

My first letter home since the retreat began started: "Christmas Day, somewhere in Luxembourg.... Tonight, believe it or not, I'm writing this in front fo a large fireplace in a sizable mansion, something I wouldn't have believed possible a few days ago. Of course it won't last but it's very nice for Christmas. Naturally, we didn't have a turkey dinner today, but we may have it tomorrow."

Battalion History: On a cheerless Christmas Day, A Battery moved to Hostert-les-Folschette, Luxembourg, and B Battery moved to Rembrouche, Belgium. Battalion moved to Redanges Attert.

Sound bases were set up and survey parties continued to carry control. The "little guy" lived from rumor to rumor and meal to meal.

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