Glimpses into a European Past
On his 100th birthday My grandfather Leo Reitzug, had been waiting for this moment a long time. Years, even. Tightly grasping his pipe, repeatedly feeding it more tobacco fished from his vest pocket, the usually placid Leo puffed and paced purposefully outside the room with the closed door. Intermittent noises escaped from the room. Inside, …
Three mournful toots from the locomotive split the night air. It woke many of the weary passengers who had nodded off under the hypnotic clicking cadence of the train wheels. A series of long shrieks followed, metal grinding on metal as brakes were applied. Slowing down in shuddering jerks roused the last of the slumberers. …
Deep in thought, consumed by very personal anguish, my friend Johann walks ahead of me up the cobblestoned path to the cemetery. His head is bowed, his hands are clasped behind his back. It is a Calvary-moment for him. There have been more than a few of these since his mother received the tragic news …
At 11am sharp, one hundred years ago today, a German machine gun crew, hunkered down for days in a muddy dug-out near Le Catelet in northern France, fired a dramatic 1,000 round burst into the gray autumn sky. When they had finished, the men stood up in front of their guns, took off their forage caps, …
Fading Echoes 