Dedication of the Baugnex 44 Historical Center
Baugnex, Belgium - December 21, 2007
Standing next to the killing field where he once found himself face-down in the snow surrounded by the dead and dying, Ted Paluch said his return wasn’t as emotional as it once was, especially having visited three other times. His resiliency and composure quickly crumbled, though, when asked to honor 84 U.S. soldiers murdered near Malmedy, Belgium, in World War II.
As the 85-year-old from Philadelphia gingerly stepped on the frozen turf --
the ground as hard as it was 63 years ago when he served with 285th Field Artillery
Observation Battalion -- Paluch’s eyes brimmed with tears. Clutching a
wreath and almost whispering to himself, he said: “One of my guys was
found here, in this exact spot. I wish he was standing next to me now instead.”
Invited to the dedication of the Baugnex 44 Historical Center, a museum that recounts American prisoners of war being executed in 1944 by a German SS Panzer unit, Paluch was one of several hundred veterans and current soldiers who commemorated Battle of the Bulge ceremonies Dec. 15-17.