The above color picture is of Merode Castle after the Battle of the Bulge. This castle is literally across the road from my friend Albert's home in Merode, Germany. Shock waves from the bombing of this castle damaged some of Albert's barn and also put a few shrapnel dings in the brick of his home (see below picture). The barn has at least 2 diagonal cracks in it currently. I was excited to find the color photo of Merode Castle at the Archives. I sent a copy of it to Albert. Ironically, the photo is mis-labeled as a "chateau somewhere in Belgium" at the Archives. Many photos are mis-labeled, as you could imagine. This castle still stands, and if you look at the satellite imagery in google earth at Merode, Germany, the moat is greenish in color, and is fairly simple to find as Merode is not that large of a village.
The picture below is of a couple of men that were in charge of getting Coca-Cola to the men in the front. Behind them is a stack of thousands of Coca-Cola bottles. Photo taken in Brussels, Belgium. This is why Coca-Cola beats Pepsi badly in the world-wide market as cold Coke was offered for 5 cents a bottle anywhere in the world for the US servicemen in the 1940's.
The official Signal Corp explanation on the back of the photo below is as follows: "28 NOV 44. German nurse and officer, both prisoners, in their POW cages, await shipment to the rear. They are married. Epinal Area, France." (my comment: November 28, 1944 is slightly before the massive German offensive in the Ardenne)
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