TRIBUTE TO LT. COL. WOOD G JOERG, 551st PIB.

Publié le 27 juillet 2011 par Goyabelgium

IN MEMORY OF

LT. COL. WOOD G. JOERG

COMMANDER

KIA JANUARY 07, 1945

Picture on the monument of Rochelinval

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This prayer was found on his body when he was Killed In Action on the 07^th of January 1945 during the attack of the 551^st Parachute Infantry Battalion on Rochelinval, Belgium.

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DEDICATION

TO OUR COLONEL: TO US HE WAS FATHER, UNCLE? OLDER BROTHER,

COMRADE. HE SHARED EVERYTHING WITH US --- THE GOOD ALONG

WITH THE BAD. WE NEVER DOUBTED FOR ONE MOMENT THAT HE LOVED

US --- AND HOW WE LOVED HIM!

ONLY WHEN THE IMPOSSIBLE HAD HAPPENED AND HE WAS GONE, DID

EACH OF US FIND DEEP IN THE INNERMOST CORNER OF OUR HEARTS

JUST HOW MUCH WE LOVED HIM.

I WONDER IF HE KNEW? I LIKE TO THINK HE DID.

Excerpt from "The Left Corner of My Heart -

The Saga of the 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion" by Dan MORGAN, 1984.

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THE GOYA'S

Now this is the story of six hundred men,

Volunteers every one;

We pledged our lives and honed our knives,

The men of the Five Five One.

Six hundred strong we trained and we drilled;

Our leader was Woody Joerg.

He was tough as a tree and fair as can be,

And hard as a tempered sword.

Our Colonel gave us lots of pride;

Made us feel good down inside.

He made us soldiers -- made us men;

God, how he loved us, even then!

Came the day our souls were tried;

Many, many men had died.

Plenty snow and frozen feet --

Lots of fighting and nothing to eat.

Everywhere the noise of battle,

Mortar blast and Schmeisser rattle;

But if you stopped and turned to stare,

You'd see our Colonel standing there.

That's how they got him -- how he died,

Along with all the rest who tried.

He stood there watching, tears in his eyes,

As they fell row on row, those wonderful guys.

Our Colonel stood there, straight and tall,

As thick the eighty-eights did fall;

He never flinched or moved aside,

Until at last his round arrived.

And that's how it was with the Five Five One;

There's only a few left to go;

But we'll keep singing until there's none,

For our buddies who died in the snow.

So here's to our comrades, buried far and near!

And here's to our Colonel, who loved us all so dear!

And here's to you, Buddy -- and you -- and you!

And here's to all of us, when it's over and it's through!

Page 15 of the book, "The Left Corner of My Heart -

The Saga of the 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion" by Dan MORGAN, 1984.

I want to honor here the memory of Mr. Dan MORGAN, who passed away in January 2002, and who had given me the permission to use parts of his book to pay tribute to the 551st PIB. Claude ORBAN & myself attended the 551st PIB Annual Reunion held in Springdale, AR. and we will never forget the wonderful moments shared with Mr. MORGAN and the other GOYAs and their families.

Please send your comments, WWII accounts, WWII pictures to:

Eddy LAMBERTY

Avenue Joseph Lejeune 45

4980 Trois-Ponts

Belgium

Or:

eddy.lamberty@gmail.com