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On the morning of December 16, 1944, German soldiers charged through the fog and snow of Belgium's dense Ardennes Forest to attack outnumbered American soldiers, in what became known as the Belgian “War of the Ardennes.” Battle of the BulgeHitler's last attempt to win World War II.
My father served in the battle – which claimed 19,000 American lives and more than 89,000 American casualties – and I have just returned from a bipartisan official visit to the battlefield to celebrate its 80th anniversary, and I personally thank the World War II veterans who fought… there.
Our visit was a powerful reminder that appeasing tyrants never works, and that the United States must continue to stand strong against them. Tyrants like Vladimir Putin To keep America safe.
Adolf Hitler was the leader of Nazi Germany from 1933 until his suicide in 1945. (Getty Images)
By 1944, Hitler realized that he could not win the war completely. But he believed that after years of war, the Allies were becoming weary. He made a final gamble that if he led his forces between the American and British armies, he might break our will to fight and make us abandon our allies by agreeing to let him keep some of the territory he had conquered in exchange for it. For peace.
My father did not talk much about his ministry, but he would sometimes allude to how difficult the circumstances were. The Germans attacked When heavy clouds prevented any Allied air cover. In sub-zero temperatures and without adequate equipment, the soldiers marched through dense, unforgiving forests and deep snowbanks. Their weapons froze and a terrible condition called trench foot slowed their every step. The American lines were bent and almost broken.
But Hitler underestimated the strength, courage and spirit of the Americans. Our soldiers knew they had to see the war through to the end to rid the world of Hitler's tyranny and preserve freedom. The battle was won, and the war was soon over.
We can hear echoes of the Battle of the Bulge as Putin pushes deeper into Ukraine, trying to divide and exhaust those who love freedom. There are differences, but the difficult circumstances facing Ukrainians today are similar to those faced by the heroes of the Bulge. Like Hitler, Putin knows that although he can no longer achieve victory in the war directly, he can still achieve victory if he breaks America's resolve to stand against him.
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Some suggest it exists America's interest in abandoning Ukraine. They are wrong. Even when war is halfway around the world, it affects us, just as Hitler's invasion of Europe affected my father and millions like him.
As Hitler's power grew in the run-up to World War II, in 1938 he threatened to invade Czechoslovakia. Hoping to appease Hitler and contain his aggression, British and French leaders signed the Munich Agreement, handing over Czech territory to Germany. However, this emboldened Hitler, leading him to invade not only Czechoslovakia, but then almost all of Europe before America entered the war and ultimately defeated him.
Tyrants like Hitler and Putin value strength and take advantage of weakness. If we abandon Ukraine now, Ukraine will likely be forced to accept a deal that will only embolden Putin. Tyrants and terrorists in Iran, North Korea, and China will take notice and attempt to exploit what will be seen as blatant American weakness.
The best option is to stand with our allies until Ukraine is in a strong position to determine its future. Now is the time to show Putin and our opponents All over the world America's resolve cannot be broken.
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The heroes of the Battle of the Bulge left us with an important lesson: tyranny can only be turned back through force, and freedom belongs to the brave – and to the wise. By the time America entered the war, Hitler had gained power because of those who had refused to confront him when he first came to power.
At the 80th anniversary celebration at the American Cemetery in Luxembourg, John Foy, a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge, reminded us that “the freedoms we cherished, at that point, came at a terrible cost.”
At that cemetery, I was honored to recognize the heroes of the Bulge by laying the Senate wreath as part of the memorial service. I've thought about the ways in which so much has changed since 1944, and that ranks… Living veterans of World War II I became thinner.
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It has been 80 years since the last shots of the Battle of the Bulge were fired. It's been decades since my father asked me at the breakfast table, “What are you doing for freedom today?”
The heroes of the Battle of the Bulge still call out to us. Their example of strength and courage still rings true. We cannot be the first generation of Americans to turn away from them, retreat in the face of tyrants, and fail to respond to their calls.
