Malmedy Massacre Trial - plus, a thank you to Bill O'Reilly

[keopeli]

O'Reilly has undermined American Troops twice. The American men (boys) who were massacred at Malmedy have had their deaths spat on by the Conservative pundit.

But, he does bring up a topic that's worth remembering at this time in history - the Malmedy Massacre of December 17, 1944.

I highly recommend you take the time to read this account of the event from thehistorynet.com.

The following quote is by Joachim Peiper, the leader of the troops who carried out the Malmedy Massacre. (pictured)

"I recognize that after the battle of Normandy my unit was composed mainly of young, fanatical soldiers. A good deal of them had lost their parents, their sisters and brothers during the bombing. They had seen for themselves in Köln thousands of mangled corpses after a terror raid had passed. Their hatred for the enemy was such, I swear it, I could not always keep it under control."

SS Standartenführer Jochen Peiper, 1st SS Panzer Division, Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler
reference

Peiper stood trial in Dachau Concentration Camp where he was found guilty by the American military for his crimes at Malmedy. However, his death sentence was never carried out and he was released in 1956.

The entire incident might have gone unnoticed but for the presence of an American journalist in Malmedy that day.

I have been to Malmedy and stood at that crossroads. I'm just a peace loving American Joe, never exposed to the real horrors of war. Though I was born well after WW2, I will never forget the feeling of awe that this region inspired. Nor will I forget the kind local man in his 60s who, seeing myself and my friend at the site, invited us for a beer in a local tavern. He was overcome with gratitude toward us. My French was not very good, but the wonderful soul never stopped thanking us for saving him and his family. He broke into tears at least twice trying to recount his stories for us. We were all gripped by the reality of what happened at Malmedy, Bastogne, and the surrounding region. And, we mourned in our victory being won at such a high price.

As we ponder and react to the Haditha Massacre, let us learn from history. Where the Nazi's made excuses for their atrocities, let us stand tall, accept blame, seek forgiveness, and demonstrate repentance for this shameful event so we can show the world that America, despite our many flaws, are good, humane, and charitable people after all.

We cannot change our new history. But, we CAN direct our future. In fact, we are the only ones who can save ourselves.

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PS - Learning from Bill O'Reilly's vitriol, hubris, and sedition is like making lemons into lemonade! Kudos to Bill for helping us remember the lives of these WW2 heroes. Now is the perfect time to examine what a real military massacre is like and what Nazi apologists sounded like in 1945.