Students introduced their veteran guests and each grade performed for the guests.  It was a morning of great food and entertainment, along with an opportunity to pay tribute to those who have worked so hard to preserve our nation's freedom.
 

Kim Everett | November 9, 2010

American hero Jacob Reinhardt joined World War II and the fight against Hitler on D-Day in 1944.  His service to his country began in the U.S. Army, 29^th Infantry Division, on Omaha Beach where he was pulled out of his unit and sent ahead as a pathfinder.  His job was to help open up paths for the soldiers to come in from the beach.

All the soldiers who had demolitions knowledge were put on the pathfinders program.  “As we went on, things got hot, and my commanding officer was killed, along with most of the others in my outfit,” he said.

At that point, under the orders of a different colonel, he joined in the effort to get the soldiers off the beach.  The priority was to blow up the Atlantic Wall – a concrete wall with the enemy behind it – and provide a way for the soldiers to get inland.

“They had the advantage on us.  That’s why they were mowing us down like crazy,” he said.  They gathered all the engineers and all the explosives they could find, and after several unsuccessful attempts, blew through the wall and began to get the soldiers off the beach. 

As they went inland, they fought hard in many smaller skirmishes, and when they thought they were five miles in, it was difficult finding out that they had actually only made it two miles.  “It was tough, but we rocked along and secured locations,” he said.  “We stayed scared all the time.  You were looking over your shoulder all the time expecting to get blown out of the saddle.”

“We made advances inland, but we hit the hedgerow country, fields full of big hedgerows, and the Germans knew there was only one opening in these fields and where it was,” he said.

The Germans had tanks at the opening, and the soldiers went in there face to face with them.  “They’d fire away at us, but we overcame those obstacles in the different skirmishes that went along with it,” Reinhardt said.

The British and Frenchmen headed for Paris, and Reinhardt’s unit stayed behind at St. Lo to capture the crossroads there.  It was about that time that Patton arrived with the 3^rd Army, and Reinhardt started to work with him.

After securing St. Lo, his unit went to Paris to wait for what he called “the next big move.” 

“We knew we were headed for Germany, but we had the Siegfried Line to contend with,” he said.  They punched through the line, which consisted of 18,000 bunkers, tunnels, and tank traps, and got into Germany to fight the Germans on their own soil.

“When Patton was about to hit Germany is when Hitler slung the Battle of the Bulge at us,” he said.  This turned out to be the bloodiest battle experienced by American forces during World War II. 

“Liege was also a focal point at that time, and we were scattered all over Liege.  Then the bulge broke loose, everything broke loose at that point, and after many days of fighting and being trapped…you’d dig yourself a foxhole to get some sleep at night, and the next morning, there’d be two feet of snow on you.”

“Have you ever heard a snowflake fall?” Reinhardt asked.  “On a quiet night, I heard it, we all heard it.  The flakes were real big and you could hear them as they fell,” Reinhardt remembered.  “From this time on, things went pretty well our way.”

About General Patton, Reinhardt said, “Everybody wanted to shoot him, but they’d follow him to the ends of the earth.  He was very knowledgeable.  He was demanding, and he wanted everything done right, and he’d see to it that it got done right,” Reinhardt said.

“He was a good man and very rough as a commander, very rough in preparing his forces.  I had a lot of respect for him,” he said.  “The first time we met, he asked where I was from, and I told him Texas.  He told me he was going to call me “Tex” from now on.”

The rule was that whatever you did, you always had to blow up the bridge, and Reinhardt related the story about blowing up a German tank that had made it halfway across a bridge.  He saw the men falling out of the tank and the fire erupting.  “When you look back, you feel sorry for them because they didn’t have a chance.  It had to be done, but that still haunts me,” he said.

65 years later, Reinhardt still has nightmares.  In his sleep, he says things like, “Come on men.”  Reinhardt’s stepson Dan Sullivan said that he still fights the war in his sleep.

He has a case full of medals including a Silver Star which was pinned on him by Patton, three purple hearts, a star representing the five campaigns in which he fought, and a victory medal to name a few.  The most special is the Silver Star.

PFC Jacob Reinhardt was 19-years-old when he went to Europe on the Queen Mary.  His mother would go to the movie theatre in their hometown of Electra, Texas, not to see the movie, but to see the newsreels and get the latest war news.  The owners of the theatre got to where they would let her know when a new reel arrived and not charge her to see it. 

“They knew she was looking for me in one of those newsreels,” Reinhardt said.

Kim Everett | November 9, 2010

The privilege of being an American affords every citizen freedom, along with all the advantages one can dream of – all made possible through the blood, sweat, and tears of our military.

Presidents, military officers, and others have tried to express the importance of the men and women in America’s Armed forces, but in truth, there are no words that adequately describe the selflessness and courage of these brave souls.

“People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”  George Orwell

“This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.”  Elmer Davis

“The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.”  General Dwight D Eisenhower, address to his troops on D-Day, 1944

 “Courage is almost a contradiction in terms.  It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die.”  G.K. Chesterton

“From time to time, the tree of liberty must be watered with the blood of tyrants and patriots.”  President Thomas Jefferson

“Freedom is never free.”  Unknown

“What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight – it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”  General Dwight D. Eisenhower

Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory.  General George S. Patton

“No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation.”  General Douglas MacArthur

“Never in the face of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.”  Prime Minister Winston Churchill

“Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world, but the Marines don't have that problem.”  President Ronald Reagan

 “A ship without Marines is like a garment without buttons.”  Admiral David D. Porter

 “Courage is fear holding on a little longer.”  General George S. Patton