Posted on Jan 30, 2015
Event Overview: Harold W. Billow, United States Army, World War II Veteran, Malmedy Massacre Survivor
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Dear RallyPointers,
Last night I had the honor of being in the presence of Harold W. Billow, United States Army, World War II Veteran, Malmedy Massacre Survivor.
(Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malmedy_massacre)
Harold is 92 years old, and sharp as a knife. He told an amazing story of his ordeal, and moved the crowd many times. He also managed to make us all smile and laugh. Quite an amazing guy.
Harold Billow was a member of Battery B, 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion. He is one of only two remaining survivors of the infamous Malmedy Massacre known to still be alive. This massacre by the Germans during World War II was a war crime in which 87 American prisoners were killed in cold blood in the snow on December 17, 1944 at Baugnez crossroads near Malmedy, Belgium. The mass murder of American POWs came to be known as the greatest war atrocity committed against American soldiers on the Western front. German soldiers of Kampfgruppe Peiper (part of the 1st SS Panzer Division and a tough German combat unit led by the aggressive Lt. Col. Joachim Peiper) used pistol, tank and machine gun fire to kill the Americans. Harold buried himself under bodies and tried not to breathe heavily for fear of his breath being seen. Anyone showing signs of life was shot through the head.
After laying hours in a field of dead bodies, Harold and a few other soldiers found an opportunity to get up and RUN to a nearby cottage. As suspected, Harold realized that they were spotted. He tried getting his fellow brothers to leave the cottage, but they stayed. According to what I heard, Harold ran out the back door and hid far away in a hedgerow. He watched as the house was eventually surrounded by Germans who then doused the place in gasoline, and set it ablaze. As people ran out of the house to escape the smoke, heat and flames, the Germans opened fire and killed every one of them.
I took several photos, but haven't cropped or fixed them up yet. I will share what I have now, and will then share more once I do my work to them. I also captured some video of Harold recounting his story. I will share that too once it is uploaded to YouTube.
Thank you for your time, your interest, and for reading this.
God bless each of you, God bless America, and God bless Harold Billow.
Last night I had the honor of being in the presence of Harold W. Billow, United States Army, World War II Veteran, Malmedy Massacre Survivor.
(Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malmedy_massacre)
Harold is 92 years old, and sharp as a knife. He told an amazing story of his ordeal, and moved the crowd many times. He also managed to make us all smile and laugh. Quite an amazing guy.
Harold Billow was a member of Battery B, 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion. He is one of only two remaining survivors of the infamous Malmedy Massacre known to still be alive. This massacre by the Germans during World War II was a war crime in which 87 American prisoners were killed in cold blood in the snow on December 17, 1944 at Baugnez crossroads near Malmedy, Belgium. The mass murder of American POWs came to be known as the greatest war atrocity committed against American soldiers on the Western front. German soldiers of Kampfgruppe Peiper (part of the 1st SS Panzer Division and a tough German combat unit led by the aggressive Lt. Col. Joachim Peiper) used pistol, tank and machine gun fire to kill the Americans. Harold buried himself under bodies and tried not to breathe heavily for fear of his breath being seen. Anyone showing signs of life was shot through the head.
After laying hours in a field of dead bodies, Harold and a few other soldiers found an opportunity to get up and RUN to a nearby cottage. As suspected, Harold realized that they were spotted. He tried getting his fellow brothers to leave the cottage, but they stayed. According to what I heard, Harold ran out the back door and hid far away in a hedgerow. He watched as the house was eventually surrounded by Germans who then doused the place in gasoline, and set it ablaze. As people ran out of the house to escape the smoke, heat and flames, the Germans opened fire and killed every one of them.
I took several photos, but haven't cropped or fixed them up yet. I will share what I have now, and will then share more once I do my work to them. I also captured some video of Harold recounting his story. I will share that too once it is uploaded to YouTube.
Thank you for your time, your interest, and for reading this.
God bless each of you, God bless America, and God bless Harold Billow.
Posted in these groups: 
WWII World War Two
Heroes
WWII World War Two Heroes
Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 15
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Thanks for sharing that bit of history, Cpl Anthony Pearson. Harold Billow seems like an amazing man.
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Such an honor.
While stationed in Hawaii, I had the honor of participating in a 65th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor formation on Hickam AFB. Afterwards, my family and I went to the Arizona Memorial. I had the distinct honor of hearing the stories of a couple of Pearl Harbor survivors.
My advice for anyone is to talk to these heroes and hear their stories. It is so important to make sure their stories live on long after they have passed on.
While stationed in Hawaii, I had the honor of participating in a 65th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor formation on Hickam AFB. Afterwards, my family and I went to the Arizona Memorial. I had the distinct honor of hearing the stories of a couple of Pearl Harbor survivors.
My advice for anyone is to talk to these heroes and hear their stories. It is so important to make sure their stories live on long after they have passed on.
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SFC Boots Attaway
That is very important as we are loosing more and more WWII vets every day. I found out last week that one of our church members is a WWII vet who fought at the battle of the bulge in Bastogne with the 101. I plan on talking with him some more. He said that he missed D Day because he was a replacement. Also he said that he was with a glider regiment.
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Thank you for sharing. I had never heard of anyone surviving. It seems that people who survive events such as that live richer lives despite being haunted by the ghosts of their past. I can well imagine your honor at being in the presence of this survivor. My mother-in-law was a survivor of a pogrom who lost several family members. She bore the scars of saber and bayonet wounds. Still, she was full of humor and love and lived beyond 100. I was blessed to know her (as well as marry her daughter).
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