05 AUG 1917
OH
Gamma Brother Robert Lester Tavenner
was commissioned a second lieutenant and infantry officer in the U.S. Army on this date, and
went on to serve in France and Belgium during WWI. At OSU, Brother Tavenner was
Junior Class President and Captain of the Company of Cadets.
11 AUG 1975
World
War I, World War II and Korean War Veteran, Hero of Bastogne, SigEp Citation Recipient
and WV Beta Brother General Anthony
Clement “NUTS!” McAuliffe, U.S. Army (Retired) died on this date in Chevy
Chase, Maryland at the age of 77. He was laid to rest with full military
honors at Arlington National Cemetery in Section 3, Site 2536.
Born
in Washington, DC in 1898, Brother McAuliffe was a student at West Virginia
University from 1916 to 1917, before attending and graduated from West Point in
NOV 1918. He rose through the ranks from second lieutenant in 1918 to his
promotion to four-star general in 1955.
 |
| WV Beta Brother Anthony C. "NUTS! McAuliffe (then) Brigadier General, U.S Army [photo taken prior to D-Day] |
On
D-Day, Brother McAuliffe was serving as Commander of Division Artillery of the
101st Airborne Division when he parachuted into Normandy. He subsequently
entered Holland during Operation MARKET GARDEN in a military glider. In DEC
1944, when the German army launched the surprise Battle of the Bulge, General Maxwell
D. Taylor, commander of the 101st Airborne Division, was away, attending a
staff conference in the United States.
In
Taylor's absence, acting command of the 101st and its attached troops fell to (then)
Brigadier General McAuliffe. At Bastogne, the 101st was besieged by a
far-larger force of Germans under the command of General Heinrich Freiherr von
Lüttwitz.
On 22
DEC 1944, through a party consisting of a German major, captain, and two privates
under a flag of truce that entered the American lines
southeast of Bastogne, General von Lüttwitz sent the following ultimatum to
General McAuliffe:
“To
the U.S.A. Commander of the encircled town of Bastogne.
The
fortune of war is changing. This time the U.S.A. forces in and near Bastogne
have been encircled by strong German armored units. More German armored units
have crossed the river Our near Ortheuville, have taken Marche and reached St.
Hubert by passing through Hompre-Sibret-Tillet. Libramont is in German hands.
There
is only one possibility to save the encircled U.S.A. troops from total
annihilation: that is the honorable surrender of the encircled town. In order
to think it over a term of two hours will be granted beginning with the
presentation of this note.
If
this proposal should be rejected one German Artillery Corps and six heavy A. A.
Battalions are ready to annihilate the U.S.A. troops in and near Bastogne. The
order for firing will be given immediately after this two hours term.
All
the serious civilian losses caused by this artillery fire would not correspond
with the well-known American humanity.
The
German Commander.”
According
to various accounts from those present, when General McAuliffe was told of the
German demand for surrender he said "Nuts!" At a loss for an official
reply, Lieutenant Colonel Harry Kinnard suggested that his first remark summed
up the situation well, which was agreed to by the others. The official reply:
"To the German Commander, NUTS!, The American Commander" was typed
and delivered by Colonel Joseph Harper, commanding the 327th Glider Infantry,
and his S-3, Major Jones, to the German delegation. Harper had to explain the
meaning of the word to the Germans, telling them that in "plain
English" it meant "Go to hell.”
In
Memoriam
In
Bastogne, there is McAuliffe Square where a “Nuts!” festival takes place every
year. A bust of Anthony was unveiled in
1967 and is located next to a tank at a corner of the square.
In
the 1997, the NUTS! McAuliffe Society was formed and consists of extremely dedicated
volunteers. The current NUTS! Brigadier General is IN Epsilon Brother John Stumpf.
A
southern extension of Route 33 in eastern Northampton County, Pennsylvania,
completed in 2002, was named the General Anthony Clement McAuliffe 101st
Airborne Memorial Highway, and in 2009 the post headquarters building at Fort
Campbell, Kentucky opened and was re-named McAuliffe Hall.
Our
Brother left us with quite a lot to think about as to how to react and respond
in incredibly stressful situations.
