Before dawn, December 17, 1944: "Konop! Organize a last-ditch defense of the Command Post! Enemy tanks have broken through and are coming your way!" Matt Konop didn't recognize the voice on the other end of the phone, that's how hysterical his boss, General Walter Robertson, was. The unthinkable was happening: the Germans were attacking with a massive force and Konop's rear-guard Command Post was now facing the point of the German spear. Plus the Command Post was sitting virtually unguarded, as Robertson had just reassigned Konop’s defense platoon to carry stretchers for the wounded. And now Konop and a few cooks, drivers and MPs were all that stood between the German SS and a massive breakthrough that would lead the enemy to their goal: the sea. General Walter Lauer of the 99th Division later commented that at this Belgian crossroads the enemy had the key to success in its grasp but failed to realize it. Instead, Konop and his improv troops knocked out enough SS tanks for the Germans to pull back and search for a softer route. Total disaster avoided.

The Battle of the Bulge would rage for weeks, the largest battle in US Army history. Most of the 15,000 men in 106th Infantry Division were killed or captured on December 17, but my grandfather's division retreated to higher ground where they wouldn't give another inch to Hitler. General Robertson, for his leadership in the Battle of the Bulge, was given the military’s second-highest honor, The Distinguished Service Cross. Here is film footage shot by Matt Konop of Robertson being awarded his Distinguished Service Cross.