“My father was a medic serving in the US Army during the Second World War. He told me a story as a kid about how he treated a wounded German soldier who had lost his left eye and had horrible wounds on that side of his face, and a blown off left hand during the battle of the Bulge. He said he couldn’t just let the poor guy die. So he treated him.

Years later, he had me, I grew up, and joined the Army. I was stationed in Germany and on our days off, my friends from my unit would do some tourist things.

I wanted a pair of leather shoes, so we traveled to Mainz and I found a shoe store. I walked in, and was immediately greeted by an elderly male. This guy had a close cropped haircut…an eye patch over his left eye…and some deep scars on that side of his face…with a missing left hand.

I didn’t say anything. He fitted me for a pair of shoes, and when I went to pay I asked him about his scars. He said, ‘In the war. December 1944 at the Ardennes.’

I asked him if he was treated by an American medic. He said he was, and looked at me curiously. I then told him about my medic father, and about the story he told me. The man told me that he believes it was my father who treated him.

We talked a bit about my father and what they each did after the war. He held my hand and asked me to pass on his most sincere thanks. He wouldn’t let me pay for the shoes. I wish dad would have been alive to see the fruits of the goodness of his heart.”
– Anonymous US Soldier. Cold War, Germany 1970’s.
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This story was documented by Battles and Beers (TM) Every soldier has a story, and every story deserves to be told.