Do you have a special photo you want colorized??

[Paul D]

and while we are at it, my grandfather......2nd Infantry Division, 23rd Infantry Regiment, K Company....killed December 17, 1944 in the Ardennes Forest just east of the twin villages of Krinkelt and Rocherath, Belgium....he was last seen coming out of his foxhole and engaging in hand to hand combat with German infantrymen.......he was awarded the Silver Star and the Presidential Unit Citation for his and his unit's action that fateful afternoon.......

Attachment 390969

Respect to your Grandfather , a brave man !!

[Bill T]

Bulge, here is what I could do.....
Not an easy one to do, as alot of the colors are similar/bland. Hopefully it brought it to life a little bit for you tho.

[Bill T]

and while we are at it, my grandfather......2nd Infantry Division, 23rd Infantry Regiment, K Company....killed December 17, 1944 in the Ardennes Forest just east of the twin villages of Krinkelt and Rocherath, Belgium....he was last seen coming out of his foxhole and engaging in hand to hand combat with German infantrymen.......he was awarded the Silver Star and the Presidential Unit Citation for his and his unit's action that fateful afternoon.......

Wow. Like Paul said, much respect to your Grandfather and his sacrifice. The definition of a Hero in my opinion.

[Bill T]

did this one quickly for you too

[Bulge44]

Bulge, here is what I could do.....
Not an easy one to do, as alot of the colors are similar/bland. Hopefully it brought it to life a little bit for you tho.

wow, what an awesome job...and such a fast turnaround.......thank you so much, it's greatly appreciated....i'll have to send it down to my grand uncle to see....just wondering which one i want to frame now......thanks again.....

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did this one quickly for you too

another amazing job....thanks......funny thing is, THAT'S the real color of the jacket.......great job....thanks again.....

[Bulge44]

Wow. Like Paul said, much respect to your Grandfather and his sacrifice. The definition of a Hero in my opinion.

thank you.....i've kind of devoted my last four years, and many more to come i'm sure, to reconstruct what he did so future generations will not forget his sacrifice........it was nice to know that i was even able to educate my father on where his father was during the War (i obtained all his unit's After Action Reports) and how his father was killed in such a heroic manner.........for completeness, since we are on the subject, here is the Stars and Stripes article detailing his death...........

[Bill T]

Brave, brave men. I couldnt even imagine being there, with tanks firing into there positions like that. Not to mention having to fight in close combat in the freezing cold, against overwhelming forces of ground troops on top of you. Its pure craziness! Just think of how many lives were saved from Second Squads actions though. These men had to have known that they were sacrificing there own lives for there buddies when they chose to stay and fight. Amazing.
Good job keeping his memory alive! He deserves it! And glad you liked the colorizations!

[Bulge44]

Brave, brave men. I couldnt even imagine being there, with tanks firing into there positions like that. Not to mention having to fight in close combat in the freezing cold, against overwhelming forces of ground troops on top of you. Its pure craziness! Just think of how many lives were saved from Second Squads actions though. These men had to have known that they were sacrificing there own lives for there buddies when they chose to stay and fight. Amazing.
Good job keeping his memory alive! He deserves it! And glad you liked the colorizations!

What i have learned is that they were ill equipped for the weather and had a minimal amount of ammunition...no one had a clue as to the magnitide of the German offensive....they thought it was a local counter attack in response to the 1st Army's push north to the Roer Dams.....so, no winter clothes, minimal ammunition, no real anti tank defense, in freezing conditions in the snow in an area that was dense forest and unknown to them as they had just arrived the night before........and they saw remnants of the 99th Division storming back in a retreat.....they knew it wasn't going to be a picnic...........yeah, i couldn't imagine it either.....he received a Silver Star for his actions.....i'm in the process of petitioning to get it upgraded.........i'm going to argue that what he did was like jumping on a grenade that has landed in a foxhole to protect your buddies......when he ignored the order to retreat, and then rose from his foxhole, presumably without any ammunition, he knew what he was doing was suicide.....rather than jumping on a grenade, he was "jumping" on the infantrymen following the tanks.....a suicide act meant to protect his buddies...........the petition will be an uphill fight, but worth the fight...........thanks so much again...

[Bill T]

Very interesting history there Bulge (sorry i dont know your name). I really hope everything works out for you, and Im sure it will with some persistance. Theres no doubt he and the others deserve recognition for what they did that day. Sadly, there are probably many other instances being petitioned too, and most are probably deserved as well.
Would love to hear any new info you acquire in your research. Your family must be proud of what you are doing.


A new portrait from a grouping I just obtained.
Anton Bauer of Panzer Nachrichten Abteilung 38. He later rose to the rank of Oberleutnant and Kompanie-fuhrer in 9th Panzer Division's Nachrichten Battalion 85

[Bill T]

Bulge44,
This is the best I could do on your Grandfathers photo. It is a very bright image, so it is difficult to get the colors correct. I also messed with the b/w image to try and make it better.