Last Men Out: Cut Off on Scheidberg ( And a Broken Date!)

A 2001 Night Vigil ceremony on Scheidberg. Our "other daughter" CPT (now MAJ) Darcy St. Amant, US ARMY, joined retired Luxembourg Army soldiers in a salute in 11 degree weather.  MORE PHOTOS HERE

The successful withdrawal of the 60th Armored Division from Hotel Meyer left only two American platoons in the Beautfort command area. And these platoons holding the lonely bluffs above the Sauer River were only at half-strength themselves.  Though each platoon was fortunate to have a  Lieutenant and Sergeant, the men were exposed and vulnerable on this high hill  2.5 kms from Beaufort.  The opening offensive oat 0500 16 December began a siege that lasted three long days until 19 December. The GI’s anti-tank weapons were ill-suited to the combat at hand but they pointed the guns downhill and held on. By  19 December, only 40 men were left from the original 80. A Lieutenant ordered the men to prepare for a withdrawal at dark on the 19th.  But several soldiers favored surrender to the advancing forces, citing overwhelming German strength and the presence of three wounded men in their ranks (one of them German). In spite of the dissent, the platoons did withdraw during the night of the 19th, each man holding to the belt of the man in front of him.  Bob Hebert brought up the rear, giving him the dubious honor of “The Last Man Out of Scheidberg.” The group successfully made their way to Haller and then on to Medernach. Hebert’s siege on Scheidberg interrupted previous plans for a romantic rendezvous at  Café Adam on the outskirts of Beaufort.  Hebert and a buddy had hiked into Beaufort on the 14th of December for a shower at the Hotel Meyer. On the way back, they stopped at Café Adam and met Annie and Sissy, the two attractive daughters of the owner. The soldiers were treated to a few drinks and promised to return the next day. The German offensive intervened at 0500, though, and the meeting had to wait until 1975 for culmination. The Café was heavily damaged in German shelling the next morning, and the family was imprisoned in the Beaufort castle as the Germans invaded their village.  The Café Adam still stands, barely changed in appearance from its wartime appearance.   A stone monument to these men is located just off the road at the base of Scheidberg.  Every December, "Night Vigil" ceremonies take place throughout Luxembourg to honor the soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Some years the location of the ceremony is at the muddy, windy bivouac site of these men, well inside the forest with a view that stretches to Diekirch.

WWII vehicles at a Night Vigil gathering on Scheidberg. Tents, food, and (YES!) heaters are supplied by the Luxembourg Army.

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