Sag Harbor resident remembers liberation of his native Luxembourg in WWII

The thing Charles Neuman remembered most vividly as a young boy about the brutally cold December 1944 in his native Luxembourg was the endless line of American tanks, trucks and troops that rushed northward through his hometown of Esch.

With American units pushed back by a surprise German offensive known as the Battle of the Bulge, Gen. George Patton Jr.'s Third Army did the near impossible and went quickly through snow-covered valleys and the Ardennes Forest to lead the charge that pushed the Wehrmacht back. The counterpunch by the Americans blunted the last-ditch effort by Germany to stave off its defeat.

It was a stunning development for the 11-year-old Neuman, who was so impressed with what the American forces led by Patton did to liberate his tiny country -- as well as end the war -- that he joined the U.S. Army when he immigrated to America in 1953 at the age of 20. He served in the Pacific theater during the Korean War armistice period.

Monday night, Neuman, now 82 years old and living in Sag Harbor, will be among a select group of veterans paying tribute to American soldiers in a special Veterans Day event at the River Club in Manhattan sponsored by the New York City Consulate General of Luxembourg.

The event is a way for the nearly 1,000-square-mile nation in the middle of Europe to show its gratitude, said Laurence Pierron, the consulate cultural attaché who is coordinating the event.

"This is to keep the memory alive, because without those veterans we don't know what Luxembourg would be today, perhaps a German territory," Pierron said.

Historians say the battle began Dec. 16, 1944, and ended Jan. 25, 1945, with the collapse of the German offensive.

"Certainly, with my generation there is a very strong appreciation of the Americans," said Neuman, a naturalized U.S. citizen who before he retired was a director of information technology at the former Hazeltine Corp. His wife, Mimi, died in 2007; their son, Kevin, lives in Chicago.

The American effort in the Battle of the Bulge finally enabled Luxembourg to be free of Hitler's army, Neuman said. Young troops led by Patton "busted their hump" to join the fight, he said. "That is a powerful something for me," he reflected.

Monday's event is the first time the consulate has commemorated veterans in such a way, and the passage of time is giving it a special urgency.

"In five years it will be the 75th anniversary, but God knows if these veterans will be around," Pierron said. Six men from a Staten Island chapter of Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge -- plus Neuman -- are scheduled to attend the tribute.

Aside from his status as a Korean War veteran, Neuman said another nostalgic connection he has to the U.S. military was the fact that his late sister Anni had married a GI who fought in the battle.

Pierron said guests expected to attend include Benjamin Patton, grandson of the general, and the daughter-in-law of the late Secretary of Defense James Forrestal, who owned the town house now occupied by the consulate. Relatives of fabled songwriter Irving Berlin, who purchased the town house after Forrestal owned it, are also slated to attend, she noted.

Neuman has avidly studied the history of the Battle of the Bulge and Patton. He recently made a visit to the American Cemetery in Luxembourg where Patton was buried after he died in December 1945 of injuries he received in an auto accident.

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.