March 10, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð HOUSE H 3041 decay * * * Burst sewers, broken gas mains week of March. GIs were now poised to b 1430 and dead animals have raised an almost ``bounce'' the Rhine. overpowering smell in many parts of the REMOVAL OF NAME OF MEMBER city.'' Hitler's prophecy had been realized: REMAGEN: AN ``OPEN WOUND'' AS COSPONSOR OF H.R. 24 AND ``Give me five years and you will not recog- On the afternoon of March 7, 1945, 34-year- HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLU- nize Germany again,'' he had said. old Sgt. Alex Drabik from Toledo, Ohio, TION 5 bobbed and weaved his squad across a Rhine ANCIENT METZ FALLS River railroad bridge (Ludendorff) at the lit- Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speak- Some 113 miles to the south, on the French tle town of Remagen, Germany. His company er, I ask unanimous consent to remove border, ``Blood and Guts'' Gen. George S. commander, Lt. Karl Timmermann, from A my name as a cosponsor of H.R. 24 and Patton had led his Third Army on a 450-mile Co., 27th Armored Inf. Bn., 9th Armored Div., House Concurrent Resolution 5. run from Avranches at the base of the Cher- who had ordered the crossing, followed close The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. bourg Peninsula to the gates of the fortress behind. Drabik, Timmermann and a handful city of Metz, where he met the forbidding WICKER). Is there objection to the re- of infantrymen, engineers and tankers, per- fortifications of Fort Driant. quest of the gentleman from Penn- The fort had concrete walls seven feet formed one of the most incredible feats in sylvania? thick, connected by underground tunnels the annals of military history. There was no objection. The Rhine River had not been crossed by with a central fortress. The defenders had f emplaced huge quantities of barbed wire to an invading army since Napoleon's time over add to the problems facing attackers. The a century earlier. Hitler had ordered all the THE CONTRACT WITH AMERICA German garrison of 10,000 had ample supplies bridges up and down the Rhine to be blown of food and water. Other forts in the Metz up as the Americans approached. The last The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under area were similarly equipped. bridge, between Cologne and Koblenz, was the Speaker's announced policy of Jan- In the early days of November, the 5th, still standing to enable German tanks and uary 4, 1995, the gentleman from Penn- 90th and 95th Infantry and 10th Armored di- artillery to retreat safely. Just as Lt. sylvania is recognized for 30 minutes as visions of XX Corps were slowed by the Timmermann gave the order for Drabik's the designee of the majority leader. heavy rains which plagued the entire thea- squad to cross, tremendous explosions shook Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speak- ter. Hitler took a very personal interest in the bridge and seemed to lift it from its er, I want to thank the gentleman from the defense of Metz, reiterating his order foundations. The structure shuddered, but California [Mr. DORNAN] for his elo- that it must be held ``to the last man.'' The miraculously remained standing. new garrison commander, Heinrich Kittel, At this point, Lt. Hugh Mott and two brave quent testimony about the importance pledged to carry out that order. armored engineers, Eugene Dorland and of the Battle of the Bulge in U.S. his- There were many individual feats of hero- John Reynolds, dashed out on the bridge and tory, and the importance of our service ism as U.S. forces slowly closed the jaws of feverishly cut wires to the remaining explo- men and women who have given us the the trap around Metz between Nov. 18±22. sive charges. The Germans blew a 30-foot opportunity to serve here in Congress Pfc. Elmer A. Eggert of L Co., 379th Inf. crater in the approach to the bridge to pre- and to try to make a difference in each Regt., 95th Div., advanced alone against a vent tanks from crossing. Sgt. Clemon person's life. machine gun, killing five of the enemy and Knapp of Rupert, W.Va., and a crew, manned capturing four, earning a Distinguished Mr. Speaker, it occurs to me that the a ``tank dozer''Ða Sherman tank with a bull- Service Cross. After his tank received a di- media's coverage of the new Speaker of dozer bladeÐand filled in the crater. Knapp rect hit, Cpl. C.J. Smith of the 778th Tank the House is further proof that elitists and his crew received Silver Stars for their Bn. dismounted the .30-caliber machine gun in the Washington press corps still do actions. and fought on alone until help arrived; he not get it. They fail to understand that The night of March 7 was one of the dark- was also awarded a DSC. the Republicans' sweep in November Despite Hitler's own order, he allowed an est of the war. Yet Lt. Windsor Miller gently guided his 35-ton Sherman tanks across the was not about the personalities of SS regimentÐwhich he planned to use in the power inside the beltway that accom- Ardennes offensiveÐto slip out of Metz in shaky bridge, dodging some gaping holes as the last stages of the U.S. offensive. Gen. he maneuvered between white tapes strung panied the democratically controlled Kittel finally surrendered Metz on Nov. 21, by the engineers. Across the Rhine, Miller's Congress for so many years. The elec- although several of the forts, including tank platoon beat off several German tion was not about power in Washing- Driant, held out well into December before counter-attacks as they helped the armored ton at all. It was about ideas, about giving up. infantry hang on to their tenuous toehold. helping people. The 5th Div.'s November losses were 172 When the bridge was captured, the first Speaker NEWT GINGRICH is an excel- KIA, 1,005 WIA and 143 MIA. The 95th Div. es- troops proudly attached a sign reading: Cross lent articulator of the conservative te- timated 281 KIA, 1,503 WIA and 405 MIA. the Rhine with dry feetÐCourtesty 9th nets of individual freedom and decen- Records of casualties of other units involved Arm'd Div. tralized government, as well outlined in the Metz operation are incomplete. Hugh The 9th, 78th and 99th Infantry divisions M. Cole, official Army historian of the Metz rushed to the scene to reinforce the bridge- by Jay Heslick in the Southeast Mis- operation, concluded that the capture of head. Military police, tank-destroyer and sourian. Metz was ``skillfully planned and marked by anti-aircraft units were awarded Presidential Just this past week we have been dis- thorough execution,'' and ``may long remain Unit Citations for their heroism under fire. cussing how we can work with our fam- an outstanding example of a prepared battle Hitler threw in jet planes, underwater ilies, our neighborhoods, and our for the reduction of a fortified position.'' swimmers, giant V±2 rockets and massive re- schools. The fact is we are growing The U.S. First and Ninth Armies had inforcements in trying to destroy the bridge. school meals. Hungry children cannot launched Operation Queen in mid-November, The bridge itself was so severely damaged learn. We are growing kids, not govern- with the Ninth clearing the west bank of the that it collapsed without warning on March Roer River from Brachelen to Altdorf by ment. We are growing school meals 4.5 17, taking the lives of 28 repairmen and in- early December. (See the November issue for percent a year. Under our plan, in 5 juring 93. But not before a pontoon and the Battle of Huertgen Forest.) Queen wit- years we will be spending $1 billion treadway bridge had been built under fire on nessed, incidentally, the largest air-ground more on school meals than we are either side of the permanent bridge. cooperative effort to date in the ETO. today. Offensive operations were resumed Jan. 17, WEST BANK CLEANSED For kids under school age, we are 1945. Operation Grenade achieved the Allied By mid-March, mopping up operations west growing the WIC program, for lower-in- assault crossings over the Roer River, fol- of the Rhine were completed by the U.S. VIII lowed by a northeastward drive by the U.S. come women, infants, and children. A Ninth Army's link up with the First Cana- Corps. Within a few days, Operation Under- country that is broke certainly cannot dian Army along the Rhine. The Ninth Army tone was under way by the U.S. Seventh feed a hungry child. The Clinton budg- (its dash to the Rhine was dubbed Operation Army to clear the Saar-Palatinate triangle. et piles $1 trillion in new debt on our Flashpoint) comprised four corps with 13 di- On March 22, 1945, the 90th Inf. Div. cleared kids, which they will have to repay visions. In reaching the Rhine, the Ninth Mainz while other GIs achieved a surprise with interest. Unless we turn this Army captured 30,000 German soldiers and late night crossing of the Rhine at Oppenheim, south of Mainz. By then, the around, a child born today will pay killed 6,000, at the cost of 7,300 U.S. casual- $180,000 in Federal debt during his or ties. U.S. First Army held a bridgehead across the A sequel to GrenadeÐOperation Lumber- river 20 miles wide and eight miles deep; six her lifetime. That is not for a house, a jackÐwas a converging thrust made by the divisions were east of the Rhine.