Evening star., 1944-12-25
Long Allied Delay Seen
IfNuzis Retuke Lieqe
Henry Fears Germans May
Wreak Vengeance on Belgians
BY Thomas r. Henry

Dv 4 bObt0c Ats W" y
Hal Denny and crawled over the
wooden girders of a blown-out bridge
across the Meuse River into Liege.
1t was early September. The Ameri-
can Sd Armored Division had come up
the right bank Of the river with only
spasmodic sniper opposition. We had
pushed on ahead and consequently were
the first men in American uniforms
inside the main section of the big
Walloon city through which twice
within 25 years the spearheads Of Ger
man invasion had been pushed west
ward and southwark toward Paris.
For the last three days, all the way
| from Charleroi, we had experienced
| from the frantically rejoicing, half
starved population such a reception as
human beings seldom have known. They
had lined the road in a solid wall.
They had pelted us with dahlias, green
pears and apples, grapes and ounces.
| bottles of beer and orange and black
| paper flags. Whenever our jeep had
been held up for moment it had been
| inundated with mothers holding dirty
babies to be kissed and younger women
who covered us with kisses.
Nursed by Elderly Couple.
| do not know whether it was the beer
we had drunk, the babies we had kissed,
the women who had kissed us or the
green apples we had eaten. At any
| rate, we both were sick. The night
before, few miles from Liege, we had
been nursed tenderly by an elderly
couple who insisted on giving up their
beds to us. They also insisted on
giving us breakfast.
I am sure they themselves didn't eat
for few days in consequence, but am
sure they would have been insulted If
we had not eaten their eggs and toast.
The old gentleman had lived in New
Jersey. He had been an amateur cyclist
back in the early days of the century
and his proudest possession was pic
ture of a cycling club in an American
sporting magazine, in which he had
prominent position.
| But we still were sick when we crawled
over the broken girders into Lege.
| We hadn't the slightest idea of what
was ahead of us. We only hoped that
we could get beds for the night to
escape pneumonia. If We had known
what was before us I do not think
we would have crossed the river.
Over the bridge we met some apathetic
citizens who directed us to the Svede
Hotel. Liege's chief hostelry, few
blocks away We did not get there
until hours later The mob appeared
from nowhere. They overwhelmed us.
We tried to fight our way. through
them. They bore down on us from
every side Ferocious women made
flying dives on our shoulders and
anothered us with kisses. I was
drowned In a nightmare of babies.
signed my name at least a thousand
times.
Soldiers Came to Rescue.
I have no idea either Of us would
have escaped alive, sick as we were, had
We not been rescued by squad OF
those gallant men, the Belgian White
Army, who broke through the crowd
pulled us into cafe and locked the
doors There we were taken in hand
by a couple of society ladies'" At
| least LIl6L is Wlldt LIlcy cd40 t1icy ~CA Ss
The one who took me In hand was
neurotic She slept in an afraid
shelter each night. I had to escort
her there, with a half dozen White
Army guards, after the mob outside had
given up hope Of smashing through the
cafe doors and retired to their homes
for the night.
Denny and I finally were safely be-
hind the thick walls of the Svede Ho-
tel after dinner at a swanky restaurant
run by a fellow who is member of
the International Restaurateurs' AS
sociation and who proudly displayed a
picture of himself standing close to
the late Calvin Coolidge. The picture
was taken on some occasion when
convention of restaurateurs had been
received at the White House.
One objective of the present German
counterattack, 1 gather from the pa
pers, is Liege. If Gen. Gerd Won Run
stedt's divisions succeed in reaching
their objective the tactical Importance
NAV be consider able in delaying Allied
operations.
Hostages Chopped to Bits.
But somehow or other what worries
me worse is the vengeance which the
returning krauts may infiict on the
dirty-faced babies I kissed, the girls
who kissed me, the neurotic woman
who spent every night in an afraid
shelter, the brave men of the White
Army.
For a few minutes after we ccawled
over the bridge, will admit, we would
have welcomed any rescuers, even the
krauts,
But I can't help remember little
town not far from Liege where they
shot IA hostages and then chopped
their bodies to bits with axes. We ar
rived when the poor villagers were
piecing together the fragments Of the
corpses of their dead.
I hate to think of Liege, after the
welcome its people gave us. If the