Unforgettable

After seven years training in the National Guard and US Army, Executive Officer,1st Lt. Tom Flynn finds himself suddenly thrust into the Battle of Hurtgen Forest in early November 1944 as a replacement officer with the 28th Inf Div, 110 Inf Reg, K Company, considered by many experts to have been the bloodiest battle in Western Europe during WWII. Lucky to survive, his unit is moved to a front line position in the quiet sector of the Ardennes Forest to rest and recuperate only to face the brunt of Hitler's last offensive to retake Europe just four weeks later. The Battle of the Bulge, as it would later become known as, earned its name due to the fact that Tom's unit and Company B, 103rd Engineers Battalion held out against insurmountable odds to hold the town of Hosingen for 2 ½ day before being forced to surrender. Being the last company of the 110th to hold their town, they were in essence, the Bulge. Tom and the men of Hosingen would then be tested to their physical and emotional limits as POWs in Nazi Germany until the end of the war 4 ½ months later.Returning to civilian life with his young wife, Anna, Tom finishes college at Iowa State College on the GI bill and becomes a veterinarian in Anna's hometown, Kimballton, Iowa, where they raised a large family and a long list of pets. The next forty years are packed with humorous, entertaining and touching stories of a humble man who touched the hearts of everyone he knew. Though Tom rarely spoke of his experiences during his time in Europe, he would carry his haunting memories with him for the rest of his life. When Tom was laid to rest in November 1993, his family was sure all the stories that he could have told them had died along with him. Fortunately that turned out not to be the case as author, Alice Flynn, uncovered books, National Archives records, consulted Battle of the Bulge experts, and combined with the few stories he told to his wife and children, has put together the most comprehensive analysis of what happened in Hosingen during the Battle of the Bulge that is available to date, in addition to his time spent as a POW under Nazi control.