WWII officer who said 'nuts' to Germans dies

[Are_grits_groceries]

Retired Lt. Gen. Harry W.O. Kinnard, a paratroop officer who suggested the famously defiant answer "Nuts!" to a German demand for surrender during the 1944 Battle of the Bulge, has died. He was 93.
<snip>
When Hitler launched a surprise counteroffensive in December, the 101st, then in France, was rushed into action and seized key road junctions at the Belgian town of Bastogne, where the Americans were quickly surrounded by the enemy.

On Dec. 22, Kinnard, then a 29-year-old lieutenant colonel and the division's operations officer, was present when four German couriers arrived at the American lines under a flag of truce with a written demand to surrender in two hours or face annihilation.

Brig. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe, the 101st's artillery chief and acting division commander in the absence of Maj. Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor, laughed and remarked, "Us surrender? Aw, nuts," and then wondered aloud how he should reply.

As recalled later by himself and other witnesses, Kinnard suggested that McAuliffe tell the Germans "what you just said ... nuts."

McAuliffe scribbled: "To the German commander: Nuts! The American commander."

On the way back to the defense line, a U.S. officer explained to the puzzled Germans that "nuts" meant the same thing as "go to hell."

The paratroopers held against further attacks and four days later the siege was broken by Lt. Gen. George S. Patton's tank forces. The massive German counterattack — the last major offensive effort by Hitler's forces — collapsed two weeks later.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28627565/

I wish somebody had said "Nuts" to GWB about something.

:patriot: Lt. Gen. Harry W.O. Kinnard

[malaise]

1. GWB

is Nuts! :D

[Are_grits_groceries]

5. Then they wouldn't have been

calling him out of his name if they yelled it at him!

[Octafish]

2. A great American.

We owe our freedom to Lt.Gen. Kinnard and his comrades in arms -- and the people on the home front.

I, too, wish somebody had said, "Nuts" to Bush.

[Wednesdays]

13. Like a trained monkey, Bush responds to the command "nuts"

Anytime someone wants legislation to be signed, all they have to do is slip him the bill and say, "Sign this, Nuts." If they want him to make a speech, they tell him, "Read this in front of the camera, Nuts."

One time Bush and Cheney took a bunch of dignitaries to a Rangers game. After a while the VIP's were horrified to see Dubya just sitting there, clueless, while wetness streamed down his leg into a puddle beneath his box seat. Cheney growled, "Dammit, some asshole out there keeps shouting 'peanuts!'"

[roguevalley]

14. I read that 'nuts' is the sanitized version of what he said so that

it could be told to the public. apparently, he said f-you.

[shadowknows69]

3. The men who held that line went through hell on earth.

[onehandle]

4. I love that story!

Back when war was fought for a purpose other than lining pockets.

Ike was right.

[Are_grits_groceries]

6. My Daddy was in WWII.

He fought from DDay through the Battle of the Bulge and on.
When you got over there, you stayed over there unless you were
wounded. Many were buried over there.

[Roon]

18. My Grandfather was an anti-aircraft gunner in WW2

He fought in the Bulge too. The first time he ever saw a jet it was one of Hitler's and it dropped a bomb near their nest. Shrapnel everywhere, but no one got hurt.

[Javaman]

7. My uncle was part of Pattons force that broke through. nt

[Dennis Donovan]

8. My Dad was part of XX Corps, in Patton's 3rd Army...

Here's a pic of his unit (Dad's the closest to the camera - the corporal) just after V-E day in Regensberg, Germany:

[Javaman]

9. Great pic!! My uncle was in an anti aircraft unit. by that point, most of his work

was involved in supporting the infantry since the allies pretty much controled the skies at that point.

nasty thing what and anti aircraft gun can do to people.

[Dennis Donovan]

12. So was my Dad - the 551st AAA AW Bn (Battery B)!

Wow!:hi:

[Javaman]

15. Oh how weird. My uncle was in company G!!! LOL

You don't know if he started out in the coastal artillery in NY, do you?

[fishoutawata]

16. What a great picture to have of your father! nm

[Aristus]

10. Rest In Peace, sir.

:patriot:

[Raskolnik]

11. Godspeed.

[Parche]

17. And To The Famous 101st Airborne Band Of Brothers "Curahee"

:patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot:
:hi:

[Are_grits_groceries]

22. "Screaming Eagles"

My Daddy was in the 30th Infantry Division - Old Hickory
He was an artillery sargeant.

[ellisonz]

19. R.I.P.

[Odin2005]

20. Oh No!!!

RIP General Kinnard. :cry: :patriot:

[dysfunctional press]

21. "I wish somebody had said "Nuts" to GWB about something."

don't worry- i'm guessing that at some point jeff gannon might have done just that...:evilgrin:

[puebloknot]

23. I have a picture of my brother, sitting in a tank with a plaque that says "Nuts" ...

... at the memorial in Bastogne, dedicated to all who fought in the Battle of the Bulge -- as did my father.

We visited Bastogne in 1955, and I could see that it was an emotional moment for my father to return there.

GWB does not even deserve mention in the company of the men (and some women) who fought in WWII.