My Grandfather’s unit captured Coburg, Germany, which was the seat of the British Royal Crown. Queen Victoria’s mother was from Coburg and Queen Victoria’s Husband, Prince Albert was born there (Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha).
According to my Grandfather, the people were very friendly but begged the GIs to not eat their chickens. Unfortunately, they ate the chickens because other food sources were scarce, as one can imagine. Anyway, one day my Uncle Peter (also a war vet), his mother, my Aunt, Grandma and Grandpa were having dinner together and my Grandpa mentioned this story. He spoke of how his tank fired shots at the castle and various other places in their fight with the Nazis.
Suddenly, my Uncle Peter’s mother exclaimed teasingly, “It was you! You destroyed my house!” You see, my Uncle’s mother is from Coburg (as is my Uncle). So my Aunt used to tease my grandpa saying that it was his fault that Peter and my Aunt met and got married, since his unit captured it from the Nazis, and due to a large US Army presence afterwards, kept it from falling behind the Iron Curtain.
Seattle, WA
