The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘They will always remember’
Book recounts American soldiers who brought St. Nick to Luxembourg
The spirit of Christmas lived on in the village of Wiltz, Luxembourg, after a small number of American GIs renewed a tradition that was once forbidden to celebrate under Nazi occupation. Author Peter Lion, a native of New Haven, details the true story of the compassion and valor of the American 28th Infantry Division Signal Corps during World War II and their gift to the village in his book The American St. Nick.
The story takes place December 1944 but the tradition the American soldiers created lives on.
“They had just come out of this meat grinder of a battle — the battle of Hürtgen Forest. These soldiers ended up in this small town called Wiltz,” said Lion, a 1983 graduate of Southern Connecticut State University, who said it took three
FROM PAGE 1 years to research and write the book.
While in Luxembourg in 1944, according to Lion, one of the soldiers found out there was an approaching holiday called St. Nicolas Day, which residents had been forbidden to celebrate during Nazi rule.
By December 1944, although the town at that point had been liberated after nearly five years of Nazi occupation, the ravages of war left the townspeople with nothing to celebrate the season, according to the book.
“So, this soldier gets this idea of maybe we can do something and got permission from command and the holiday is restored,” said Lion, who believes American soldiers are ambassadors for the country.
According to Lion, then Corp. Harry Stutz gathered some of his fellow soldiers and organized a Christmas party for the children, a party, he said, that included a special visit from St. Nick, thanks to a reluctant Corp. Richard Brookins.
Wearing the mass robes of the local priest and a crudely fashioned rope beard to complete the costume, “St. Nicolas” rode through town on an Army jeep, stopping to meet the children and passing out treats baked by the Army cooks or donated from the soldier’s care packages from home. Later, the celebration continued with a party for all the children at the Wiltz Castle. It was a wonderful day for the children of Wiltz and for the American soldiers as well, according to www.americanstnick.com
Richard Brookins, now 94, said there were a number of children there that had never had a St. Nicolas Day, due to the German occupation.
“This was an American St. Nicolas, which was really extraordinary, said Brookins, who was 22 during the time he played the role.
“They were used to St. Nick from Europe, he said, (and) all of a sudden here are the Americans who came and gave them their liberty and now they’re putting on a party for the children.”
The American St. Nick website explains that “Ten days later however the Battle of the Bulge erupts in the Ardennes; Wiltz and the 28th Infantry Division are overrun. In the weeks of fighting that followed, most of the town is damaged or destroyed, mostly from Allied bombing. Tragically, some of the townspeople, including children, were killed. The joy of that one St. Nicolas day was gone ... but not forgotten.”
But “following the war Wiltz rebuilt and those who survived vowed never to forget the kindness and generosity of those few American soldiers that one St. Nicolas Day.”
Brookins, who now lives in upstate New York, said the town has been celebrating the holiday for the last 72 years.
“Every year, the American St. Nick is selected from among the neighbors and he looks at the assignment as an honor to be an American for those 2 or 3 hours in the afternoon,” said Brookins, who last visited the Luxembourg town in 2014.
“I’ve committed myself to doing it as a favor for my buddies who are no longer here,” said Brookins.
“I do it for them, because it’s such a momentous thing,” he said. “They will always remember the sacrifice made by the American GIs by giving their blood so they can live in a free Europe.”
Brookins received Luxembourg’s highest military honor, The Military Medal, in July.
The holiday is celebrated every Dec. 6.
Lion said when he heard the story and the sidebar stories, he wanted to create a connection from one generation to the next.
“Spreading this story as best we can is showing people that even in the darkest time there is a light of hope that shines,” said Lion, 55, who lives in Canton “It may be obvious and sometimes it may not be, but it’s always there, it’s just a matter of seizing it.”
The documentary on the story told in the book earned two Emmys in June,
The book can be purchased at www.Amazon. com.