Six Days In Europe With Lockered "Bud" Gahs

Bud Gahs lays flowers at the grave of Barney Parrish at Epinal. © Erin Faith Allen

In the spring of 2022, I took Bud Gahs, veteran of the Anti Tank Company, 222nd Infantry Regiment, 42nd "Rainbow" Infantry Division, back to the ground where he fought. What followed was six days that I will treasure, walking beside my friend and a man I have grown to deeply respect.

Day One: Würzburg

We began at the Marienberg Fortress above the city of Würzburg, where in early April 1945, Bud and his comrades had positioned their 57mm guns along the fortress walls overlooking the city below. Several men from the company were awarded Bronze Stars for Valor for what happened here.

Würzburg is magnificent now, but in 1945 when Bud was there, it was nothing but endless rubble.

Bud walked the castle walls and remembered, sharing his memories with his family, who were accompanying him. I listened and documented.

From there we drove to a field where Bud's company had taken a strafing run from an ME 109. The pilot was shot down and eventually buried in a nearby cemetery as unbekannter: unknown.

Day Two: Dachau and Munich

On April 29, 1945, Bud patrolled the woods surrounding Dachau concentration camp on the day of its liberation. His memories of the prisoners he encountered that day remain precise and intact.

We were received by Alexander Pearman and Max Luetgens of the staff at Dachau with their usual extraordinary warmth and seriousness. The sky that day was an almost offensive blue.

Afterward, Munich, where Bud's unit were among the first American forces to enter the Marienplatz. He remembers driving his truck through the arch into the center of the city.

Day Three: The Eagle's Nest and Austria

On May 8, 1945, the last day of the war in Europe, Bud and some of his company made their way to the Kehlsteinhaus. In 2022 he returned in his Ike jacket, and people stopped to speak with him throughout the afternoon.

A German man approached him and thanked him, with complete sincerity, for what he had done for the German people. This kind of moment follows Bud everywhere, and it is a reflection of who he is.

We ended the day at the Austrian monastery where his company was billeted during the Occupation.

Day Four: The Tyrolean Alps

In the weeks following Germany's surrender, Bud's company was among those tasked with pursuing regime officers who had fled into the Austrian mountains. We went up after them, on four wheels this time, which Bud noted was considerably better than two feet.

Day Five: Epinal

We visited the Epinal American Cemetery, where two of Bud's friends are buried: PFC Wayne Charles Cruse and PFC Barney Howard Parrish, both killed in fierce fighting in what is now Schweighouse sur Moder, France.

The ceremony held in their honor that day was attended by French dignitaries and citizens who came to bear witness. Gratitude to Eric Schell and the staff at Epinal, and to the families of Wayne and Barney, who carry this history forward in ways the rest of us can only try to honor.

Day Six: The Legion of Honor

This was the day none of us will forget.

The surprise ceremony took place in the courtyard of a home in Schweighouse sur Moder where, 77 years earlier, Bud and his comrades held off a German paratrooper unit.

For years, Bud had carried a wish: to find that house again and stand in it with the memory of the men who fought beside him. Through research, documentation, and Bud's extraordinary recall, we found it.

General Degoulange bestowed the Legion of Honor upon Bud with full ceremony and dignity. The Mayor of Schweighouse, Philippe Specht, made him an Honorary Citizen of the town. I was honored to receive that same designation alongside him, something I will never take lightly.

Bud is the last surviving member of his company. Through him, and through this work, the men of the Anti Tank Company live on in documented record and in the memory of the French military members and citizens who showed up that day to honor what they did.

Profound thanks to Damien, Tom, and Materne for making this possible, and to every French citizen and official who attended. To Christelle, Tanguy, and your family for opening your home. To General Degoulange and Darragh Paradiso. Thank you.

And to Bud, always.