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Strange Monument

 

A STRANGE MONUMENT TOO FAR  by Peter J. Leibert

Numerous writers have recorded the World War II efforts to retake Europe from the Axis governments. This additional bit of history is being written to tell about the recent historical experiences of two members of the Buena Park Chorus, Ruth and Tom Walp. The story begins when Ruth tells her son Alan to “stop the car”. Ruth had seen something strange by the side of this back road in the upper Netherlands and, typically, she wanted to examine it more closely.

That “something strange” turned out to be a small white monument, neat and well tended, that recorded the site where an American Theodore H. Bachenheimer died during World War II. The person honored had been a GI soldier with the 82nd Airborne Paratroopers. He had a German name, and was being recognized with a monument topped by a Star of David indicating that he was most likely Jewish.

The area around this shrine was clean and well trimmed indicating someone was still maintaining this site over a half century after his death. The monument also seemed out-of-place since the small nearby town of ’T Harde is 50 to 75 miles north from where the 82nd Division battled for those Waal River bridges so long ago.

A few weeks later, the Walps had returned home from their visit with son Alan’s family and the new grandchild. Ruth eventually took out her notes about this carstop and started a quest to learn more about this soldier who has his own personal memorial in The Netherlands. What she learned has amazed both Tom and Ruth.

Ruth’s inquiries, especially through the use of e-mail, has resulted in gaining a wealth of information about Theodore Herman Bachenheimer. Ted, as he was remembered by his friends, was born April 23, 1923 in Braunscheweig, east of Hannover, Germany. His father, Wilhelm, was a German Jew, and his mother, Katherina, was of German ancestry. By the mid 1930’s, the Bachenheimer’s and their extended family decided it was not safe for Jews to remain in Germany and they all moved to the US. So 11-year-old Ted Bachenheimer ended up in Hollywood where his father was able to make a living as a music director and voice teacher.

When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Ted was studying drama - how to be an actor - at Los Angeles City college. Within a month, he had joined the US Army and volunteered to become a Paratrooper. After jump training, Ted was assigned to the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment which became part of the newly reactivated 82nd Infantry Division. (Note: During WWI, the 82nd was the army division that gave Sergeant Alvin C. York the opportunity to become famous).

In March 1942, before Ted Bacheheimer set out to become a legend himself - and he did make a legend for himself - he married a young lady named Ethel Lou “Penny” Murfield who was a resident of the city of Fullerton, California. They resided at 144 E. Union Avenue for about 1 month before Ted got sent overseas.

The 82nd Division, by now identified as the 82nd AIRBORNE Division, was initially assigned to North Africa, but Ted’s first real combat operation was the 1943 parachute and glider landings into Italy - Sicily, and then later at Salerno. By early 1944, GI’s of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment were fighting at Anzio. This is where the 82nd Division got its nickname as “The Devils in Baggy Pants” and someone even wrote a book about it. But directly related to this story - Ted’s legend really started to develop at Anzio.

On the Anzio Beachhead, Ted Bachenheimer, this brown-eyed, rosy cheeked, young German-born, US-raised soldier started to used his many talents. He knew two key languages - German and English. He was a reasonably good actor - which may have helped him convince another person that he was someone that he was not.

Bachenheimer started prowling behind the enemy’s lines. He would slowly meld into their ranks and talk to the German soldiers or just observe and listen. When Ted came back, he would have information about the sites of the various enemy headquarters, the locations of their machine gun teams, and even the names of the enemy officers and what their men thought about their strengths and weaknesses.

In order to fast forward this story, I will assure you that Ted Bachenheimer had honed these personal skills by the time that the 82nd Airborne Division had finished off Italy and participated in Operation Overlord - the invasion of Normandy. After a month’s rest from Normandy, the 82nd was assigned to support Operation “Market-Garden” in The Netherlands. The “Market” portion of this venture became the largest airborne invasion ever. On September 17, 1944, the 82nd Airborne Division joined two other airborne divisions and jumped into The Netherlands. Their mission was to seize and hold key bridges and roads deep behind German lines. Nijmegen was the main city within the 82nd’s area. The 504th Regiment - with Ted - landed near the town of Grave which is fifteen miles southwest of Nijmegen.

Two days later, Bachenheimer alone (with the help of a Dutch railroad track inspector) routed over 40 German soldiers and captured the train station in Nijmegen. The two of them alone held that station for over six hours before yielding to some very heavy artillery. After giving up the train station, Ted made contact with local Nijmegen Dutch underground guerillas. His cool nerve and ability to make decisions, his knowledge of German, and his role-acting ability gained their total confidence. When the 82nd took the city of Nijmegen on September 22nd, they found Ted in a basement calmly directing operations for over 300 Dutch guerillas. The Germans had held the city, but Bachenheimer was administering it. To the Dutch, Ted had become known as “The General”.

These type of actions by Ted Bachenheimer eventually earned him a large number of decorations including the Bronze Star from Queen Juliana of The Netherlands, a Silver Star, a Purple Heart, and a number of other medals as well. In the book “Devils in Baggy Pants”, written by Ross Carter, there are many stories about the adventures of Ted Bachenheimer.

The krautheads had accumulated a large dossier about the one-man-army Bachenheimer, who had plagued them since Sicily. They had many reasons for not wanting him to live. Theodore Herman Bachenheimer was shot by German SS troops on October 22, 1944 “while attempting to escape”. This was the fourth time Ted had been captured during his various adventures behind German lines. Since early 1945, the Dutch school children of ‘T Harde, Netherlands have maintained this “strange” roadside memorial for their American General.

During May 2002, Tom and Ruth again flew to Europe on a special mission. They were bringing a Plaque of Appreciation from the veterans of the 82nd Airborne Division to be added to the memorial monument by the side of that rural lane in The Netherlands. Tom Walp had to stop off in England to obtain a pacemaker and get his heart running smoothly again, but Ruth Walp went on to The Netherlands and represented the men of the 82nd Airborne Division by delivering their message of gratitude.

 

 

 

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