Amazingly enough, some sixty Americans were still alive in the field after the machine-gunning. Set the record straight and, once you have, we can revise it here. But some of these same GIs later recalled that the story of the Malmedy Massacre so angered them that they decided they would now stand and fight with everything they had. That at least would acknowledge the elephant in the room. Charles Edward Durning (February 28, 1923 December 24, 2012) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies, television shows and plays. 03 Apr 2023 01:55:49 Within a few weeks of Malmedy, one U.S. unit had machine-gunned sixty German prisoners to death in a small Belgian village called Chenogne (see Death at Chenogne). He was the assistant commandant, a Lt, whose He could play gruff and combative or gentle and funny. Why Didn't 60 Minutes Push Back on MTG's "Pedophile" Smear? I suspect that Hollywood, took some liberties with the real truth of his combat service. [AlanM1(talk)] 12:37, 17 July 2013 (UTC)Reply[reply]. This seems even to have publicly said by the French consul in LA during an official ceremony that took place a few years ago. WebWho Survived the Malmedy Massacre? Jochen Peiper never reached the Meuse, his much-sought-after goal. Snow blanketed the little towns, vacation chateaus, and deep forests of the area. - Should note that at the time Mr. Durning would have served with the 386th AAA (AW) Bn (he joined the unit while still stateside and he was levied out on 23 May 44 . http://news.yahoo.com/durning-king-character-actors-dies-nyc-075353360.html, Sca (talk) 14:53, 25 December 2012 (UTC)Reply[reply], While the article notes there appears to be some confusion at Durning's war record (which unit he was with at any particular moment etc), I think the Third Army [art needs to be clarified. I'm afraid that's where your argument runs out of steam. Rlevse Talk 03:28, 9 November 2009 (UTC)Reply[reply], i'm confused because it seems that three purple hearts are claimed, but only two instances of being wounded are cited. See: Terrified U.S. soldiers in the field suddenly began to run. Captured during the Battle of the Bulge, Durning, was one of the few survivors of the Malmedy massacre when German troops opened fire on dozens of American prisoners. Racing to the front of the German column, he upbraided Sternebeck for engaging Battery Bbecause the noise might alert more powerful U.S. combat units nearbyand told him to keep moving. Communications were terrible and no one quite knew where the Germans were. He boxed professionally for a time, delivered telegrams and taught ballroom dancing, meeting his first wife, Carole, at an Arthur Murray studio. The fact is mentioned, but a reliable source (e.g. Steve Karras - who wrote the web2carz article - joined the discussion and provided additional data from his research. A news item involving Charles Durning was featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the In the news section on 27 December 2012. 1 Everwood on the WB / medical problems? 9 Malmedy survivor? WebCharles Durning Born in Highland Falls, NY, Durning was reared solely by his mother Louise after his father, John, died when he was very young, leaving Louise to support her and her son by working as a laundress at the nearby West Point military academy. Massive confusion was the order of the day. Traffic copper to Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris, 1943: "Don't drive so fast sir, you might kill somebody". The policy of not returning recovered from wounds soldiers to their original units was not a hard fast rule. Shearonink (talk) 19:53, 9 June 2019 (UTC)Reply[reply], Not so far as I can tell, information does not appear in cited souces. However, surviving Americans distinctly remember the German order to kill coming before any of the POWs tried to escape. --rogerd (talk) 02:58, 15 March 2008 (UTC)Reply[reply], I had the priviledge and honor to meet Charles Durning some years ago, when I was on The Los Angeles St. Patrick's Day Committee, and we made him "Grand Marshall" for the parade in Hollywood. Of course all those who have writen on that massacre have emphasised one or other point of view according to their preference: som tried to whitewash the Germans others of course have pointed out how bestial they have been. Sternebeck and his tanks proceeded down the road, pushing burning and wrecked U.S. jeeps and trucks out of the way and firing their machine guns at U.S. soldiers who cowered in ditchessomething Sternebeck later told historian Michael Reynolds that he did to get the Americans to surrender, which most of them did, since they were armed only with rifles and pistols, weapons that could not possibly fight off tanks. Not surprisingly, Mr. Durnings two Oscar nominations were for supporting roles, as a slippery governor in the Burt Reynolds-Dolly Parton musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982) and as a lustful Nazi colonel in the 1983 remake of To Be or Not to Be, starring Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft. 68.124.153.86 (talk) 00:34, 30 April 2008 (UTC) GerardReply[reply], Other than his wartime experiences, the article makes no mention of Charles Durning's career pre 1973. 50 of 51 found this interesting | Share this He survived the Malmedy massacre when German soldiers opened fire on nearly 90 prisoners of war. Mr. Durning played the prosecutor, a character based on William Jennings Bryan, and Scott, in his last Broadway role, was the defense attorney, modeled on Clarence Darrow. Lejoly, who was a German sympathizer, nevertheless could not believe his eyes as he watched one SS man allow a U.S. medic to bandage a wounded soldier, after which the German shot both men dead. I was crossing a field somewhere in Belgium, he said. Durning appeared in more than 100 movies, in role The Malmedy massacre (1944) was a war crime in which 84 American prisoners of war were killed by their German captors near Malmedy, Belgium, during World War II. WebMy uncle wrote a book, Captor Captive, that included the Nazis convicted of the Malmedy Massacre and imprisoned at Landsberg.. He is not credited for being in Star Wars at IMDB. I've received the docs from Oldbubblehead (tnx!) Is Archaeology Due for a Sexual Revolution? The area was so thinly held by GIs billeted (if they were lucky) in Belgian inns and private homes that it was called the Ghost Front. The GIs knew that their German enemies were out there in the snow and fog, but believed that they would never attempt a serious attack in such conditions. Frankly speaking I have doubts about this. Anyone have any further information??? Rangers in World War II by Robert W. Black contains a complete roster of all Rangers who served during World War II. One possible explanation for his not being mentioned on this, or vocal generally on World War II, is that I found him listed in Halliwell's Filmgoers Companion as born in 1933. He made his stage debut in Buffalo. And they did. Charles Durning served his country with honor and with great personal sacrifice. Some survivors later testified that the Germans were laughing as they did this. The only real source are his Military records and the man himself. And there's the weakness in Wiki; the burden of proof should be on those making assertions of fact; instead, Wiki gives credence to unsubstantiated, possibly self-serving claims made by individuals, that are only bolstered by second and third hand retellings of that same man's stories. I have tried finding more about Charles Durning's military service on the Web but all I find are even more preposterous stories. He may have landed beside the 2nd or 5th Ranger BN and Hollywood made him a Ranger. If his ordinary-guy looks deprived him of leading-man roles, they did not leave him typecast. 6991 Guard Company. There are many secrets in us, in the depths of our souls, that we dont want anyone to know about, he told Parade. Some of them had placed their hands on their helmets in a casual token of surrender to the Waffen-SS troops of Kampfgruppe Peiperthe mechanized task force commanded by the brilliant young German Colonel Jochen Peiperas it passed by, but beyond that they seemed remarkably unconcerned. (Perhaps eleven men of Battery B had been killed in the initial attack.) Before an attack against the Germans on December 21, four days after the massacre, the headquarters of the 328th Infantry sent out an order that read, in part: No SS troops or paratroopers will be taken prisoner but will be shot on sight.. Stetsonharry (talk) 22:26, 30 January 2009 (UTC)Reply[reply], There was some discussion a few months ago about whether or not Durning was a survivor of the Malmedy massacre. A few additional points. IMDb is not considered to be a reliable source since it is mainly user-edited - just like Wikipedia. [Durning] was among the first soldiers to land on the Normandy beaches during the D-Day invasion of June 6, 1944, wrote The Washington Post. His combat experiences were harrowing. Rlevse Talk 03:12, 9 November 2009 (UTC)Reply[reply], I realize it's no shame to have post traumatic stress disorder, but I think that any such assertions in an article must be sourced, as per BLP. In fact, the Battle of the Bulge, as it would become known for the deep indentation the attacking German forces pushed into the U.S. lines, quickly became a series of confused small actions, with isolated units engaging each other in fierce battles. Again, Charles Durning is nowhere to be found among these men. One night a frequently drunk comedian failed to show up, and Mr. Durning, who had memorized the comics jokes, persuaded the manager to let him go on. But then again, Reynolds is hardly an authority on military history, so what he says about Charles Durning's war record is very trivial, even if the editor could find a reference. Brands on Ben Barnes's "Revelation" about the Iran Hostage Crisis, The "Madman Theory" Was Quintessential Nixon. Given that the statement was made when Every so often he landed a bit part in a play. The day was clear and cold, with temperatures well below freezing, and a light dusting of snow on the ground. But, there is no way Durning is the second most decorated hero of WWII, see Audie Murphy and Matt Urban. Cheers.InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 05:27, 5 September 2017 (UTC)Reply[reply], There's no reason to display the medals or decorations he is said to have received. Many of them had run away at the first sign of the German attack. But then I found a book in Google Books on actors serving in the military (Duty, Honor, Applause) that talks about Durning's service in the Rangers, says some of his fellow rangers were killed at Malmedy but says nothing about his escaping.[2]. Stars in Khaki by Wise and Wilderson provides little information. I could find no trace of this on the website of the French consulate. Thinking about how veterans of that era typically talk about the Army with regard to administrative matters only confirms this feeling that such records may be largely inaccurate. While Oldbubblehead's research apparently verifies the Silver Star, the issue will not be put to bed until the GO (with its citation extract) can be located. He was not a witness at the war crimes trial and he is not mentioned in any of the first person accounts of any of the survivors. I was impressed with Mr. Durning's military history. Just because someone else makes a statement about the subject of this article, doesn't mean that it deserves mention here. This official military history goes on to state that there is no evidence that American troops took advantage of orders, explicit or implicit, to kill their SS prisoners, but any GI fighting in Belgium in the days after December 17, 1944, could tell a very different story. On the other hand I am far from being convinced that the fact this would have been said by the French consul (if it was the case) make it the revealed truth. There is a lot of it going around in the USA?? WebWhen beloved actor Charles Durning died on Christmas Eve, journalists unanimously praised the actor's storied war record. When the gun crew was unable to do this, Beutner gave up in disgust and waved the halftrack on, much to the relief of the now edgy and nervous Americans in the field. From Trump to Putin: How People Came to Look to Timothy Snyder for Predictions, The Curious History of Ulysses Grant's Great Grandfather, H.W. This is four days after the start of the Battle of the Bulge and three days after the Malmedy Massacre.Oldbubblehead (talk) 06:39, 7 May 2014 (UTC)Reply[reply]. The American D-Day beach landings were under the command of US 1st Army, and the 1st Infantry was part of the First Army until - afaik - until the end of the war in Europe. The French government apparently issued a statement mentioning Malmedy, but the closest I can come is this[1]. Web#VeteranOfTheDay Army Veteran Charles Durning - VA News Todays #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Charles Durning, who served as an infantryman during World War II and After the war, still mentally troubled, Mr. Durning dropped into a void for almost a decade before deciding to study acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, he told Parade magazine in 1993. 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