A Centenarian’s story of World War II (PART 2)

Bob Meyers

Columnist

In Part 1 of Centenarian Henry (Hank) Cockerill’s story, we told of his experiences in France following the bloody invasion of Normandy in June 1944 when Allied forces marched across France toward Germany.

Hank’s exhausted battalion met up with the 7th Armored Division about Dec. 1 in Malmedy, Belgium, in the Ardennes Forest. After five days, Hank’s battalion went south about 16 miles to the town of St. Vith for a long overdue break.

Germany was on its last legs, or so thought Allied commanders, and no one expected any major offensives. American entertainers such as Marlene Dietrich and a group of baseball players led by Mel Ott of the New York Giants traveled to the Ardennes to entertain the troops. The Allies, including 500,000 Americans, were lightly defended, spread out along the 75-milelong forest, short of supplies, living in deep snow and bitter cold.

Battle of the Bulge

Hank tells a unique story about his experience. He became friends with the battalion cook, Frenchie. One day Frenchie suggested they take a hike. He said, “Let’s take our guns in case we see a deer and I will cook it.” They saw a deer across a valley about a mile east of St. Vith, then they heard a rumble. Hank says “I recognized Rommel’s old battalion of Tiger tanks with 81 caliber canons that could be lowered to shoot at ground forces. Two hundred tanks, all painted white, had been brought in from the Russian front. We weren’t prepared. We had settled down for the winter.”

Early on Dec. 16, an estimated 200,000 German troops with 800,000 in reserve and nearly 1,000 tanks launched a surprise attack along 50 miles of the forest.

At the end of the first day, the Germans broke through the American lines and captured key crossroads creating the “bulge” that gave the battle its name. Everything happened so quickly that troops often did not know what was happening nearby.

“Having to retreat knocked hell out of our morale. It was the breakthrough that no one expected,” says Hank. “That’s when Ike said ‘turn around and fight’ and we did.”

The Americans were quick to provide reinforcements. Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Dwight Eisenhower rushed reinforcements to the bulge to prevent further penetration by the Germans. Gen. George Patton counterattacked with his Third Army. The Germans were ultimately

Hank Cockerill will celebrate his 100th birthday in May 2023. He joined the Army as a young man and had assignments in Europe during WWII, including Normandy following the D-Day invasion, the Battle of the Bulge and the Battle of Remagen. After the war, Hank went on to a distinguished career with The Coca-Cola Company, retiring in 1993 after 45 years.

American soldiers in heavy winter gear pause for a quick meal of K-rations in their advance during the Battle of the Bulge. The battle lasted six dreadful weeks, from Dec. 16, 1944, to mid-January 1945, The Allies ultimately prevailed but at a high cost. Approximately 19,000 American soldiers were killed in action, with 47,000 wounded and 23,000 missing.

Hank says “Our job was to disarm the explosives so our tanks could cross. One guy took the right side of the bridge and I took the left. We climbed on the girders and came across satchels full of dynamite. The wiring was different from ours and the wires were different colors. I had a feeling that the red wire was the one to cut. On the count of three I cut it and no explosion.” thwarted and permanently weakened.

After separation from the Army in December 1945, Hank’s first job was in Detroit selling Esquire calendars and playing cards.

“The challenge of sales gave me a thrill,” he remembers. He also owned a seasonal restaurant, Hank’s Hi-Da-Way, a Lake Huron favorite. He eventually realized he could not simultaneously work at a fulltime sales job, so he sold the restaurant.

“I went back to find my pup tent,” says Hank. “It was full of bullet holes.”

The Battle of the Bulge was the largest and bloodiest single battle fought by the U.S. in WW II, with more than 19,000 killed. Fierce battles took place in Malmedy and St. Vith. In the Malmedy Massacre, 84 American soldiers were captured and executed by the Waffen-SS in a farmer’s field. St. Vith was a priority target due to its excellent road network. The Americans successfully defended the town, thereby slowing the German advance. Hank remained in the Ardennes until the middle of January.

Battle of Remagen

As German forces retreated, they destroyed all the bridges crossing the Rhine River except one, the Ludendorff Bridge in the town of Remagen. The bridge was mined but it had not exploded.

The two soldiers crawled toward satchels at the end of the bridge, but they were exposed to sharpshooters.

“We crawled back thinking we would disarm the explosives at night,” Hank says.

Just then a jeep drove up with a general on board. It turned out to be General Patton. He said, “What’s the delay?”

Hank replied, “We are going to remove the explosives tonight because of the sharpshooters.”

Patton said “Son, this is a war. People die. I want to cross the Rhine. Get back on the bridge.”

The men climbed back on the bridge, somehow avoided the sharpshooters, disarmed the explosives and saved the bridge from destruction.

Hank is a very humble man according to his son Gary.

“Dad has not spoken much about the war. He doesn’t volunteer information, but he will respond if people are really interested,” Gary says.

In December 1948, Hank obtained a job with The Coca-Cola Company selling Coke machines to outdoor movie theaters which were proliferating all over Michigan. He climbed the corporate ladder quickly thanks to his strong entrepreneurial spirit: district manager in Detroit, regional manager in Cleveland, senior regional manager in Baltimore. He was sent to Atlanta to create a sales team targeting the top 100 food chains in America. Hank’s team became the lead food service industry sales team for Coca-Cola. He worked 45 years at CocaCola, retiring to his home in Sandy Springs in 1993 as senior vice president, director National Accounts. He will celebrate his 100th birthday in May.

Bob is director emeritus of the Milton Historical Society and a Member of the City of Alpharetta Historic Preservation Commission. You can email him at bobmey@bellsouth. net. Bob welcomes suggestions for future columns about local history.