THE ISSAQUAH PRESS SECTION B • THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2016
LEST W E F ORGET
Greg Farrar / gfarrar@isspress.com
Nick Grossi of Issaquah was wounded when his squad took a direct hit from a German shell during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944.
Battle of the Bulge veteran ‘was too young to be scared’ By Christina Corrales-Toy ccorrales-toy@isspress.com
Issaquah resident Nick Grossi was 18 years old when he got the call to serve his country. It was 1943 and Grossi was a student at O’Dea High School. He was drafted to fight for the U.S. Army in World War II and then shipped off to California for training. “I was too young to be scared,” the 91-year-old Spiritwood at Pine Lake resident said, “but I didn’t like the fact that I couldn’t finish high school.” He would eventually get that diploma, but not before an 18-month service stint that resulted in a Purple Heart and Bronze Star for his bravery during the infamous Battle of the Bulge. The largest battle the U.S. Army ever fought began in December 1944. All appearances suggested that World War II was coming to a close before the German
Courtesy of Nick Grossi
Nick Grossi was a member of the 80th Infantry Division and was a member of a heavy weapons company in December 1944.
army launched a counteroffensive attack. Adolf Hitler’s surprise invasion attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe. “The Germans had made a breakthrough on the front line, that’s why they call it the Battle of the Bulge,” Grossi said. Grossi, a member of the 80th Infantry Division, worked in a heavy weapons company. He stood about 1,500 yards behind the front lines and manned the 81mm mortar. Someone closer to the action would wire him information on where to shoot the mortar shells. He was wounded when his squad took a direct hit from a German shell. As Grossi’s lap was bleeding and wracked with shrapnel, he ventured back to headquarters to alert superiors about the attack. It’s one of the reasons he received a Bronze Star. “Don’t ask me how I did it, because I was
American infantrymen navigate the snow-covered Belgian countryside near the German border during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944.
See GROSSI, Page B11
Courtesy of U.S. Army