Nick Swyka fought in the Battle of the Bulge, a major confrontation of the Second World War

Nick Swyka displays his World War II medals: The Combat Infantry Badge, the Bronze Star, the Sharp-Shooter Anti-Tank, and others.

Nick Swyka fought in the Battle of the Bulge

       Nick Swyka fought in the Battle of the Bulge, a major confrontation of the Second World War. Nick tells his story with a tremor in his voice that indicates how lucky he is to be alive to tell it. Yes, luck played a part in his survival, but his intelligence played the leading role. This is his story:

       “We went overseas on a converted ship called the U.S.S. Marine Devil. They made it a troop ship. They converted a gang of them into troop ships, including the Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mary. We left Boston—‘Watertown’ we called it—on the 29^th of September, 1944, and we arrived in Plymouth, England, on the 9^th of October, 1944. We then traveled by train to a couple of English towns. Then we boarded an LST in the Port of South Hampton and landed in Le Havre, France. Then, by truck convoy we went through France and bivouacked in the woods outside of Aubel, Belgium. I was in the Battle of the Bulge, in Elsenborn, Belgium.

“I remember crossing the Rhine River many times, and I know that my life was up many a time. One time I went in a house there and asked the woman who lived there if there were any German soldiers around. And she said, nein, or no, and then I walked out into the barnyard, and since the house and the barn were joined, they could have plugged me easily; there were twelve of them in there. The Germans knew they were losing the war so they didn't bother. Another time, at the Bulge, our lieutenant said, ‘We have a good view of fire. Maybe I can sleep tonight.’ Well, about that time a railroad shell hit and raised us both off the ground. It was frozen ground, too. If it had been a real shell it would have killed us both. It was a 16-incher and we both wondered if it was timed. But it was a dud. We were hit by a few other duds that night, so we didn't get much sleep.

“Another time, while we were making a run on Cologne at 2 o'clock in the morning, the Germans were hurting us, too. As we advanced on them, a jeep came along the blacktop road and a shell hit right in front of it. The impact of the stones from the road went right through the metal and through the gas tanks, and didn't hit one person. We lucked out again; it was a dud. If we were moved from one area to another they'd haul us in a truck, but a lot of the movement was on foot. I was loaded … I had a rifle, a pistol, grenades, and bullets. At that time we were short of ammo so I had to take it off soldiers who had died. Many of my friends were killed. Eleven of us from Cecil County went in but we were all broken up.

“I didn't get seasick going over on the troop ship, but a lot of guys did. And I would have been sick if I'd have been down below. Let me tell you, most of the guys got sick down there, and much of the time the vomit was on the floor sloshing back and forth. One time I was on night watch, and I was going through the walkway into the kitchen when a great big food mixer upset. I watched a guy with a coal shovel scooping up the eggs and putting them back in the pot. I said, ‘What are you going to do with all of it?’ He said, ‘We can't waste anything; we don't know how long we're going to be out here.’ We were in a bad storm at the time. People don't know what it was like. The next morning I told my friend: ‘You can eat anything but … don’t eat those eggs!’ ”