r. a member of the family recalls. >> translator: my name is elisebeth. i spent many days in the castle. we witnessed the battle and i was with my father and a few people from the village. and some friends who had come here to find shelter. we spent five days and five nights in the cellar of the castle. first came the germans. then americans. generally, we could not tell who was in the castle. although, we did notice the americans wore rubber souls. they walked softly. the germans who wore metal tips were very noisy. our food consisted of bread, some butter and ham. the real problem was to get water. we had to walk through corridors where germans and americans were often fighting in order to reach the faucet where we could get the water. sometimes we would meet americans, sometimes germans. >> a week after the offensive had begun, the weather suddenly cleared. allied air reconnaissance and bombardment was now possible. although allied air superiority was complete, the ground fighting rem

r. >> all together we were on the siegfried line for about three weeks. and my memories of that are pretty much blurred. it was mostly mud and cabbages and every now and then we did have a slight move forward but for the most part, we were just in the fox holes. usually filled with water. >> american soldier on the whole, i believe, find it very difficult to hate. we spoke of the germans and thought of the germans as our enemy, but there was no such thing as violent my bed roll to sleep over the night. of course this news spread over the battalion immediately. my purpose was achieved because all the men felt if the old man got in his silk pajamas and had gone to bed, certainly there was no trouble and they were in great danger so they were able to relax and get a good night's rest. >> these are the men who served in the 84th infantry division. the division that distinguished itself in a series of critical engagements during world war ii. thus, this story could be the story of any infantr