WORLD WAR II

On the 80th anniversary of 1944, a pivotal year in World War II, The National Memorial Day Concert will pay tribute to the millions of Americans who served in WWII both at home and abroad, and share the story of U.S. Army Veteran John T. “Jack” Moran, who fought at the pivotal Battle of the Bulge.

At the age of 18, an eager Jack Moran enlisted in the U.S. Army, ready to get to the front lines in Europe and face the enemy. In 1944, the U.S. Army’s “Draftee Divisions,” activated after the Pearl Harbor attack, finished their organization and training cycles and arrived overseas. Jack Moran’s 87th Infantry Division was one of these. The massive force thus generated, combined with expansive individual replacement systems to keep units up to strength, provided the manpower for offensives worldwide — and the means for victory.

As a part of the allied forces march toward Germany in 1944, Moran first fought across France and Germany. In the first six days of combat, his unit had 96 men killed and 113 wounded. After his first month in combat, he’d seen enough death and destruction to last a lifetime.

Dropped directly into the Battle of the Bulge, his company’s objective was to contain the bulge at Bastogne, the road junction the Germans needed to break through the American line. After hours of advancing in the woods, Moran’s company became trapped in foxholes behind enemy lines for six days in fighting so intense, it was miraculous they made it out alive.

Eighty years after the Battle of the Bulge, retired Army Staff Sgt. Jack Moran knows how lucky he was to have made it home. The men he served with who survived are now gone; and it is in their honor that Moran gives talks at high schools, sharing what he and his buddies endured and the memories that still keep him up at night. In that way, he continues to serve, reminding young people of the price that was paid for freedom.