To my knowledge, never in the 61-year-history of the 99th Division Association were two Battle of the Bulge veterans with the 99th Division the honored guests in front of more than 50,000 people in one football stadium. In addition, a third 99th member was on the speakers’ platform.

Also, these two veterans were on TV Channel 7 ABC, seen in at least four states. The two vets were also written up in the local newspaper on different days with biographies and pictures of both (see stories in this issue).

The two veterans so honored on Memorial Day were G. Allan Nelson of I/393 and Ed Trumble of L/395. What is unbelievable is that Nelson remembers meeting Trumble 60 years ago in Denver in 1950, and at that time neither realized they were both in the same division and both at the Battle of the Bulge.

The story about Trumble, printed in the Colorado Daily Camera (Boulder), tells about a German artillery shell exploding in the air over Ed Trumble’s foxhole at Hofen. A bunch of white Christmas cards came down, telling our guys why they should surrender. Ed says he picked up about three cards and kept them. He showed them to me over lunch. From these cards, he got the idea of going into the card business when he got home. His Leaning Tree Card Company today is one of the largest card companies in the country as one of one of the largest businesses in Boulder, Colo.

Each year on Memorial Day, about 50,000 runners, including my daughter and her family, participate in the Bolder Boulder, a six-mile race. The race ends in the football stadium of the University of Colorado. This year, when all the runners were in the stadium, the military took over. Military skydivers parachuted onto the field, then the National Guard jet fighters came screaming over at low altitude. Mike Nelson of Channel 7 gave a brief background on my being in the Battle of the Bulge while my picture and name were displayed on a big screen. Ed Trumble also was recognized in the same manner. Stewart Boone S/924, played a military song on his trumpet. The ceremony ended with Boone sounding Taps, which he does annually, making the trip from his home in Garden City KS.

Al Nelson I/393