Belgian Beer Bearing Battered Bastard of Bastogne dies, age 98
We talked about Private Vince Speranza several years back, and his cheeky brand of “aid and comfort to the wounded” during the 101st’s legendary stand during the Battle of the Bulge. The above pictured beer was made by the locals decades later in his honor. Unfortunately, word came in yesterday that he’d passed away at the tender age of 98.
He jumped out of an airplane as recently as last March! Airborne lead the way!
Army Times has more on Speranza.
Category: Army, Real Soldiers, We Remember
Rest in Peace PVT. Speranza.
May all your beers be frosty.
Fair winds and following seas.
“He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright. He checked off his equipment and made sure his pack was tight. He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar. You ain’t gonna jump no more. Gory, gory, what a hell of way to die. Gory, gory, what a hell of way to die. Gory gory, what a hell of way to die. He ain’t gonna jump no more. “Is everybody happy?” cried the sergeant looking up. Our hero feebly answered, “Yes”, and then they stood him up. He jumped into the icy blast, his static line unhooked. And he ain’t gonna jump no more. He counted long, he counted loud, he waited for the shock. He felt the wind, he felt the cold, he felt the awful drop. The silk from his reserve spilled out and wrapped around his legs. And he ain’t gonna jump no more. The risers swung around his neck, connectors cracked his dome. Suspension lines were tied in knots around his skinny bones. The canopy became his shroud, he hurtled to the ground. And he ain’t gonna jump no more. The days he lived and loved and laughed kept running through his mind. He thought about the girl back home, the one he left behind. He thought about the medicos and wondered what they’d find. And he ain’t gonna jump no more. The ambulance was on the spot, the jeeps were running wild. The medics jumped and screamed with glee, rolled up their sleeves and smiled. For it had been a week or more since last a ‘chute had failed. And he ain’t gonna jump no more. He hit the ground, the sound was “Splat,” his blood went spurting high. His comrades they were heard to say, “A helluva way to die.” He lay there rolling ’round in the welter of his gore. And he ain’t gonna jump no more. There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the ‘chute. Intestines were a-dangling from his paratrooper suit. He was a mess, they picked him up and poured him… Read more »
RIP to one of the iconic figures of the conflict. May your reunion with your Brothers and Family be joyous.
RIP PVT Speranza.
I must have watched Battleground half a dozen times
Rest in peace Sir. God be with your family.
Godspeed, Fare Well, Rest Easy, and Soft Landing, Good Sir. I’m sure that you were met in Valhalla with a Frosty refreshing beverage. That such men lived.
Salute!
I bet he took a resupply of beer with him for his friends and it wasn’t Bud Lite.