Honoring Forgotten American Heroes and Unsung Belgian Friends

May 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. I will be in Belgium and Luxembourg to honor Americans who died and were buried there while defending freedom and democracy during World War II; and to pay a special tribute to two heroic Belgian nurses who risked their lives to save American lives during the Battle of the Bulge. The nurses are among the unsung heroes of the war and, as time passes, American soldiers who never made it home are gradually being forgotten. Let me represent you while I am there on this journey of remembrance.

Who am I? My name is Glenn Holmes Ivers. I am a retired human services administrator, and a Colgate University graduate who served in the United States Peace Corps. I am a member of the Rotary Club of Syracuse and the Battle of the Bulge Association. I am a writer and a filmmaker whose three Telly Award-winning documentaries were distributed by the Public Broadcasting Service. In my career, I used my writing skills to promote the work of various non-profit organizations. In 2002, I was called upon to write about something completely different.

Central New York World War II veteran John (Jack) T. Prior MD described his extraordinary experiences during the war, a story that very few had ever heard. He encouraged me to tell it. It took me twenty years, and included two weeks of research in Belgium, but I finally published Angels of Bastogne: A Remembrance of World War II in 2022. (For more information on my book and the writing process, visit angelsofbastogne.com)

I thought I was done. Little did I know that there was another chapter, a “final chapter” to be written.

Honoring the Nurses, the Angels of Bastogne

Retired American nurse and daughter of a Battle of the Bulge veteran, Carol Banasik, read my book and was moved by the courage and sacrifices of two Belgian nurses (Renee Lemaire and Augusta Chiwy) who volunteered to assist Dr. Prior in his aid station during the siege of Bastogne. Under fire in constant mortal danger, they also risked execution as collaborators if the Germans retook the town. Yet, they persevered and saved countless American lives.

Carol spent a year and a half pursuing posthumous Florence Nightingale Medals for the nurses. When that effort failed, I thought she would call it a day. But no, Carol decided to honor the nurses herself. She is traveling to the cemetery in Bastogne to hold a long overdue ceremony called the Nurses Honor Guard for the two nurses on May 12, Florence Nightingale’s birthday and International Nurses Day. It is a beautiful ceremony that will include the placing of a white rose and the lighting of a white lamp at their gravesites. I am told it will be the first such ceremony ever held in Europe. Inspired by Carol’s extraordinary gesture, I concluded that I must be there to support her.

Joining us in honoring the nurses and Dr. Prior will be Jack’s daughter Anne and her family, any descendants of Augusta Chiwy and Renee Lemaire who can be located, Bastogne nurses, Bastogne town officials and the Rotary Club of Bastogne.

Honoring our Fallen Heroes

After Carol goes home, I will stay on and visit the Henri-Chapelle Cemetery in Plombiere, Belgium (7,987 Americans), the Ardennes American Cemetery in Neupre, Belgium (5,329 Americans) and the Luxembourg American Cemetery, in Hamm (5,074 Americans) and can place flowers at the gravesites of your relatives if I am given plot locations. I will also visit other memorials, along with Malmedy and Wereth where atrocities were committed against American soldiers.

Documentation, Remembrance, and International Friendship

I will keep a journal and share impressions and photos of this journey of remembrance with my supporters. I will also submit an article about this effort to the newsletter of the Battle of the Bulge Association, whose purpose is to “perpetuate the memory of the sacrifices made by those who participated during the Battle of the Bulge and foster and maintain international relations and goodwill with all Allied countries who were a part of the battle.”

Budget -- May 9-19, 2025

Airline ticket 1151

Lodging (9 nights) 784

Rental Car 258

Gas, food, flowers, fees, misc. 1100

Total $3293

Any funds raised over this goal will be donated in equal shares to the Battle of the Bulge Association, Honor Flight Syracuse and the Syracuse Rotary Foundation.