Meeting Robert F. Kauffman

Robert F. Kauffman

The quote that opens this website, is from veteran Robert F. Kauffman. Thanks to Eddy Monfort, I had the opportunity to meet this special man on Saturday, May 9. The meeting finally took place in the tank, behind our house in Grandmenil. Kauffman was wholly spontaneous, interviewed by a cameracrew from PBS and veteran / photographer Tony Vaccaro. During the interview, I met Eddy Monfort for time. I also met Timm Haasler (writer), producer Alan Fleming and Alan Kauffman, the son of Robert. The first introduction to Kauffman, at the end of the first interview, was warm and he was excited to meet me. There is a joint trip made to the church, where Robert shot (in december 1944) with his bazooka on the churchdoor, hoping to kill a sniper, who was supposed to be in the churchtower. (You can read this story in th next chapter.)

Tony Vaccaro and Robert F. Kauffman in the church ofGrandmenil

Back at the tank, Vaccaro and Kauffman say goodbye and we decided to invite the whole club at our home. T wo villagers, who are friends with Kauffman, are invited too. They both have experienced the war. In our backyard, Kauffman tells free about his experiences in Grandmenil and it's area. That answers a lot of questions that were still open. After this break in our garden we go to the house where Kauffman hided (see photo here) when the Germans entered the street and where Kuaffman asked for an artillery barage. We all ended up in the basement of this house.

In this basement, Kauffman sat here with twelve man, and he calls for artillery at the time that the German Panthers and infantry were in front of the door. After the artillery shelling Kauffman and his men withdraws running of the hillside behind the house, back to the half-tracks

On May 12 there is another meeting with Kauffman and his son. During this meeting Kauffman tells about the village Montleban and how it irritates him that he can't find the place where he lost his little finger.(this story is also in the next chapter) On May 13 there is a last meeting, accompanied by two neighbors. We visit Sadzot, the village where one of the neighbors was born and was an unintended victim of the war. Her house was hit by a grenade and she got badly hurt on her shoulder

Kauffman and me

Thanks to these villagers, I get a better understanding of the whole thing. During the visit shows that talking about the battle that took place here, is not the favorite subject of the villagers in this area. The woman did not like to visit her elderly village and her elderly home.
In late January in Sadzot, a brother and his brother-in-law were killed in a house by the Germans, something I did not know.
After sadzot, we visited Hotton a village, where Kauffman stayed one night on December 24, after his group had to withdraw from La Gleize.

Eddy Monfort, Kauffman, Eveline and me

Kauffman may be 83 years. His memory is razorsharp, like his humor. Adjustments in pronouncing Wallon villages he always returns with "That's what I said." In recent years he visited the Ardennes many times, where he visited friens and seek new contacts.

Kauffman deals with the war in its own way: by talking a lot about, visiting the places where he fought and his great humor. Reservoir!” That humor remains even up to his emotional departure: "As we say in French: Reservoir!" I did not correct this pronounciation.

Meeting mr. Robert Kauffman an absolute honor for me.

During the three visits of Robert, he told me the following stories.

Robert F. Kauffman

Sniper in the tower. At the end of the Battle of Grandmenil, there was a sniper in the church tower who made it very difficult for the soldiers. K auffman to end these difficulties. He took his bazooka, sneaked to the church and fired it at the door. Kauffman and Mellitz opened the door, but because of the dust and grit from the explosion they saw nothing. They closed the door again and never heard anything of the sniper again. Anno 2009 there are still traces to see of Kauffmans shot in the church. During one of his visits to Grandmenil, Kauffman held a speech and gave an American flag to the people of Grandmenil. The pastor asked polite but with force, that the next time Kauffman wanted to enter the church to knock on the door, instead of shooting at it.

The wooden pitchfork.
At the time that Kauffman with his group reached Hébronval, the men of Kauffmans group were ordered to check the houses. Kauffman dove in a house called in poor German that they had to surrender and he listened if he heard something. First, there was nothing until he heard a rumble down in the basement. Kauffman looked around, saw a wooden pitchfork and grabbed it. He opened the door wich entered the basement and stain the thing down. The pitchfork hitted the door down the stairs hard and it smacked open.twee verschrikte Duitsers begonnen te roepen en gaven zich over. Two terrified Germans began to shout and surrendered.

Frozen weapons.
Somewhere in the hills Kauffman overnights with his team and a number of light tanks. He digs a foxhole with Mellitz, lays the raincoats on the bottom and use jackets as a blanket. It is one of the coldest nights that they have experienced until now and they sleep little. Early in the morning the two decide to leave theit foxholebecause they only get colder.
De jas waar Kauffman onder heeft gelegen is stijf bevroren en hij moet de mouwen breken om erin te kunnen komen. Kauffmans jacket which he lay under, is frozen and stiff frozen, so he has to break the sleeves. Voordta hij dat doet plaatst hij zijn geweer tegen een boom. Before he does this, he puts his rifle against a tree. Mellitz George sees a German patrol approaching them.

Kauffman grabs his weapon and Mellitz wants to take his .45 automatic, but can not find it. Kauffmans rifle is frozen, he tries to load it while he kicks the weapon, which fails. George grabs his bazooka and together they await the Germans. "Halt" they shouted both and the Germans drop their weapons of fear and raise their arms.

Mellitz and Kauffman walk to the Germans, unarmed and with their bazooka slant because the light shines through the unloaded weapon.

The Germans are searched and Kauffman searches a soldier again, which he believes looks cocky. He finds a gun.
As the prisoners are transferred and Mellitz and and Kauffman empty their Foxhole they find Mellitz' .45 automatic back under the raincoats ...

Hitler's revenge?
During the second world war Kauffman was repeatedly injured. He lost two pieces of his pink.
According to his son, this pink has a special story. Toen Hitler aan de macht kwam, tekende Kauffman op deze pink altijd het hoofd van Hitler. When Hitler became the leader of the Germans, Kauffman always drew the head of Hitler on this pink. Hij vermaakte daar de kleine kinderen mee door achter een tafel te gaan zitten en een soort poppenkast te spelen. He entertained the little children with it by using it as a puppet.
In Montleban he lost this finger.

3rd armored division in Montleban 15 january 1945

On January 14, 1945 he enters Montleban as one of the first. He dives in one of the first houses and it's pitch black. He feels that there are people, and he discovered, because of the light of an exploding artillery shell, two old people who look terrified at him. Kauffman leaves the house, goes around it and enters a large fenced garden with houses around. He walks through the gate of the garden and enters ahouse. In the doorway, he sees light coming from the basement. He walks silently downstairs and discoveres an arsenal of German weapons. Kauffman walks up the stairs again. He wants the garden to the other side to leave, but consider themselves equally.

At that moment he is right next to the other side of the wall, a machine gun fires from a German tank.
Kauffman withdrew a bit and sees on the other side of the garden an American who arrives and who hides in a dark corner.
Then Kauffman suddenly sees two Germans. He urges them to surrender. But nothing happens. He calls again and then the two figures move with their hands up in his direction. If they are close to him, he sees that the first one has a weapon in his hands. Kauffman drops his rifle and grabs the gun. During the struggle, the rear German watch in fear, the gun goes off and Kauffman pink is shot off. The Americans who hides in the dark corner has not moved all that time. Kauffman screams at him: "For Pete's sake, give me a hand!" * The American storms forward and pumped four bullets in the German. The German screamed and collapsed to the ground. The other German is scared and runs of. Kauffman and his rescuer left the garden and pull back the troops.
Een medic bood nog aan om de pink er terug aan te zetten, maar dat hoefde voor Kauffman niet. A medic wanted to put back the pink on, but that Kauffman did not want that.

Click here to see more of Robert Kauffman (video's)