DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — On Veterans Day, WAND News is revisiting an interview conducted with late World War 2 veteran Vincent Speranza.
WAND's Doug Wolfe first spoke to Speranza in 2015 after he released a memoir recounting his experience at the Battle of Bastogne.
Speranza was with the 501st Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. His life was on the line at the battle of Bastogne, Belgium in December 1944. German troops had the town surrounded with American supplies and ammunition running low. The Germans sent a message to the Americans demanding their surrender. The simple one word response from the American command was, “Nuts.”
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The veteran wrote his book when he was 89 years old. Regarding the writing he said, “I still have most of my marbles and have no catastrophic illnesses.”
Vincent Speranza, of Auburn, on May 22, 2015.
Speranza passed away at 98 years old on Wednesday, Aug. 2 of this year in Springfield in the company of his family.
His book is titled "Nuts!: A 101st Airborne Division Machine Gunner at Bastogne" and can be purchased at most major book retailers.
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