OLIVIER HOSLET/EPA

By Associated Press

BASTOGNE, Belgium – Braving snowy weather, Americans and Belgians gathered in the Ardennes region of Belgium on Saturday to mark the 70th anniversary of one of the biggest and bloodiest U.S. battles of World War II–the Battle of the Bulge.

Jean-Claude Klepper, 62, of Virton, Belgium, and his 15-year-old daughter Aurelie dressed up like World War II GIs to mark the occasion.

“We must never forget what happened in 1944,” the elder Klepper told The Associated Press. “Many American soldiers came here to defend Europe. We must honor them for what they did.”

Stephen Sams, 41, a U.S. soldier based in Germany, said for him the battle waged in the dense forests and narrow valleys of Belgium and neighboring Luxembourg epitomized “the unwillingness of American forces to give up in the face of adversity.”

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Veterans of Battle of the Bulge Gather in the Ardennes to Mark the 70th Anniversary

Starting on Dec. 16, 1944, and for nearly six weeks, more than 600,000 American soldiers, fighting in freezing conditions, took part in desperate efforts to contain, then throw back, a surprise German counteroffensive masterminded by Adolf Hitler himself.

The battle waged in the dense forests and narrow valleys of Belgium and neighboring Luxembourg.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill hailed the ultimate result as “an ever-famous American victory.”

But it came at a high cost: 80,987 U.S. casualties, including 10,276 dead, 47,493 wounded and 23,218 missing, according to the U.S. Army’s official history.

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