We Made The Headlines Possible

George N. Havens

George Havens is a Bratenahl resident, actually noticed that I do reviews for the local newsletter, and brought me a review copy of his book. Although the copyright is 2003, I believe it was released in December because he did a book signing at Joseph-Beth in Shaker Square. This is a personal and engaging memoir of George's time in logistics and support during WWII. It traces his move from Cleveland to Camp Perry (near Toledo), to the south for basic training, and back to Boston for transit to Liverpool, then on to the European Theatre of Operations. He was stationed in Antwerp, and gives a vivid description of his time there. Antwerp was taken early in the war, but the Germans still held the river leading to the city and did not get ousted from the region for an additional 85 days. Once the port was opened, materiel flowed to support the move to Germany. During the Battle of the Bulge was the only time that the port workers took up defensive positions, concerned about the German advance - and these non- combat troops were told "there will be no retreat, you are expendable". One of the other things I wasn't aware of is that during the London Blitz, Antwerp was also under attach by V-1 and V-2 bombs - and that the number of bombs has been estimated from 20% to 100% greater than what fell on London. Truly an interesting read.