Infantryman of the 121st Infantry Regiment during a lull in the fighting near Hürtgen, Germany. December 5, 1944.

Source: National Archives (111-SC-196969)

American infantrymen advance along a snow-covered road during the Ardennes campaign. 1945.

Source: National Archives (111-SC-327687)

Workers pass through the gate at the Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Co. in Mobile.

Source: The University of South Alabama Archives (Addsco 3-416)

Pvt. John Lam examines a sign signaling the Hürtgen Forest front. The sign reads "Front line 500 yards ahead. Dismount and fight."

Source: National Archives (111-SC-197741)

Largest land battle on the Western Front during World War II and the largest engagement ever fought by the U.S. Army. In early December 1944, Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower planned major offensives in the northern and southern sectors of the Western Front. To ensure sufficient power for . . .

In Belgium, an exposed member of the 82nd Airborne Division scrambles for cover. December 24, 1944.

Source: National Archives (111-SC-197861)

Men had to dig foxholes in the frozen ground at the Battle of the Bulge.

American soldiers warm up around a fire in the Hürtgen Forest. October 12, 1944

Source: National Archives (111-SC-330496)

Chow is served to American infantrymen on their way to La Roche, Belgium. January 13, 1945.

Source: National Archives (111-SC-198849)

Infantrymen grab sleep where they can. Normandy, France, July 1944.

Source: National Archives (111-SC-191444)

An empty road in a forest near Bastogne, Belgium, December 27, 1944

Source: National Archives (111-SC-199296)

Herndon Inge was born March 4, 1920, and was in the same high school class as Edward Sledge, the older brother of Eugene Sledge. Inge attended the University of Alabama and then the Army's officer candidate school. He received his commission January 7, 1944 and became a 2nd Lieutenant in . . .

A motor section of the 301st inf. 94th Division aboard a jeep named "The Okies." May, 1945. From Mobile, Inge fought in the Battle of the Bulge and, along with Tom Galloway, was one of the prisoners temporarily freed in the Hammelburg Raid.

Source: Herndon Inge

2nd Lt. Herndon Inge at Camp McCain, MS. July, 1944. From Mobile, Inge fought in the Battle of the Bulge and, along with Tom Galloway, was one of the prisoners temporarily freed in the Hammelburg Raid.

Source: Herndon Inge

Portrait of Herndon Inge, a ROTC student at the University of Alabama. 1943. From Mobile, Inge fought in the Battle of the Bulge and, along with Tom Galloway, was one of the prisoners temporarily freed in the Hammelburg Raid.

Source: Herndon Inge

Portrait of Herndon Inge. France, 1944. From Mobile, Inge fought in the Battle of the Bulge and, along with Tom Galloway, was one of the prisoners temporarily freed in the Hammelburg Raid.

Source: Herndon Inge

A Western Union telegram from Herndon Inge to his family. From Mobile, Inge fought in the Battle of the Bulge and, along with Tom Galloway, was one of the prisoners temporarily freed in the Hammelburg Raid.

Source: Herndon Inge

Allied infantrymen in the Hurtgen Forest near Vossenack, Germany. November 8, 1944.

Source: National Archives (111-SC-195794)

Fighting in the Hürtgen Forest caused damage to many trees.

Source: National Archives (111-SC-341538)

Although it is little remembered today, the battle for the Hürtgen Forest was one of the worst defeats ever suffered by the U.S. Army. In three months of combat operations, the Americans sustained almost 33,000 casualties but accomplished almost nothing tactically or operationally in the process. . .