Bill Ciccotti

Castle Kellenberg Bill Ciccotti

On April 30, 1945, Adolf Hitler killed himself. War was finally coming to an end. Germany was overrun with Allied and Red Army troops advancing on Berlin. Hitler's last order, "Scorch and burn the earth. Let no man surrender." Most regular German soldiers ignored the madness. But not the insanely demonic SS. Oh no, those death head bastards wanted to fight on to the last corpse. Nazis fanatics were holding French prisoners at Castle Kellenberg high on a hilltop near the small Austrian village of Waldbeerenberg. The psycho Nazis wanted to use them as bargaining chips. But in the terror and confusion of the final days, the guards controlling Castle Kellenberg ran away. The prisoners took control and greedily arming themselves with whatever weaponry remained in the castle. The French were now free but still trapped. SS and hated Gestapo lurked everywhere. The French sent two prisoners on bicycles to find help. A unit of good German soldiers decided to help those French prisoners. But they needed help. US help. During all of this, a ragtag unit of Irish misfits were just beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But that light coming at us was a train. An SS express, was standing in the way of our getting home again. Can't we just get one break? War is hell and we are the demons. All of us. If we ever walk out of this bloody thing still alive, then we can try to become men again. But for now, we are war. We are combat. We are fighters. Hell is for heroes. But we are no heroes. We're just tired GIs looking for an end of this damn war. If we have to go through hell to get there, so be it.