Namur Belgium: The Citadel

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The Citadel in Namur Belgium sits on the confluence of two large rivers, The Meuse and the Sabre. The Citadel is a huge stone fort that has overlooked those two rivers for centuries. In February of 1945, the tunnels under the Citadel were used by the 75th Infantry as a command post. Napoleon nicknamed the Citadel Europe’s remote mound due to the extensive network of underground tunnels.

The importance of the Citadel diminished when 9 forts were built around the city of Namur Belgium. When the Germans attacked in 1940 the forts fell after 3 days of fighting. Namur was liberated by Allied forces on September 6, 1944. Namur is near where intense fighting incurred at the Battle of the Bulge in Decemeber of 1944. Although the city itself was not the center of the conflict. Perhaps that is why it was once again used an a command post as troops headed north to form a defensive line along the Meuse River up in the Netherlands.

It is possible the 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken might have reported here before joining troops up in the Netherlands. Since 80 years have passed since February of 1945, I decided to sketch anything that might have been around at the time. This tree with it’s age old roots growing over stone work would have certainly been alive and growing at the time.

Charleroi Belgium: Ibis Styles Aero 44

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I find the small pocket sized sketchbook is great for quick informal sketches at moments like waiting for the food to come at dinner. To my right there was a large table full of guys that seemed to be together on a business trip. It was a jovial scene with everyone sharing photos on their cell phones.

Of course in WWII no Infantry soldier was allowed to shoot photos or write anything about where they had been or where they were going. ‘Loose lops sink ships” was the propaganda slogan to encourage troops to keep their lips sealed. My father 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken never wrote or said anything about the war. He kept his lips leaked up until his dying day. As a child I thought I heard him say one that a bullet had hit a tank right next to his leg once. His C-Company platoon was  assigned to work with the 8th Armored Division when the 75th Infantry Division pushed into Germany. So the tank aspect of my vague memory holds up.

Two other 1st Lieuenants from the 75th Infantry did write about their experiences in the war, and I am using their writings as a way to get a sense of what a 1st Lieutenant would have gone through in WWII.

The scene I sketched in the hotel restaurant probably isn’t much different that a scene in an infantry mess hall except for the fact that there was a woman in the room at the far table. Belgium was liberated by February of 1945 when Arthur Thorspecken might have been in the city ready to join the 75th Infantry as they moved up to the Netherlands.

After this dinner, I went up to my room and discovered that my travel credit card was missing. I tore apart my luggage and could not find it anywhere. Then I remembered getting gas on the drive to Charleroi Belgium. The gas pump just wouldn’t work with my card. I got frustrated and finally went inside to pay in Euros. I must have left the card in the machine in my frustration. In the morning I decided to make the drive back to the gas station. It was a long shot, but I had to try. I pulled into the gas station and pulled up to the same gas pump. Of course the card was not in the machine. I went inside the store with a vague hope that some good Samaritan had turned the card in to the attendant. I don’t know how to speak Flemish, but with some German, English and some hand gestures I explained that I had lost my grey card. The color gray caused the attendants eyes to light up. He went in the back room and came out with the card. For once Lucy was on my side. I had a brief retreat but pressed forward to the next city. Now if I use the card in a machine, I keep a finger on it at all times.

Forest to Mausoleum

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A day or two before I left for Europe to follow in my father’s footsteps in WWII, a roof was thrown up on the home being built next to the Lake County studio I was renting. The lot had been a lush forested area just a few weeks before. The sand mountain the home sat on had been leveled and built up in a day. The cinder block mausoleum had gone p in a day, and now the roof structure went up in a day. This was now the largest home in the area on its own mountaintop/

The roof beams had an interesting inverted series of beams which I suppose are to keep the roof from collapsing inward in the high winds of a hurricane. All the triangular sections were delivered to the job site pre-assembled. They were each lifted int place where workmen quickly hammered them into place.

All the workmen spoke Spanish which made me concerned for their safety in the new hate fueled policies of ICE, seizures and deportations. I have seen photos of rooms filled with workmen still in their uniforms in detention centers, having been rounded up from their work sites.

I am in Europe right now in Northern France about to cross the border into Belgium. Russia has just sent military drones over Poland  and it feels like WWIII is about to break out with Trump, a wanna be dictator, in the White House who is owned by Putin.

80 years ago America helped defeat dictators and bring about world peace. Nuclear bombs were used to stop the war in the  Pacific. That was a questionable decision which I hope is never repeated. It only takes a few petty, power hungry men to break down democracy and embrace autocracy in a lust for land, power and a desire to stay in power indefinately.

Bus Ride to The Woodring Wall and Museum

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Mt father was a 1st Lieutenant of the 75th Infantry Division. The 2025 reunion for the 75th was being held in Oklahoma City, so I had to go to see what I could find out that might help as I make plans to follow in my fathers footsteps through Europe.

There were several day trips planned. One to the Oklahoma National Memorial & Museum and the other to the Woodring Wall & Museum. The bus ride was a solid one and a half hours, so I had plenty of time to get a sketch done. I was also given a paperback book that was a history of the 75th Infantry so I read that on the bus ride back.

The bus driver gave us all one important warning. He said that there was a bathroom at the back of the bus but he advised against against any number twos. I’m guessing the thing doesn’t flush very well. He also advised that men sit down since he didn’t want anyone falling down with all the side to side movement of the bus.

What I recall most about the bus trip was all the gorgeous wide open countryside and and endless line of wind mills. Like an airline, there was a safety video on the multiple screens hanging over the seats.

When the buss pulled into the air field, I could see the Vietnam memorial wall. There were few name to start and then each panel filled up to it’s full height. At the far end of the long wall the names compressed once again as the wall angles down in a triangular fashion. This wall is a miniature replica of the Memorial in Washington, DC designed by then undergraduate,  Maya Ying Lin. To find the name of a loved one it is best to use the index which tells youo what panel to look at. Names on the wall are arranged chronologically, so it might take a long time to search the 58,318 names of Americans who had been killed in action. The printed index allows you to search fr the name alphabetically.

On the bus ride back to Oklahoma City, I read the 75th Infantry history ind underlined sections to double check against the list of cities and engagements I was compiling for my trip through, France, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany. Many accounts of what happened in the later days of WWII don’t pin point the actual days or even the cities, so I have to cross reference everything to come p with a unified plan of attack.

Market Day

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Stella Arbeláez Tascón and I went to the Webster Westside Flea Market (516 NW 3rd Street, Webster, FL). This is a painting of the combined haul before we divvied up the spoils of the marketing war.

Stella is great at comparing prices and finding the best deal while I just grab on impulse and sometimes forget to pay. I’m just excited to get the produce in my ancient granny cart which was rickety by the end of the shopping spree due to the produce weight.

The jar contains, Tamarind, a hard shelled pea shaped Fruit legume, which is sweet and bitter at the same time. I bit off individual seed pods and nurse the fruit off the seed with my front teeth while rolling it in my mouth.

I have become addicted to having several oranges every day. I am also a fan of cooking corn on the cob every night. It only takes 5 minutes to boil an ear so it is a quick snack.

In the background of the sketch are some ink bottles. Stella was testing each bottle of ink for it’s permanence when used with watercolor washes. It turns out one bottle is not permanent and that is the one she had been using.

My backpack for my Europe trip arrived yesterday. Each morning I put it on to walk around the block to see how it feels. I shopped at REI and maybe packed it 1/3 full. I hope on my travels I can find keep finding lush bounties of fruit as I hike, train and drive from town to town. I am getting close to finishing my itinerary. Which will give me a list of the towns and hamlets I must visit to follow in 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken‘s footsteps as his C-Company infantry unit moved from France to Belgium, Norway and ultimately the heart of Germany at the end of WWII. I think I solved the mystery of which work concentration camp his unit might have liberated and moved the victims toward Eastern Europe via train box cars. The displaced person’s didn’t want to get on the train and his unit had to hammer the box car doors shut with nails. The trip East might have been a death sentence. Skeletal faces started out from between box car boards in sorrow.

Data Massacre

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The situation in India continues to get worse. Crematories can not keep up with the dead. A dog crematorium is being converted into a crematorium for humans to try and keep up with the deaths.

Families fight for the right to cremate their loved ones while people gasp for breath outside completely full hospitals. They are turned away to die at home or on the street. One person put his dying mother on the street because he did not want to care for her. Doctors are literally being beaten by people frustrated that their loved ones have died.

On April 28, 2021 there were 360,960 cases of COVID-19 reported in India. That number is likely very low since the country has lagged in it’s ability to test for the virus. Reporters on the ground found crematories that had over 100 cremations each day. However the death reports for that area were far less that that, making it clear that COVID-19 related deaths are being under reported. Families are being forced to bury their dead in their back yards.

Less than three months ago Prime Minister Narendra Modi declaration of victory over Covid-19. The first wave of the virus wasn’t as bad as expected. India is the largest manufacturer of vaccines and they began to send vaccines to other countries while India’s vaccine distribution to citizens lagged. Emergency field hospitals which had been build during the first wave were dismantled. Over 600,000  Hindus gathered on the Ganges River for Kumbh Mela, another superspreader event. Like our former president, Modi began holding massive political rallies which were most certainly superspreader events. Such rallies were being held as recently as two days ago. It is no surprise that countries with arrogant Narcissistic and science denying leaders are having the worst outbreaks of COVID-19. Case numbers surged through April 2021. The official death toll for April 28, 2021 was 3,645 but that number could be half of the actual daily death toll.  Overall the country surpassed 200,000 deaths.

The national vice-president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) Dr. Navjot Dahiya said, “The scarcity of medical oxygen has become the reason for the death of many patients in every part of the country against the fact that several projects for installing the oxygen are still pending with the Union government for clearance, but no heed was given to such an important need by the Modi government.” People are dying because they can not find an $80 oxygen cylinder. When there was an oxygen leak at a hospital 22 patients died gasping for air. India declined assistance offered by the United Nations of its integrated supply chain for COVID-19-related material. The second wave is a result of incompetence and arrogance.

Crates of ventilators and oxygen concentrators from the UK arrived at an airport in the Indian capital of New Delhi on April 27, 2021. A shipment of medical equipment from Germany is also set to to be airlifted to India in the coming days. The European Commission (EU) which includes, Ireland, Belgium, Romania, Luxembourg, Portugal and Sweden will be sending a shipment that includes oxygen concentrators and ventilators. The World Health Organization (WHO) is also providing critical equipment and supplies to India. Several other nations, including the U.S., Israel and Pakistan have also pledged to send medical supplies. For those suffering and dying today this may be too little too late.