Liberating the Pope

An 18-year old Joseph Ratzinger was liberated by the American Army in 1945.  He was ordained a priest in 1951.  He is now known to the world as Pope Benedict XVI.  

As I blogged below, we lost another of the Greatest Generation, Maj. Richard "Dick" Winters, on January 2, 2011.  While some of us studied the tactics he used in Military Science 101, others only became familiar with Maj. Winters when they watched the Band of Brothers on HBO.  But while doing some reading in support of the blog I ran across the linked article.  Being a Catholic convert, I found this most interesting and paused to think about the men involved and what they went through.  We sometimes don't take time to consider that what we accomplish as we go through life just might have far reaching consequences beyond what we can imagine.  And I can think of nothing more far reaching than being involved in the liberation of an 18 year-old boy in 1945 who was later to become the Vicar of Christ.  This is an extremely remarkable and in its own way, inspiring, story.

Follow the link to see how the 2nd Chemical Mortar Battalion of the 45th Infantry Division participated in an operation that was amazing in ways they could not imagine at the time.