Commemorating the 79th Anniversary of the Battle of the BulgeAl Harney was a 1st Lieutenant with the 28th Infantry (Keystone) Division in the 109th field artillery who commanded a 105 Howitzer crew -
the Bloody Bucket. His brother, Robert Harney (Bob) and Al unexpectedly met by happenstance during the final days of the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium. Patton's 3rd Army had their infamous breakthrough earlier at Bastogne, while Bob was a Sherman tank commander, advancing somewhere in Belgium. As the troops moved behind the lines, the two passed one another in opposite directions. Their chance meeting was a surreal moment for the two; we cannot imagine their joy of seeing one another in that particular spot and time! Al and Bob remembered their chance meeting gleefully for many decades to come. Both brothers survived the war and went on to have families, becoming productive members in society, rebuilding their lives and creating prosperity in a now peaceful world for which they fought so hard...
The artist, Brian Bateman, chose to depict the moment when the two brothers met, with Bob dismounted from his M4AE2 "Jumbo". A few soldiers stop and witness the event as others are oblivious and just want to get home and finish up with this war. Meanwhile, two P-51's from the famous 352nd FG,
the Blue Nose Bastards of Bodney (with "Moonbeam McSwine" in the lead flown by 15.5 kill ace Bill Whisner), pass fast and low on their way to a mission from their base in Asch (Y-29).
