In December 21, 1944 when I came into Parfondruy I looked at my map and saw a church steeple emblem named ST. LUCY. I wrote down the coordinates of it and targets. I had not remembered the name of the villeage, until years later. It is still St Lucy to me. The Village had been under Germany's rule for five years. The St Lucy Chapel is where the people gathered in the evening for prayer outside as its too small inside to hold more than a dozen.
Paul Kline and 50-60 people were hiding in a basement behind the Chapel. for several days. They lived on apples and GI D bars.
After seeing the old couples lying in their frozen blood from their throats cuts and bullet wounds in the head I came outside and looked up in the sky and I wondered," Why of God! What kind of men born of women would do such a thing! The old and young people could not have been a threat to them.
They were troops from Col. Peiper's 1st SS Regimant of the 1st SS Division. Taskforce Lovelady had cut Kampfgruppe Peiper's colum into at Grand Coo on December 20, 1944 and these men filtered back to Ster and Parfondruy. They also killed many people in Ster and Stavelot. When we drove them out, they went down across the tracks and Trois Ponts road where Knittel had his headquarters in a large house below to the right of us. The Tiger tank was there to protect Knittel's headquaters. Some of them must still be alive today.
Col Joachim Peiper was tried and sentence to death but the sentence was commuted and he was free until he was killed later in the French Alps where he had nerve enough to build a house.
Please note that Paul Kline's 36 years old Mother, 9 month old Brother and Grandfather's names are on the Memorial plaque. Paul is married and we keep in touch by email.
Monique Thonon Mother was 31 years old. Monique is also married and has two chrildren and a granddaughter. She corresponds by letters.
Marie Terf lives with her sister Celenia in Stavelot. I have visited them many times.
Some of the material and photos for these web pages were supplied by Henri Rogeister, of Liege, Belgium, a Friend, Historian and member of Criba.