Ted and wife Runie
TED B. LONG, Pvt 359th Regiment, Company L, 3rd Batallion, 90th Divsion, 3rd Army
Ted B. Long, son of Burl Long and Anna F. Smoot Long,
was from
Henderson County. Ted joined the Army, 144th Infantry Regiment,
36
Division in 1940. Later, after Christmas of 1944, Ted was taken
from a replacement
pool at a small village, Biringen, Germany. Ted had joined the
359th Regiment,
Company L, 3rd Batallion, 90th Division, 3rd Army. His Company
hit the
front lines on 9 January 1945 at a small village, Nothum,
Luxembourg. Ted's company started their attack at 10:00 AM in
Nothum. At 10:30,
Ted and a buddy of his, John Marsteen of Mankota, Minnesota, were
both
shot in their legs. In July, 1946, John Marsteen wrote my
Gt.Grandmother,
Anna, and explained to her what happened to her son Ted. John
wrote that
that on that cold morning, they were attacking thru knee deep
snow and the
visibility was low due to fog. They were both shot in their legs
and lay
wounded from 10:30 AM till about 4:30 PM. German soldiers came
along,
bandaged their wounds and carried them to a dugout in the woods
just ahead.
The Germans gave them coffee and bread and exchanged stories
about their
families. The next morning John learned Ted had died in his
sleep. John took
Ted's billfold, watch, ring and other personal effects and turned
them
into the 915th Field Aritillery Aide station with the hope that
the
belongings would be returned to his mother. Unfortunately, the
personal effects
never made it to her, nor was Ted's mother informed of Ted's
death. Ted
was buried in a military cemetery near Foy, Belgium. Later, the
American
soldiers were interned at the Luxemburg - Hamm Cemetery. After
the war,
families of soldiers were given the opportunity to have their
fallen soldier
returned to the states or left buried in the military cemeteries
overseas.
My Gt. Grandmother requested to have her son Ted buried at the
Malakoff
Cemetery in Henderson County. John Marsteen died in the 1960's.
John
had a grandson whom I have contacted. I've shared the information
with him
and gave him copies of his grandfather's letter. John Marsteen
III visited
his grandmother and showed her the letter from 1946. His
grandmother
was surprised to see the letter after almost sixty years. She was
the one
who wrote it for her husband.
The area where my hero gave his life for his country and for the
freedom
loving people of Europe is only one hour and twenty minutes from
the air
base I am stationed. I've been to the battle ground on many
occasions and
have honored my hero, Ted, and his fallen comrades by placing a
wreath at the beautiful WWII monument built near the site by the
wonderful
people of Luxembourg. On my trips to Nothum, Schumann, and Berle,
Luxembourg, I have made life-long friends with several families
who live there.
Many wonderful people of Luxembourg and Belgium never will forget
the the
young American Soldiers and Airman who fought and died for the
liberation of
their countries. Many memorials to Americans are to be found
through out their
countries.
To honor and remember the ulitmate sacrifice of Pvt. Ted B.
Long, I am requesting that he be listed among those of the "The
Honor List of Dead and Missing for Henderson Co. WW II"
Michael Colman, TSgt, USAF Nephew of Ted Long
If you have a Military Record, please send it so we can post it.
Thanks for your help, email Laura Gregory Roberts
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