Everyone looked forward to a comfortable Christmas.  

On December 17, 1944, the good life for the 508^th PIR ended. The Ger-mans had launched a massive surprise attack through the heavily forested Ardennes, and the 508^th PIR, still attached to the 82^nd Airborne Division, was alerted to prepare for combat.

Early in the morning of December 18, a miserable cold day, the 508^th PIR troops loaded into open trucks and rode all day to Werbomont, Belgium – a town located at the junction of two critical highways.

For several days, despite the lack of winter clothing and equipment, the regiment maneuvered to find the best position from which to destroy the German attack. 

Thereafter, the 508^th PIR troops fought the determined Germans and the bitter cold and deep snows of the Ardennes. The regiment spent Christmas Eve night executing a dangerous withdrawal from Vielsalm - a town on the Salm River. The 508 had provided a corridor to safety for the numerous survivors of the 106^th Infantry and 7^th Armored Divisions that had been brutally mauled by the German’s surprise attack. Hundreds of men and vehicles (tanks, artillery, and engineer) had transited the 508 corridor by December 24.

However, to provide the safety corridor the 508^th PIR, was deployed in an eight-mile long salient, and was now in imminent danger of being destroyed by strong German forces. Moreover, withdrawal of the regiment was necessary to strengthen the allied blocking position. 

Early in January 1945, the regiment participated in a counter-attack that helped destroy the German bulge. The attack by the 508^th PIR troops carried them through the dense, hilly Hurtgen Forest and the fortified Siegfried Line all the way to the Roer River. The 508 troops suffered from the bitter cold, lack of shelter, lack of food and the need for medical evacuation means.

When the war ended, Ralph Booth was a Sergeant. He served in Frankfurt, Germany with the 508^th PIR security force and honor guards supporting General Eisenhower’s headquarters.