ARTIFACT GALLERY
< BACK TO GALLERY

Oil lamp used at an aid station during the Battle of the Bulge

During the Battle of the Bulge, which lasted from December 16, 1944, to January 25, 1945, this French-made oil lamp illuminated the operating table at an over-run aid station. Despite his own wounds, Chaplain Merle M. Grove (1912-1971) with the 357th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division, assisted at the aid station where the battle wounded had been evacuated and this lamp shone bright. Chaplain Grove brought the antique lamp home and often recounted that “a lot of GIs were saved by the light of that small lamp.” Grove settled in Mississippi following the war, working as a Christian church minister.

The Battle of the Bulge was the German army’s last major counteroffensive on the Western Front during World War II, lasting six weeks in frigid, wintry conditions in the Ardennes Forest. Both sides suffered high casualties during the battle, with over 88,000 American casualties.

Source:Gift of Charles M. Grove, in memory of Merle Maurice Grove
Time Period:1941-1960
Related Conflict:World War II
Display Status:This artifact is not on view.

RELATED

Click here to visit the World War II exhibit.
831st Bombardment Squadron patch belonging to Thomas R. Fry
LEARN MORE |
Go For Broke! jumbo lobby card
LEARN MORE |
Japanese aircraft fragments retrieved by J.T. Marley
LEARN MORE |
Replica Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) Congressional Gold Medal
LEARN MORE |
Vinson’s Fifth, by Marc Poole
LEARN MORE |
Prisoner of war Parachutist Badge belonging to Rodolph Case
LEARN MORE |
Replica Nisei Soldiers of World War II Congressional Gold Medal
LEARN MORE |
World War II Victory Medal awarded to James Troy Vinzant
LEARN MORE |
Camp Shelby sweetheart pin
LEARN MORE |
FP-45 “Liberator” pistol
LEARN MORE |
Nationalist Chinese Air Force Pilot Badge belonging to Wendell D. Lack
LEARN MORE |
Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) worn by SK1 Cecile Irene Boyd
LEARN MORE |
405th Bomb Squadron jacket patch belonging to Colonel Jesse Russ Foley, Jr.
LEARN MORE |
US Army Medal of Honor awarded to Second Lieutenant Van T. Barfoot
LEARN MORE |
Cape made by Miriam H. Collier
LEARN MORE |
Purple Heart Medal awarded to Seaman First Class Robert E. Moody
LEARN MORE |
Ready to learn more?
VISIT THE MUSEUM