On this day seventy years ago, December 19,1944 I became a prisoner of war.  Our attempt  to escape encirclement failed and both the 422nd regiment and 433rd regiment of the 106th division were surrounded by the Germans and surrendered by their respective commanders.
The two days we remained at our original positions had cost us the opportunity to escape.  This was due to failure at higher command which was revealed only after the war was over.
A longer account of these events can be found on my website, www.vittlesvoyages.com under the title "The Battle of the Bulge, One Private's Story".

 Seventy years ago today
On the morning of November 18, 1944 things at last began to happen.  An early arrival of a messenger  told us we were to leave the outpost, leaving our duffel bags,  taking only essentials in our pack and report to company headquarters as soon as possible.
At company headquarters we were given three K rations, ammo and hand grenades to add to our packs.  Here we rejoined the rest of Company B for the first time since arriving at the Ardennes eight days earlier.
Finally we were given the information that the Germans had made gains elsewhere and that we must move fast to keep from being surrounded.
We traveled all day on a muddy track through the forest halting once while some shelling took place in front of us.
We stopped at dark, which at this time of year was about 4:30 p.m., and told to remain quiet with no fires since the Germans were in position  on the other side of the hill and that in the morning we would attack.
I was wearing all the clothes I owned and the one blanket we were allowed in our packs.
We were given no orders to dig in but just lay quiet and sleep if possible.  It was a very cold night for spending out in the open with no shelter.

Dawn on November 17, 1944 showed overcast skies and colder temperatures which made sentry duty especially uncomfortable and trying with the need of staying fully alert during that night.
But at our outpost the seventeenth of December was just a copy of the16th.  One soldier brought us some K rations and a little bit of news.  One of our other platoons had been in a brief fire fight with some Germans and in this short skirmish our executive officer had been shot in the head and killed.  Our orders  were to continue manning  fox holes and report any unusual activity.
As it turned out there was nothing to report.  For me it was just another lonely day in a fox hole originally made for two soldiers.  However the man who was supposed to be with me had been wounded two days before by a shell burst and was now in hospital somewhere.
 The forest never looked more hostile with clouds and fog sometimes at tree top level. 
Of the German offensive we were told nothing. 

Seventy years ago on this day the Germans launched their attack in the Ardennes Forest that later became known as the Battle of the Bulge.
In the hours before dawn on December 16, 1944 a nineteen year old soldier was on sentry duty standing beside a tree, very cold and wondering when his relief would arrive.  I was that soldier.
What did arrive was the German canon bombardment that announced the beginning of the largest battle in U.S. Army history.
The silent forest suddenly erupted with noise and my four comrades, who shared this outpost with me, came out of the log covered dugout where they had been sleeping, in a rush.
Actually our outpost was so close to the German lines that none of the shells landed anywhere near, falling far behind us, one killing our battalion commander.
We had been manning this outpost for six days when the cannonade began after relieving members of the 28th division who had been its occupants earlier.
A short account of  what occurred that day and the four following days will appear on this blog.  The odds that nineteen year old sentry could be writing this seventy years later seem too large to contemplate.
Actually at our outpost nothing else happened that day.  We spent the whole day in our log roofed fox holes waiting for an enemy that never came. 
This story will continue tomorrow.

I was having lunch with a friend I had not seen for some time.  We wanted a quiet restaurant with nice ambiance since we had a lot to talk about catching up on what had occurred recently in our respective lives.
We found the perfect place at the Tustin Ranch Golf Club.  Here each Sunday a spectacular brunch is served in a well appointed dining room that overlooks the greenery of the golf course.
We were already acquainted with the culinary talents of Master Chef Bert Agor who has created a new innovative cuisine at the Club.
Tustin Ranch, while open to the public, has continued to maintain the elegance, grace and style of a private country club.
 We opened with a glass of champagne and made a toast to the occasion.
The buffet was indeed fantastic.  We started at the seafood table which included fresh oysters on the half shell, Canadian snow crab, Tiger prawn served both cocktail style and breaded, Chef Agor's own breaded style calamari and smoked salmon.
Next I was drawn to the Santa Maria tri-tip being carved before my eyes.  With such a bountiful selection I decided to taste some of these rather that attempt portions.  These included the Carenesada tacos with achiote, chicken Marsala, and garlic crusted Alaskan cod.
There was,of course, the omletes made to order and traditional breakfast items of bacon, sausage and hash brown potatoes.
Orders for eggs benedict are taken at your table and served direct to you.
There was also full tables of fresh sliced fruits, bakery rolls  and salads.
The dessert tables were so tempting that we did not hold back and  tasted too many.
It was a Santa Ana Fall day in Tustin with the course greenery never looking better.  Our luncheon was leisurely, we had been pampered at table and the company delightful.  It had been a grand afternoon.

Being San Francisco born and raised I ate and liked Chinese food.  This was, of course, because my parents enjoyed Chinese cuisine, and with Chinese friends,  knew where the best restaurants in San Francisco's China Town were located.
But when I visited Chef Hung Taiwanese beef noodle restaurant in Irvine's Diamond Jamboree Center I was surprised on how different the offerings of the menu were compared to other oriental restaurants.
Our luncheon there proved to be a truly unique experience.  The noodles were unlike any in my experience as were the entrees in which they were featured.
Chef Hung and his restaurants are well known in Taiwan but most Southern Californians will find the restaurant and its cuisine a new and exciting experience.
In total there are eighteen noodle dishes on the menu as well as  twenty three side dishes and again some of these were unlike anything we had experienced before in Oriental restaurants.
Chef Hung is large with a decor of bamboo and other native woods on the walls and brightly lit to better display the elegant, colorful bowls filled with noodles and soups.
Chef Hung is located at Suite 117, adjacent to the Rotunda in the Diamond Jamboree Shopping Center, 2710 Alton Parkway, Irvine.  Telephone 949 756-0088.

Financial decisions can be difficult but nothing like one faces when visiting a bakery with showcases offering  delicious pastries.
We encountered this challenge once again when we visited 85C Bakery located in the Diamond Jamboree Center in Irvine.
There is a difference with 85C since it is part of a Taiwan company that has 230 stores in that country.
It started with promoting coffee drinks and quickly exploded in popularity with the addition of baked breads and pastries, all prepared fresh daily.
When entering the 85C store at Diamond Jamboree there is row on row of pastries ready to be whisked off onto the tray of eager customers.  Here you select your eye appealing treat with self service.  For cakes and larger items there are counters with attendants.  Many of these pastries are different and original from those found at most American bakeries.
There is both inside seating as well as tables on the outside patio.  As large as the selection of pastries is the list of coffees and other beverage. 
The 85C at Diamond Jamboree is one of two in Southern California. The second in Hacienda Heights.