El Paso WWII vet recalls his rendezvous with destiny on anniversary of Battle of the Bulge
EL PASO, Texas -- There are not many World War II veterans that are still alive in the United States. The Sun City though can boost about a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge, which marked its 75th anniversary on Tuesday, who calls El Paso home.
Lt. Col. Robert Chisolm firdt experienced his rendezvous with destiny when he jumped from a C-47 on June 6, 1944 during the battle against the Nazis.
He and many of the soldiers in his stick were scattered into the wind due to the pilot needing to climb to an altitude of over 2,000 feet in order to avoid flak.
Col. Chisolm was wounded later on in the theater when he jumped into Holland during Operation Market Garden.
He was also in Belgium when the surprise Battle of the Bulge began. The colonel was wounded in the midsection by a German round; had it not been snowing outside he would have died due to blood loss.
Even after his time fighting the Germans during World War II, Col. Chisolm stayed in the U.S. Army. He also fought in Korea and Vietnam.