A Last Sherman Tank

Yesterday I trained north from Luxembourg City to Clervaux. The guidebook stated that the chateau exhibited the works of Edward Streichen. His family had emigrated from his native land to the USA in 1880 and the famed photographer had donated over 500 photos to the Grand Duchy. The train ride was less than an hour and I bicycled through the narrow valley to the steep road climbing up to the chateau. The ticket taker informed me that the exhibition was closed for construction, but the Musees de le Battaille De Bulge and Chateaus des Luxembourg were open. I toured both in less than thirty minutes. Outside in the sunlight I walked the bike through the gateway and rolled over to a WWII memorial honoring the American defense of the town in December of 1944. The Sherman tank on the grass was the only one to have survived the engagement, in which a hundred American soldiers held off superior German forces for a night. In the morning a fierce attack set fire to the chateau and the remaining troops surrendered to the Wehrmacht. The tank stands guard along with a 57mm cannon, testaments to the defense of Luxembourg. It is a grateful duchy.