WWII Soldier, 101, Looks Back on Surviving Battle of the Bulge

Growing up on a farm in north-central Kansas, Jim Sharp thought he had seen his share of cold weather. 

That was before he spent the winter of 1944-45 living in a foxhole in the middle of the Ardennes Forest. 

He never felt colder in his life. 

Besides the snow, ice, and primitive conditions, there was the constant drumbeat of war that permeated the life of a 21-year-old soldier in World War II. An infantryman in the U.S. Army, Sharp was smack dab along the front lines of arguably the greatest battle in World War II – the Battle of the Bulge. 

The bloody campaign raged for more than a month from Dec. 16, 1944, to Jan. 25, 1945. It was Adolph Hitler’s last stand to protect what remained of his Nazi empire, and while his Axis Powers put up a fierce fight, the Allies ultimately found a path toward victory. But it came at a heavy cost. 

According to the National World War II Museum, 20,876 Allied soldiers were killed in the battle, with more than 19,000 American troops making the ultimate sacrifice. 

Jim Sharp was one of the lucky ones. And at age 101, he’s still around to talk about it. While he feels a “little weak and weary” at times, he considers himself fortunate. He was blessed with another 80 years and counting. For many of his Army buddies, life was snuffed out eight decades ago fighting the Nazis in the snowy Ardennes in southeastern Belgium. 

Life on the Battlefield 

Like most veterans, Sharp can rattle off his platoon assignment without a second thought: 1st Infantry Division, Company B, 1st Battalion, 1st Platoon. While some memories are a little fuzzy after 80 years, Sharp’s recall is still impeccably sharp. He said his unit slept in foxholes during the Battle of the Bulge and would go out on patrols both day and night. 

“Besides the cold, it was dangerous business being in the infantry … on the front lines,” he said in a recent interview with Military.com. “I was lucky to live through it without any major injuries.” 

Sharp wasn’t armed with much protection. 

“All you had to fight with was a rifle, ammunition, some hand grenades, and a bayonet,” he said. “And if you’ve lived through it, you were mighty lucky.” 

While history books often hail the Battle of the Bulge as a major win for the Allies – and it was significant – Sharp said doubts crept in that they could beat back a relentless assault from enemy forces. 

“On the front lines, you don’t see the big picture,” Sharp said, “All you know is the battle that you’re in. The big picture is never provided to people like me in the first squad, first platoon. You’re just battling from foxhole to foxhole and in many cases, you’re riding in tanks into battle. All you know is who you are … you probably don’t even know where you are. We were in Belgium for the most part.” 

Sharp’s unit would get orders to be in their tanks promptly at 5 a.m. It wouldn’t take long for Nazi forces to hear Allied tanks rolling along the hilly Ardennes and open fire. 

“They penetrated our lines for more than 25 miles,” he said. “Boy did that put a big gap in our front lines. They captured or killed a lot of our people who were supposed to be holding our line. We were in trouble.” 

Sharp started feeling more confident after his division captured a town in Belgium. Eventually, Allied Forces broke the gridlock in late January and moved further into Germany. 

The Nuremberg Assignment 

Following the end of the war in the summer of 1945, Sharp was selected to serve as a guard at the Nuremberg Trials at the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg, Germany. The trials to prosecute Nazis for war crimes were held from Nov. 20, 1945, to Oct. 1, 1946.

The two biggest requirements for the guard position were that a soldier had to be a non-commissioned officer (NCO) and had to have combat experience against the Germans. 

“By the time the war was over, a lot of our leaders had been killed, captured, or wounded, so I moved up a few spots to the next eligible spot,” Sharp said. “There was a trio of Army officers who interviewed us and I was selected from our company as our company commander recommended me for the job.” 

Sharp’s duties rotated almost daily. His commanding officers didn’t want the guards to become friendly with the defendants. 

“One day I might be in the courtroom, and one day I might be out at the front gate, checking people in, making sure they had passes, and one day I might be in the cell block, taking the defenders to their lawyer or doctor, something like that,” Sharp said. “I think I guarded about every prisoner there.” 

The guards wore white helmets with white pants and belts. They carried .45 caliber pistols with nine rounds of ammunition. 

Along with his guard duties, Sharp was tasked with rounding up some of the 199 defendants. In all, 161 were convicted, with 37 sentenced to death. 

Capturing Nazis for Trial 

Before the trials began, Sharp and a group of soldiers ventured out into the German countryside to arrest and detain Nazi leaders. 

While some were in hospitals, recovering from war wounds, many were hiding in their homes. After receiving a list of defendants with their last known address, Sharp’s unit would travel to small towns and rural areas, knocking on doors at midnight, rousing Nazis out of bed.  

“We knew most people would be at home then. They wouldn’t suspect us coming,” Sharp said. “I think we arrested 24 Germans who went to trial at Nuremberg.” 

Besides coming up with excuses and pleas of innocence, most defendants put up little resistance. 

“Well, once you’d poke a gun in their ribs, boy, they decided they could come with us pretty quickly,” Sharp said. 

‘Human Beings Like Us’ 

In war, a soldier is trained to hate the enemy. And, considering the Allies were battling against fascism and the threat of losing free will, Sharp had a high-level disdain for the Nazis. 

After winning the war, Sharp believed he was providing justice by capturing the enemy and putting them on trial for unspeakable war crimes.   

“Well, at that point, I had been sort of brainwashed like everybody else that these were the people who caused this war, and many of my buddies had been shot and killed in front of me,” Sharp said.  “So, when we captured them and brought them to jail, we didn’t have much mercy. We were just doing what we were told.” 

As a prison guard, he spent more time around the defendants. He listened to them talk to their lawyers and would hear about their lives. His opinion about some of them changed. 

“You find out that they too have kids at home. Some of them had family killed in a submarine at sea,” Sharp said. 

“They were just human beings like we were fighting for their countries. After a while, you get a different perspective about these people because they’re a lot like you. Many of them would have done it again, just like me. That’s the way they were taught. That their country was right and we were wrong.” 

Selling the Farm to Serve 

When the U.S. became involved in World War II, after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Sharp’s chances of heading off to war seemed distant. 

With two brothers already in the military, he had to stay back home to help his dad run the family farm near tiny White City, Kansas. Not knowing he was eligible for deferment, Sharp went to his local draft board and tried to sign up for service. 

“When I went to them, they said, ‘Oh no, your brothers are in. You’re farming. We can’t take you,” he said. 

Working alone for hours on a tractor, drilling corn and discing soil, Sharp’s thoughts would drift. Along with his brothers, he thought about buddies he went to school with, played sports with, fighting for freedom in Europe and the Pacific.  

“Their parents would get notices saying they’ve died in combat, were captured or wounded,” he said. 

Sharp told his dad he didn’t want to stay home when people his age were dying for their country. At first, his dad resisted. 

“He said, ‘Well, I gotta have you stay here. I don’t have anybody else to help run the farm,” Sharp said. 

Along with managing a 440-acre farm, Sharp’s father co-owned an Allis-Chalmers implement in nearby Herington, Kansas. Consumed with the implement, he often left the farm duties to Sharp after his two other boys went to war. 

“Finally, he said, ‘Well, if you really want to go into the service, we need to sell all the animals and all the equipment on the farm. I can’t run the farm and the business, too.” 

In 1944, the family sold all farm equipment and livestock, and Sharp signed with the Army. 

“I went off to war like everybody else. Hell, I think there were guys 38 years old signing up to serve,” Sharp said. “In these battles, they were getting higher casualties than they anticipated so they were taking a lot of people.” 

After basic training at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Sharp learned infantry skills at Fort McClellan, Alabama. Following a 10-day leave, Sharp was ordered to Boston Harbor to board a troop ship. Next stop – Europe. 

“We all lined up with our duffle bags on our shoulders and 4,000 of us boarded that troop ship,” he said. 

Life After War 

After serving two years in the Army, Sharp assumed he would return to Kansas and farm. One problem. There was no farm left to return to. 

He used money from the G.I. Bill to attend Kansas State University and earned a business degree in 1950. Sharp landed a job with the Kansas Farm Bureau in accounting and claims adjusting. When the bureau started using computers, Sharp provided training to employees.  

“We kept the land, but I didn’t become a farmer. And I’m glad I didn’t,” Sharp said with a laugh. “I would be broke a thousand times over by now.” 

He married Marilyn “Mickey” Mitchell, his high school sweetheart, and the couple had three children, Janet, Doug, and Brian. Seven grandchildren followed, along with several more great-grandchildren. After almost 70 years of marriage, Mickey passed away in 2015. 

“Now I’m retired,” Sharp said. 

Sharp has written three books, including one that chronicles his time as a combat infantryman and another about his experience at Nuremberg. He also formed a regional group in Kansas for Battle of the Bulge veterans. The group held annual meetings at the American Legion headquarters in Manhattan, Kansas. 

“Gradually more of them died off,” Sharp said. “Pretty soon, I’m the only one left.” 

On Sept. 27, to celebrate turning 101 last April, Sharp flew in a World War II-era biplane over Manhattan, courtesy of Dream Flights. The organization provides flights for veterans. 

Sharp had so much fun that he’s vowed to take another trip to celebrate his 102nd birthday. 

Looking back, he’s fortunate to have enjoyed a long life with a successful career, a loving wife, kids, grandkids, great grandkids … when so many others he served with in that freezing forest never got the chance to. 

“It’s been a great life. I’m lucky, man,” Sharp said. “I was supposed to be dead when I was 21 on the front lines in Belgium, but I’m still here.”