[Editor's note: Ryan Roberts is a journalism student at Ansbach High School.]
ANSBACH, Germany (March 18, 2015) -- Ansbach High School students of the 9th JROTC Battalion went to the German town of Remagen March 7 for the 70th anniversary of the Battle for the Ludendorff Bridge on the Rhine River.
There they spoke to veterans of the war and visited the site of the collapsed bridge, which, before its collapse, was vital for the success of the advancing American military.
In March of 1945 the American military was heading towards Berlin. The Rhine River was, however, a major obstacle which had to be overcome. It was a great surprise to Brig. Gen. William M. Hoge that the bridge at Remagen was still intact, so he took it, disobeying other orders and risking a court-martial if he failed. Despite unsuccessful German attempts to blow up the bridge, American forces were able to take Remagen and establish a bridgehead before the bridge eventually collapsed March 17, 1945.
Ansbach students heard veterans share their war experiences to a mixed audience of Germans and Americans as they commemorated the moment when American soldiers first crossed the Ludendorff Bridge.
"I was awestruck by their impressive stories," said Cadet Kevin Avila. "The most interesting was the story of Paul Golz being a German POW."
Golz during World War II was a German soldier who was captured by American military forces as a prisoner of war.
Cadets were also able to speak to the veterans themselves. Paul Schumacher was one of the Soldiers who crossed the bridge. Schumacher spoke to Cadet Kaitlyn Pyrtle.
"It was an honor to be able to talk to the veterans," said Pyrtle.
After German dignitaries thanked the 9th JROTC Battalion for participating in the event, two JROTC cadets gave a speech about the importance of the bridge and the impact it had on the future. Cadets Rudy Roberts and Kaitlyn Carson spoke of the bridge of friendship which exists between the United States and Germany, and that the JROTC cadets were there to represent that symbol.
"The trip to Remagen was a great outlook on America's history that much of America's youth have not had the ability to experience," said Cadet Dylan Clayton Drury.
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