Between 1942 and 1977, Virginia park ranger Roy Sullivan was struck by lightning on seven separate occasions. Later in life, people would refuse to walk near him for fear of being struck. The chances of this happening are slightly more than 4 in 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. From the "Human Lightning Rod"
Remembering Anthony Clement McAuliffe, was a senior US Army officer who earned fame as the acting commander of the 101st Airborne Division defending Bastogne, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. He is celebrated for his one-word reply to a German surrender ultimatum: "Nuts!"
After the battle, McAuliffe was promoted and given command of the 103rd Infantry Division, which he led January 1945 to July 1945. In the post-war era, he was commander of United States Army Europe.
Born in Washington D.C., on July 2, 1898. McAuliffe enrolled at West Point in 1917, he was part of an accelerated program and graduated shortly after the end of World War I, in 1918. McAuliffe held various field artillery positions before World War II. On the eve of D-Day, McAuliffe jumped with the first wave as a commander of division artillery, although he had never received formal parachute training.
On December 21, 1944, during the siege of Bastogne, Belgium, German army units surrounded the 101st Airborne Division, Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe was acting commander of the 101st in Major General Maxwell D. Taylor's absence.
On 22 December, the German commander, Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz, sent McAuliffe an ultimatium, demanding that he surrender the town or face immediate annihilation. McAuliffe sent von Lüttwitz a one-word reply: "NUTS."
Over the next five days, the 101st repeatedly drove off German attacks. When elements of the Third Army, under General George S. Patton, broke through the German lines from the south, the 101st resumed the offensive and pushed the Germans back from Bastogne.
McAuliffe received the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions defending Bastogne.
General McAuliffe continued to serve on active duty, including assignments as Chief Chemical Officer of the Army Chemical Corps, and Commander-In-Chief of the U.S. Army, Europe. He was promoted to four-star general in 1955. In 1956, McAuliffe retired from the army. He died in Washingotn D.C. in 1975 at age 77 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
We're grateful for his extraordinary service and sacrifice for our country. Lest we forget.